As we move through Black History Month, we’re invited not only to remember history, but to listen for it—especially in the music that helped carry a people through it.
This Sunday, February 15, our Adult Choir and Chamber Choirs will offer two spirituals arranged by composer and educator William Levi Dawson (1899–1990) in both the 10:00 and 11:30 A.M. services:
Spirituals are a genre of sacred folk music associated with Africans enslaved in America. They include “sing songs,” work songs, and plantation songs that helped shape later traditions like blues and gospel.
While many spirituals draw from biblical stories, they also speak plainly about lived reality—suffering, separation, endurance, longing, and the stubborn insistence that life can be more than what oppression allows.
Originally, spirituals were an oral tradition, passed from one generation to the next—memorized, adapted, and shared in community. After emancipation, many lyrics were published in print, and ensembles such as the Fisk Jubilee Singers(founded in 1871) helped popularize spirituals for wider audiences.
Over time, Black composers and arrangers—among them William Dawson—created what has been called a “new repertoire for the concert stage,” bringing Western classical training into conversation with a tradition born in bondage and held in community.
In The Spirituals and the Blues, theologian James Cone describes spirituals as “songs about black souls”—music through which enslaved people created a new style of worship and a new way of surviving.
Cone writes that through song, people “shouted and prayed; preached and sang,” because they had encountered a new reality—a God not confined to the theology and institutions of white churches. He also notes something profound: while the biblical story tells of a people unable to sing in a strange land, for Black people in slavery, being depended upon a song.
Spirituals, Cone says, provided “both the substance and the rhythm to cope with human servitude,” helping people retain a measure of African identity while building “new structures for existence in an alien land.”
That’s part of what makes spirituals especially meaningful to sing and hear during Black History Month: they are living history—truth-telling and hope-holding at the same time.
They carry grief and grit, but also humor, courage, imagination, and the sound of a people refusing to be reduced.
William Levi Dawson played an integral role in bringing spirituals into choral contexts that historically excluded Black musical traditions.
In 1912, Dawson ran away from home to study music full-time at the historically Black Tuskegee Institute, where he worked to pay tuition and participated in the choir, band, and orchestra—traveling with the Tuskegee Singers before graduating in 1921. He continued advanced study in music theory and composition, and in 1931 he organized and led Tuskegee’s School of Music, developing the Tuskegee Institute Choir into an internationally renowned ensemble.
Dawson’s choral catalog includes brilliant reimaginings of more than two dozen spirituals—music widely performed for its rhythmic vitality, rich textures, and deep understanding of what voices can do together. His arrangements don’t treat spirituals as museum pieces; they sound like living breath and living community—layered, responsive, and alive with motion.
As you listen this weekend, you might notice how these two pieces hold different energies.
Soon-ah Will be Done leans toward release and longing—a prayer for deliverance from “the troubles of the world.” Ain’-a That Good News carries a bright, forward-driving joy—like hope breaking through with confidence and movement.
Together, they offer a wide emotional range, held by a tradition that has always known how to make room for both sorrow and celebration.
May this music meet you where you are—and carry us, together, into something deeper.
Details at a Glance:
About the Trainings
Fellowship Congregational Church (UCC) and Fellowship Lutheran are offering two trainings with the ACLU of Oklahoma focused on equipping allies to support and advocate for our immigrant neighbors.
These sessions will provide practical tools, resources, and space for community questions. The first training on February 12 is a “Know Your Rights” training on immigration led by ACLU-OK attorney Travis Handler, designed to help participants better understand immigration rights and what it can look like to show up as a supportive presence in the community.
You’re welcome to attend one or both trainings.
Details at a Glance:
About Justice Jam
Justice Jam is a monthly space at All Souls to explore urgent justice themes over lunch and conversation—because sometimes the most important work starts by gathering, listening, and figuring out what “showing up” actually looks like.
For February, join Rev. Dr. Nicole Kirk, Program Minister, and Natalie Aruthur from the All Souls Security Team for an urgent discussion on the current immigration crackdown and what it means for our neighbors. Together we’ll explore what’s happening on the ground, how communities are being impacted by escalating enforcement actions, and practical ways All Souls members can offer support and solidarity to those most vulnerable.
Whether you’re looking for concrete ways to help, wanting a clearer understanding of the current landscape, or simply needing space to connect with others who care, this Justice Jam is for you.
Lunch is served in Emerson Hall at 12:30 PM, with the presentation beginning promptly at 1:00 PM.
Lunch & Registration
Pre-registration helps us plan for food (and dietary needs), so you’re encouraged to register at allsouls.me/justice. Justice Jam uses a sliding scale to help cover the meal and support programming:
Details at a Glance
About the Event
When the world feels uncertain, singing can be both resistance and refuge — a way back to each other when we’re tempted to feel helpless or alone.
