Church Concert Hails African-American Heritage

In appreciation of America’s African-American heritage, the Bowne Street Community Church, 143-11 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing, will present blues, gospel, R&B and jazz vocal music on Sunday, February 12 at 3 p.m. Ayana Lowe, a former member of the church choir, will be accompanied by James Weidman on piano and Michael “TA” Thompson on drums. The concert is open to the public.

The bilingual (English and Taiwanese), multiethnic congregation of the Bowne Street Community Church, with members from many cultural and spiritual backgrounds, worships in a historic old Flushing edifice. The church was formed in 1974 by a merger of the Protestant Reformed Dutch Church of Flushing, established in 1842, and the First Congregational Church of Flushing, established in 1851. Both churches had a long history of preaching and practicing a gospel of racial, social, economic and political justice and had long been strong supporters of civil rights, racial equality, women's rights, and peace and justice in the world.

Associated today with both the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ (UCC), the Bowne Street Community Church is taking part in the UCC “God Is Still Speaking” campaign, which maintains, “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.” For more information, contact Pastor David Westcott at 718-359-1553.