"And Still I Rise" brought together members of the church and local community to honor and pay homage to music, art and poetry of Black musicians, poets and artists. Led by Chicagoland musician and performer Rodney Gipson and his band, the event also featured music and singing by Sylvia Christine and Deborah Cullen. We were also graced with wonderful storytelling by Naomi Davis, founder and Executive Director of Blacks In Green and poetry recitals by several friends featuring the works of Margaret Walker and Langston Hughes amongst others. Projection Artists Max Li and Maddie Ma created a wonderful display of artwork by Black artists from over the years, which became the backdrop to this special evening. We are grateful for the many talents and gifts that everyone brought to help make our inaugural Black History Month celebration truly memorable!

ALTARed States, an evening of sharing about our spiritual experiences with psychedelics. Accompanied with live music set, projection light show and poetry reading.

Young Life is a Life Time, an exhibition curated by a local high school senior as their graduation thesis. Comprised of art works in multiple mediums through an open call to local young artists, the exhibition explores the theme of youthhood, and invites guests to join to experience what youth was, is, and what it holds for us now.

First Church Community Open House, a night of open mic, conversation, sound therapy, and delicious snacks accompanied with an exhibition of visual arts from the three artist-in-residence.

Featuring tintype photographs and a temple made of moving boxes, "Twenty-Four Thinking Positions" is a solo exhibition by Max Li and presents encounters of various kinds. Mediating his own artworks through tintype photographs, Max reframes contemporary art as old photos and explores the temporality of visions. In this exhibition, different contact points are vivified—between the audio and visual, talk and contract, ritual and art space, and pulsing and thinking. Those points and pieces of thought compile twenty-four thinking positions and far beyond.

The Junk Room, a DJ-in-residence program, where host Takashi Shallow invites guest DJs to conduct electronic/avant-garde/contemporary live music sets. Each set runs for under an hour, with brief interviews about their perspectives on sequencing unique and expressive sound situations.