On Thursday, February 19, All Souls Unitarian Church invites EVERYONE - Tulsa-area musicians, churches, community choirs, and all our neighbors - to the Tulsa Choral Resistance Sing: an evening of beautiful choral music, hymns, and protest songs centered on peace, love, unity, and community.
As Dr. Randall Hooper, Music Director at All Souls, puts it: in times of unrest, many of us feel isolated — and singing together is a form of healing. This gathering creates space to breathe, connect, and raise our voices together.
There’s no rehearsal. We’ll simply gather in the Sanctuary and sing as one choir.
What We'll Sing
A set of choral works that speak to love and community, including:
Bring your voice — and bring a friend. Whether you sing every week or haven’t sung in years, you’re welcome here.
Details at a Glance:
About the Program
All Souls Day Alliance is excited to welcome this month's speaker, Robin Sherman. Robin is YWCA's director of legal services and an advocate for immigrant and refugee rights.
Robin will be the All Souls Day Alliance speaker on Thursday, February 19, 2026. Lunch begins at 11:30AM at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK (2952 S. Peoria Ave); Robin will begin after lunch.
Day Alliance is our longest-standing group and offers closer fellowship through monthly luncheon meetings and programs over a variety of interests. Day Alliance also provides hospitality support for memorial receptions and donates to support All Souls.
Membership & Lunch
If you haven’t yet renewed your Day Alliance membership for the year, you can do so at the meeting.
Please RSVP to [email protected]
Details at a Glance
About the Event:
Join us for an evening of Broadway-style music performed by All Souls members and friends—an easy, welcoming way to spend time together and celebrate the creativity that lives in our community.
Whether you’re a longtime music-lover or just looking for a warm and fun night out, you’re invited! Come for the show, stay for the connection (and dessert-theatre).
No tickets required—just show up and enjoy.
Details at a Glance
About the Event:
Leadership at All Souls isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about showing up, building trust, and helping us live our values together. This daylong retreat is a chance to deepen relationships, widen collaboration, and grow practical leadership skills—all grounded in our UU values and our covenant to help one another.
Come ready to connect, reflect, and discover what it can look like to build beloved community—together. All are welcome, whether you’re brand new to leadership or looking to grow in it.
Participants will:
Register now at allsouls.me/leadership.
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About the Event
Join us for a community evening full of friendly competition, great food, and plenty of laughs—while supporting the All Souls Youth Department, at the 2026 Chili Cook Off and Bingo Night at All Souls!
Compete as a Chili Cook
Have a signature recipe (or a secret family classic)? Enter the cook off and bring your best chili for the community to taste. Sign up to cook at allsouls.me/chilicook
Attend as a Taster
Come hungry, sample the chilis, vote for your favorites, and stay for bingo. Registrants can also bring named guests. Register and pre-purchase tickets at allsouls.me/chili.
When you register, you’ll be able to pre-purchase your tasting options:
Reserve your spot (and your chili) today and support the All Souls Youth program.
Details at a Glance
Event: Spring Short-Term Choirs
Where: Choir Loft
When: Wednesdays | 7:00PM–7:30PM
Commitment: 4 rehearsals + sing in both Sunday services
Contact: Dr. Randall Hooper ([email protected])
What are “short-term choirs”?
Short-term choirs are a low-pressure way to join All Souls music: you rehearse for four short sessions, then sing in worship at both services. It’s an easy on-ramp if you’re new, returning, or just ready to try.
Which choir is for me?
Treble Choir (Sopranos & Altos)
Whether you’re a seasoned singer or a little rusty, you’re welcome. Show up, find your people, and help make worship feel even more alive. For more information, email Dr. Randall Hooper at [email protected].
Details at a Glance
About the Event
Some Sundays expand your imagination. Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney is a widely sought-after biblical scholar, preacher, teacher, and activist whose work brings scripture to life for congregations and lay readers—especially through womanist and feminist interpretation and a deep focus on the voices of women in ancient texts.
Dr. Gafney is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas, and the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (Years A, B, and C) as well as Womanist Midrash (and more). She is also an Episcopal priest, a former Army chaplain, and has taught and preached across Jewish and Christian congregational spaces in the U.S. and the U.K.
In the morning, Dr. Gafney will be our guest speaker at the 10:00 AM service at All Souls. Note: Dr. Gafney will speak at the 10:00 AM service only. Rev. Randy Lewis will lead the 11:30 AM service.
Then, if you want to go deeper, Dr. Gafney is also the 2026 invited guest for the Knippa Interfaith / Ecumenical Lecture Series, speaking that afternoon at 4:00 PM at Grace Lutheran Church.
