Jazz Social | Shepherd Of The Night Flock (1975) Film Screening

6:00 P.M. - Reception 6:30 P.M. - Film Screening In 1965, The Rev. John Garcia Gensel crafted an innovative Jazz Vespers liturgy as a natural outgrowth of his ministry with New York City jazz musicians. The jazz ministry at Saint Peter’s Church — The First Church of Jazz — was and remains a home for jazz musicians and lovers of jazz. Some of the earliest members of the jazz ministry included Billy Strayhorn, Zoot Sims, Joe Newman, Sheila Jordan, Ruth Ellington and Duke Ellington. Ellington dubbed Pastor Gensel “the shepherd who watches over the night flock,” and composed a tone poem of the same name as a tribute with his Second Sacred Concert. Shepherd of the Night Flock (1975), a documentary film by George Stoney, long-time professor of film at NYU, is as much a profile of Pastor Gensel as it is of the jazz community in New York City and at Saint Peter’s. The film also portrays the extraordinary transformation of Saint Peter’s from a more traditional Lutheran congregation of German heritage to a modern community with the arts — jazz, especially — at its core. The backdrop of the film is a New York City teetering on bankruptcy and the bold commitment to the city by Saint Peter’s and First National City Bank of New York with the development of CitiCorp Center (1977). This screening is part of Saint Peter’s Jazz60 celebration. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the film. More Info below.