Pastor Phillip Baber
“Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”
With Alyssa Halliday as Worship Leader
Dr. Gary Smart, Accompanist, and Special Music Performance
In what is likely his final sermon before moving to Dublin, Ireland, Phillip Baber will share words of encouragement and exhortation in anticipation of dangerous days to come for our nation.
About Our Guest Speaker:
Phillip Baber is the pastor of The People’s Church of Jacksonville and the Regional Director of the Poor People’s Campaign of Northeast Florida. He is the former pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville and a former co-president of I.C.A.R.E., the Jacksonville-based Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation, and Empowerment. Phillip’s ministry is dedicated to the advancement of our collective liberation, leading him to advocate in support of criminal justice reform; police accountability; racial and economic justice; justice for refugees and immigrants, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Phillip will be relocating to Dublin, Ireland this summer with his family, and this will be his final live engagement with BBUUC before leaving. We hope to welcome him to our virtual pulpit from time to time in the months to come via the magic of modern technology!
Special Music by Dr. Gary Smart: 
BBUUC member, Dr. Smart, is a Presidential Professor of Music at the University of North Florida. His career has encompassed a wide range of activities as composer, classical and jazz pianist, and teacher. A musician with varied interests, he studied with Yale scholar/keyboardist Ralph Kirkpatrick, the great Cuban virtuoso Jorge Bolet, and the master jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. Dr. Smart composes and improvises music that reflects an abiding interest in Americana, jazz, and world music, as well as the Western classical tradition. Dr. Smart’s work has been supported by organizations that include the Guggenheim and Ford Foundations as well as the National Endowment for the Arts. He has performed in major venues in the United States, Europe, and Asia. His “Concordia” for orchestra won the Concordia Jazz Competition Award and was premiered at Lincoln Center, New York. Dr. Smart has spent two residencies in Japan, teaching in programs at Osaka University and Kobe College. He has also taught in Indonesia as a “Distinguished Lecturer” for the Fulbright program. We are grateful to Dr. Smart for his generous gifts of time and talent to our congregation as a regular accompanist and performer, in addition to his gift of our beloved piano, which was presented to BBUUC by the Smart Family.