Inaugural Sunday Service with Jaki Shelton Green

The vision of Durham’s illustrious Freelon family, the new NorthStar Church of the Arts has a mission to become “a nexus at the intersection of creativity and spirituality.” Located in the historic Ephphatha Church building on Geer Street, NorthStar is rolling out a variety of arts programming, including musical performances, art exhibitions, and storytelling. It will also fulfill its spiritual appellation with a monthly Sunday service, the first of which, this Sunday, will be led by none other than North Carolina poet laureate Jaki Shelton Green, whose community focus aligns closely with NorthStar’s. “I am very mindful of wanting to make spaces for the poetry of the nontraditional writer, the poetry of the non-academic writer, and helping with the validation process for those voices,” she told the INDY last year. As it happens, Green’s poet laureate induction ceremony also takes place this week, on February 18, in a ceremony at the State Capitol. Other opening events at NorthStar this week include an art exhibit curated by Marcella D Camara and a performance event featuring Kamara Thomas and several others. —Sarah Edwards