Mark Harvey (STH '71, GRS '83) in edited volume about jazz ministry
Mark Harvey (STH ’71, GRS ’83) has written a chapter on the jazz ministry at Saint Peter’s Church in New York City. The chapter is part of a volume entitled Religion and Art in the Heart of Modern Manhattan: Saint Peter’s Church and the Louise Nevelson Chapel edited by Aaron Rosen, Ashgate Publishing, 2016. A range of scholars explore the art and architecture of this celebrated New York landmark as well as contemporary issues in religion and the arts.
Harvey’s chapter traces the development of the jazz ministry at the church which hosts weekly Jazz Vespers, has held funerals and memorials for musicians such as John Coltrane, Billy Strayhorn, and thousands more, and has served as spiritual resource for the jazz community for a half-century. This work was begun by Pastor John Garcia Gensel, a friend and confidant of Duke Ellington who figures prominently in this history.