All Black Lives Matter to God
All Black lives matter to God, so how do we ensure that all Black lives matter in our communities? How do we live up to the divine mandate to ensure justice is an integral part of our society?
Category: Features
Maundy Thursday Communion
Here’s a mini Maundy Thursday service. I really enjoyed this message from SarcasticLutheran. “Hurt people, hurt people. Forgiven people, forgive people. And loved people, love people.” Sermon Communion Minister: The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my […]
Dust of the Earth Face Ass
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Humans are interesting creatures. We don’t like to face our own mortality. It scares us. The uncertainty combined with the finality of death is terrifying. So we avoid facing our own mortality at all cost. We pretend that we and our parents aren’t aging. […]
Leaning Into Grief
Grief is a wet, weighted blanket being thrown at you full speed. It’s heavy. It knocks you down. It hurts. You can’t breathe, you can’t see, and you can barely move. There are times when you have time to prepare for the impending grief. You can anticipate its arrival and steady yourself for its impact. […]
Grammy Listening Party 2020
Each year I attempt to listen to every Grammy nominated record or album. It’s as great way to find new music and pick my favorites. It also lessens the, “Who is that?!?!” confusion I’ve often felt during the show. After a few years of live tweeting my adventure at #GrammyListeningParty, folks asked to join me. […]
Where Are My Panties?
We drank Hennessy and tequila and danced to our favorite songs in an old chapel surrounded by Christian icons and beautiful artwork, and it was holy. We saw the sacred in the secular, and God was in that place.
Black Christ vs. the Enslavers God
Many of us have chosen to worship a God who resembles the white slave master, a God focused on controlling behavior, policing sexuality, and keeping people in their place, a God aligned with the capitalistic, white supremacist, sexist, and patriarchal values of mainstream America. But that isn’t the only God we have access to.
The Danger of Discrediting “Strippers Rapping”
Salt-N-Pepa’s lyrics helped me learn to verbalize the concepts of sexual liberation, autonomy, and women’s ability to be sexual without losing their dignity. Their lyrics were a rebellious voice that challenged the sexism, respectability politics, and the confining and conservative interpretation of womanhood that was present in the church and culture around me.
abortion. life. dignity. theology.
what about the women?The story of Moses is one of the most well-known stories in the biblical canon. Sunday school classes study it, pastors preach it, Charlton Heston portrayed him, and Disney adapted his story. Moses’ story is so common that most people assume they know it and breeze through when reading or hearing it, […]
reading beyond me
We have the responsibility to bear witness to the way people who don’t look like us, people who don’t love like us, and people who don’t confront the world like us experience the world. Let books be a tiny step in helping us do just that.
Black Jesus, a Non-Virgin Mary and the Image of God
Last week NBC announced that John Legend had been cast as Jesus of Nazareth in Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! which will air Easter Sunday. Legend’s casting bumps against the traditional portrayal of Jesus as a white man, despite historical and biblical accounts describing Jesus as a Middle Eastern Jew. While it’s important to […]
Why Cardi B and Her Wins Make You So Uncomfortable
But not everyone has celebrated her wins. No matter what Cardi accomplishes, there’s always a choir ready to harmonize and disparage her based on her past work as an exotic dancer. But why?
Book Review: The Hate U Give
In the midst of an overwhelming newscycle, I decided to escape in a book. Most of what I read is nonfiction and requires way too much brain power, so I grabbed a fiction book, The Hate U Give. It was the previous month’s selection in the Reading While Black Book Club. I’m always behind and […]
Dear White People…Get Your Cousins
A few years ago one of my middle school classmate’s mother befriended me on Facebook. Her daughter and I cheered together, and her and my mom used to chat when we were at practice, games and camps. They were both doctor’s wives, so I guessed they talked about doctor’s wives stuff. Not long after befriending […]
“In Defense of R. Kelly…”
While driving back from the beach Sunday afternoon, R. Kelly’s “Bump n’ Grind” came on a 90’s playlist. Carpool karaoke ended. An awkward silence fell throughout the car. And frowns appeared on our faces. “I just can’t listen to his music anymore.” “Because he’s an unapologetic sexual predator who sings about his sins,” I responded. […]