Turn to your neighbor and say “Neighbor, O neighbor, the Rev. Otis Moss III is in the house.” And then say “Neighbor, O neighbor we are going to hear some preaching today.”
Moss — a longtime Chautauqua favorite from both the podium and the pulpit — is back and he will be preaching and serving as chaplain in residence for Week Nine.
Since 2001, Moss has been preaching, teaching and lecturing at Chautauqua. Once again, he will be highlighting the scripture readings with his own OM3 (Otis Moss III) version of the scripture.
A third-generation warrior for civil and human rights, Moss has built his ministry on community advancement and racial and social justice activism.
As senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago since 2008, Moss routinely preaches and practices a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problems of mass incarceration, environmental justice, and economic inequality.
He will preach at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning ecumenical worship service in the Amphitheater. His sermon title is “The Blue Note Gospel.” He will preach at the 9:15 a.m. morning worship services Monday through Friday in the Amp, as well. His sermon titles include: “Stay Rooted: Spiritual Lessons from a Tree,” “An Open Letter to an Unloving Church,” “Living Between Church Hurt and God’s Promise,” “Learning to Walk in the Dark” and “From Miseducation to Liberation.”
Moss preaches a theology of liberation rooted in a Black spirituality of love and justice. His passion for African American culture and history combined with a deep appreciation for jazz and hip hop, have culminated in a unique message of hope and healing through a jazz narrative on American democracy. His first book was Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair (2015).
Moss’ latest book project, Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times, was released in November 2022. In it, using the scholarship of Martin Luther King Jr. and Howard Thurman, alongside Biblical texts, a bevy of religious traditions, Black culture, and his own personal experiences, Moss offers up a methodology for spiritual resistance by uniting two pillars of his ministry: love and justice.
Moss is the founder of The Unashamed Media Group, a justice-centered, faith-based agency committed to producing and curating stories to inspire the heart and challenge the mind. It produced five short films/sermons using cinematic liturgy in 2020, including “Otis’ Dream,” a short film about Moss’ grandfather’s unsuccessful attempt to vote in 1946.
Moss has also been heard on Krista Tippet’s podcast, “On Being.” He was identified by the Baylor University George W. Truett Theological Seminary as one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English language in 2018.
Moss is an honors graduate of Morehouse College. He earned a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Chicago Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the United Church of Christ. In addition to his other ministerial duties, he also serves as chaplain of the Children’s Defense Fund’s Samuel DeWitt Proctor Child Advocacy Conference.
