The story of Mount Zion Cemetery and Dumbarton Church is getting a new telling through the Voices of Zion, an ambitious new music-theatre production.  Our Adult Education session on Sunday, May 15, will provide backstories of Voices from two authoritative sources.  Longtime Church member Mike Beard will offer some oral history from the mid-‘70’s based on his personal involvement persuading the congregation, then in dire financial straits, not to sell the cemetery to developers but  give its title to Mt. Zion, Dumbarton’s breakaway congregation and the oldest Black Methodist church in Washington.  Susan Galbraith, artistic director of the Alliance for New Music-Theatre, will describe how new research into those interred in the cemetery -- a station on the Underground Railroad --  grew into Zion’s dramatic musical resurrection of their long-forgotten lives. There will be time for discussion and comments from people who have seen Voices of Zion performances earlier this month, and time for questions from people who may want to attend one of the last three scheduled performances.  Join us this Sunday, at ten in person at 3133 Dumbarton St. NW, or by Zoom, dialing 301-715-8592 and punching in Meeting ID: 823 2708 4830 and Passcode: 801277.

Dumbartonians like to think that all our Adult Educations sessions are special, but this one features a hymnic poem the church commissioned as part of its 250th Anniversary celebration.  Our guest is David Keplinger, Professor of Literature at American University and prize-winning author of seven poetry collections. On Sunday, April 10, he will talk about the piece, “Looking through your Window,” as well as poems from his most recent book, “The Long Answer."  For more on his career, prizes, and awards, click on https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/keplinge.cfm.

As a sneak preview, here's a link to his reading and discussion of a poem, "Composition for Three Voices:”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_zfe70hN4E   He says a friend describes it as “what we do to survive….and how we move on from trauma…”  Odds are that this poem, which speaks presciently to the war in Ukraine, will make you want to attend this Sunday’s Adult Ed.   Join us at ten in person or by Zoom, dialing 301-715-8592 and punching in Meeting ID: 823 2708 4830 and Passcode: 801277.