What does Juneteenth mean to you?

For Ms. Della Moore, Juneteenth is a holiday for remembrance, reflection and living into BIPOC joy. Juneteenth, a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans since 2021.

Juneteenth is also know as "Freedom Day", deriving its name from combining June and nineteenth. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Major General Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865.

Ms. Della Moore is curator and champion of The African American Center for Cultural Development   in Olean, NY.  In this special Juneteenth episode, she tells how she came to love the place and people of Olean, and how she gives her time, energy and imagination into establishing The African American Center for Cultural Development. Della shares how love found her and how she extends love to help others find home and connection.

To make a contribution to The African American Center for Cultural Development, click here.

Join Della and company for a local Juneteenth Celebration/Fundraiser on
Saturday, June 24, 2023 from noon until three o’clock.  This is an open invitation to everyone to come join in the fun of a ‘Block Party-like’ celebration -  mixing City with Country fare. 

There will be great tasting food (until sold out). Our menu includes pulled pork sandwiches; potato salad; hot dogs, burgers, pop, water and, new this year, ribs, barbeque ribs.  Oh, Yeah! 

We will feature Boom box music (the city part), fun and a bit of education.  So bring your lawn chairs and dancing shoes.  We even have a couple of raffling items for bid. This will all be taking place at the Bethany Lutheran’s Church yard  (6 Leo Moss Drive, Olean).

Send Tara a Text Message

Join Tara for a free online discussion about wholehearted living on Sunday, August 24 at 6 pm EST.

The Wild Goose Festival is Thursday, August 28 to Sunday, August 31. It is a transformational community grounded in faith-inspired social justice. Come learn and grow by co-creating art, music, story, theater, and spectacle, and engaging in a wide variety of robust, courageous conversations with each other and with thought leaders and artists from other communities.

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Rev. Tara Lamont Eastman is a pastor, podcaster and host of Holy Shenanigans since September of 2020. Eastman combines her love of ministry with her love of writing, music and visual arts. She is a graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary’s Theological Education for Emerging Ministry Program and the Youth and Theology Certificate Program at Princeton Seminary. She has served in various ministry and pastoral roles over the last thirty years in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and PCUSA (Presbyterian Church of America). She is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Warren Pennsylvania. She has presented workshops on the topics of faith and creativity at the Wild Goose Festival. She is a trainer for Soul Shop Suicide Prevention for Church Communities.