Comments on: Emmanuel Church Celebrates Institution of New Rector with Special Offering from Emmanuel Music

By: Michael Beattie

Michael Beattie — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:27:37 +0000

Bill,
I think must surely have been the same Al Kershaw. Here’s a link with some biographical information: http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/archives/m354.htm

Michael Beattie

By: Bikll Longman

Bikll Longman — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 23:24:35 +0000

Could someone at Emmanuel Church tell me if this was the same Al Kershaw who was a young Episcopal chaplain in an Ohio college back in the 1950s? He or another by that name was a keynote speaker (and influential person) at a Student YMCA conference that I chaired while in college…and I definitely remember his passion for jazz. But I thought he did play piano.

Bill, now retired (after 19 years) in Watertown after Yale Seminary and pastoral career.

By: Joel Cohen

Joel Cohen — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:50:24 +0000

What I remember most about Al Kershaw, post-$32,000 and post-15 minutes of fame, was his enormous bear hugs. He wasn’t really an intellectual, and his sermons were not always the most incisive, but he had an ebullient personality and a big, warm heart. Bless him!

By: Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:23:13 +0000

I liked this article about Emmanuel, Pam, and John very much!

And, I had heard that Al Kershaw stopped at $32,000 on that tv show – meaning he didn’t risk answering the final question – and yes gave it all away in some form to jazz musicians – he had traveled with them in the South during the 50′s, learning about the discriminatory conditions under which they lived and performed – one of the reasons he was so supportive of the Civil Rights Movement when he was at Emmanuel and pushed the church along in a very liberal theological and political direction.

Peter Johnson, Senior Warden, Emmanuel Church

By: Bettina A. Norton, executive editor

Bettina A. Norton, executive editor — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:56:12 +0000

Re: the $64,000 won by the Rev. Al Kershaw. John Harbison mentioned it in the interview, and we recalled it; but it was outside the scope of this article. But as Joel Cohen brought it up, it is worth noting that the good reverend gave it ALL away, to an organization helping jazz musicians.

By: CTR

CTR — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:04:07 +0000

That integration has always been the goal, and the ideal, but it requires a lot of care; Pam does a particularly beautiful job of it.

By: Joel Cohen

Joel Cohen — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:24:28 +0000

Much appreciated is John Harbison’s mention of Al Kershaw, an unusual and energizing person who had a big part in establishing the musical identity of Emmanuel.

What not everybody knows about Al is that he was, briefly, a TV celebrity, the Hip Priest, appearing as a contestant on a game show called “The $64,000 Question,” back in the Eisenhower 1950′s, and answering questions about jazz. I was 12, I think, when I first made his acquaintance via the tube parked in my family’s basement room.

By: Pam Werntz

Pam Werntz — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:58:07 +0000

Sunday services are at 10:00 a.m.! Service of institution is this Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Please join us!