Union Chapel will open its doors for the summer season on Sunday, July 4 with Swarthmore College president Valerie Smith in the pulpit.

This year the Oak Bluffs church is celebrating its 150th anniversary, along with the return of its 1924 Austin organ which was completely rebuilt and restored during the past year. Services this summer will be held both virtually and in person (with safety protocols in place).

This will be Ms. Smith’s first time speaking at Union Chapel. Other first time preachers this summer are Rev. Cynthia Hale from Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Ga.; Rev. Arthur Jones from St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Plano, Tex.; Rev. Dr. Kevin R. Murriel from Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Ga.; and Dr. Scott W. Sunquist from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton.

Returning preachers include Rev. Susan Sparks (virtually) from Madison Avenue Baptist Church, New York city; Rev. Deforest Soaries, First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in New Jersey; Rev. Otis Moss III from Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Ill.; Rev. Howard John Wesley from Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.; and Union Chapel’s Rev. Aliya F. Browne from Oak Bluffs.

Sunday services begin at 10 a.m., with doors opening at 9 a.m. The church is located on Narragansett avenue at the intersection with Kennebec and Circuit avenues. Handicap access is on Grove Street. Vaccination cards are required to enter the chapel this summer.