Reverend Brian Hamilton transcript, 2022-08-04T00:00:00+00:00
Scope and Contents
D.C. Oral History Collaborative (DCOHC) is a citywide initiative to train community members in oral history skills, fund new and ongoing oral history projects, connect volunteers with oral history projects, and publicize existing oral history collections. DCOHC is a project of DC Public Library, HumanitiesDC, and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. This collection contains oral history interviews, transcripts, and indexes produced by DCOHC grantees.
Dates
- Creation: 2022-08-04T00:00:00+00:00
Biographical / Historical
Reverend Brian Hamilton was born and raised in Princeton, Maine before moving to west Philadelphia to complete his undergraduate studies at Eastern University. He went on to receive masters degrees from the New School and Union Theological Seminary; he also received a Masters of Divinity from Union. After preaching in Philadelphia and Detroit, he and his wife Ruth moved to Washington, D.C. in 1996 to co-pastor the Westminster Presbyterian Church, a 169-year-old congregation in Southwest, D.C. He co-organizes the popular Friday-night 'Jazz Night in D.C.' concert series at the church with singer Dick Smith.
Extent
From the Collection: 1.13 Terabytes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The full transcript of our first interview in the project, with Reverend Brian Hamilton of the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Reverend Hamilton, co-pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church at 400 I Street SW, co-created the 'Jazz Night in D.C.' jazz performance series at the church in 1999 with singer Dick Smith. Rev. Hamilton discusses his upbringing in a Baptist Church in Maine and the importance of connecting faith and music, as well as his path to his leadership of the Westminster Church through academic and seminarian studies in New York and Philadelphia (including his first jobs as a pastor). He talks about the roots of Westminster’s jazz programming in the 'Jazz Vespers' ministry created by Reverend John Garcia Gensel at St. Peter’s church in New York City. He also speaks about how Westminster has taken up a role interacting with its congregation and the Southwest neighborhood but also how the church has become a spiritual and communal center for many musicians of the D.C. jazz scene over the last 23 years.
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository