"The Tree of Life" was a collaborative service on February 21, 2021. The sea islands people of America's southeast coast are descended from Africans brought to this country as slaves. The separation of the islands helped to preserve their Gullah culture and language. Rev. Jaye Brooks and Music Director Stephen Michael Smith first encountered songs of the Gullah people in workshops led by singer, composer, and musicologist Ysaye Barnwell. The service celebrated the stories and music of the people of St. John's Island, South Carolina, collected in Guy and Candie Carawan's 1989 book, Ain't You Got a Right to the Tree of Life?