In the darkest weeks of the year, the Chilmark Community Church offers a series of evenings where musicians, writers and other artists share their talents with the community, uplifting each other through a sense of connection and art.
How it started
In the fall of 2017, church members were chatting about doing something for the community at large to brighten the darker days of winter. With the late Lia Kahler’s inspiration we organized free programs called Offering of Music and Light early evenings in the winter. Each evening is an offering of gifts of time and talent from the artists and performers to each other and to those gathered. These gifts are not presented for judgement or comparison – they are free gifts from the heart to lift our spirit and shine light in the darkness.
Over the years we have been blessed with the talents of Sean McMahon, Missis Biskis, Kate Taylor, Adele Dreyer, poet Donald Nitchie, Phil Diettterich, Loon Lane Players, Serendipity, The Vineyard Sinfonietta and many more artists. We also recently collaborated with Molly Conole and Mark Lovewell for a two part evening with OML at 5pm followed by their Facebook live broadcast Sunday at Sea. A reception always follows with food lovingly prepared by the church for the community to continue gathering. We have been doing OML for over 7 years with a brief Covid hiatus. We hope we have succeeded in shining the light.
