The first Memorial Day was organized in 1865 by newly freed slaves to express their gratitude to Union soldiers. An impassioned speech by Frederick Douglas reminds us of the high ideals of these soldiers who fought for liberty for all Americans. Let us take time today, before the summer B-B-Q begins, to recognize the pain that led to true greatness in our nation’s history.

This Sunday, guest concert pianist Yukino Sekino will provide the music for worship. She will play Domenico Scarlatti’s lovely “Sonata in F minor, K. 466,” Robert Schumann’s lyrical “Figured Choral, Op. 68 No. 42”,” Johannes Brahms’s passionate “Intermezzo in B minor, Op. 119 No. 1” and W. A. Mozart’s energetic “Allegro maestoso” (from Sonata in A minor, K. 310). A soloist noted for her performances of Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Scriabin, Ms. Sekino frequently collaborates in chamber music and performs some of the most challenging twentieth and twenty-first century works. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Juilliard School, and currently teaches piano at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the New England Conservatory Prep School.

There will be no religious education classes. The nursery will be open but not staffed.

Click here to listen to the sermon.