Category Archives: Church

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The Christian Faith of Actress Cicely Tyson, Viewing to be Held at Abyssinian Baptist Church Feb. 15 & More…

Hello World,

I find it profoundly mysterious that two days after beloved, award-winning actress and my Delta sorority sister Cicely Tyson released the lone book that she penned about her life and life’s work, the Lord took her from the earthly realm to the heavenly realm. It was as if to say now that her life and life’s work were chronicled in her memoir Just As I Am (the title taken from the heralded hymn that inspired her as a teenager), there was nothing left to be or to do. She was blessed to live 96 years and had the strength to work up until the very end as she was promoting her memoir in various interviews. While many of us were likely familiar with much of her work from Roots to The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman to various Tyler Perry movies to How to Get Away With Murder to most recently Cherish the Day (and this is just a sampling of her work), I, for one, was not aware of her Christian faith that sustained her throughout her life. But her pastor Rev. Calvin Butts III of the well-known Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City, where her public viewing will be held on on Monday, Feb. 15 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) was keenly aware of her Christian faith. Below are a few excerpts from Cicely Tyson’s Pastor Remembers her Faith as Family Announces Public Viewing by Leonardo Blair of The Christian Post.

“She had a place in our church where she would sit. She bought that pew in memory of her mother. We don’t sell pews so that people can sit in them, but she donated to our church and she asked that when she was here if she could sit there, and of course, we agreed.

“But she would come to church often and you wouldn’t even know she was here. She would not be spectacular as she can be, she would just sit in the back and worship God. She was here every Sunday when she could be when she wasn’t working, traveling. She was a good member,” he said. “I believe she is enjoying the peace of Heaven. Cicely Tyson will be missed. Our hearts are broken and we are saddened, but she lived a triumphant life. She was God’s gift to us.”

Cicely Tyson’s family circa 1927, from left: her father, William; sister, Emily; mother, Fredericka; brother, Melrose, whom the family called Beau; and Cicely, age 2. | CREDIT: COURTESY CICELY TYSON

Additionally, she spoke on Women’s Day on March 11, 2018 at Abyssinian Baptist Church about growing up in church, where her family attended “Sunday morning till Saturday night.”

“We attended church like Sunday, I played the organ, I taught Sunday school, I had evening service. Monday we had young people’s meeting, Tuesday, old people’s meeting,” she said to another burst of laughter.

“Wednesday, we gathered together to try to introduce young children to the way of God. Thursday, we had club meeting. Friday, I sang and rehearsed in the choir and Saturday, we cleaned the church. I decided at one point that if I ever lived to become a woman I would never enter the portals of church again. And here I am standing in the pulpit of one of the biggest churches in the world,” she said to applause.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

Additionally, below is a link to watch Cicely Tyson’s Barnes & Noble interview with Tyler Perry, who had a mother and son relationship:


Here are a few key moments from the interview:

  • Tyler Perry asked Tyson when she was going to write her memoir for years. And for years, she would reply, “When I have something to say.” See 5:33 of the video.
  • How her breakthrough role as Rebeccca in “Sounder” led to the arresting cover image on her memoir. While doing promotional work for the movie in London, she was photographed by Lord Snowden, who asked if she would allow him to take pictures of her for his collection. The photograph, which she didn’t see at the time, was sent to Arthur Mitchell, a ballet dancer and her close friend, as a gift from Snowden to Mitchell. When Mitchell passed, the photograph which was hung above his headboard for years, was given to Tyson. She was “stunned” as she had not seen it before. When she saw it, she said, “That will be the cover of my book.” See 6:58 of the video.
  • When she was 31 years old and in an acting class, she was sexually assaulted by the teacher Paul Mann! “He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me down, and we fought like cats and dogs. I was finally able to free myself from him, and he was left with a handful of my hair in his hand.” See 11:00 of the video.

And as a 47-year-old woman, the fact that she didn’t get her proverbial “big break” until she was 48 years old was inspiring. See an excerpt of this Washington Post article Cicely Tyson, Actress who Gave Electrifying Portrayals of Resilient Black Women, dies at 96 by Adam Bernstein.

Ms. Tyson was a struggling actress at 48, when her fortunes turned seemingly overnight when she won a leading role in “Sounder.” She played a dirt-poor but proud woman trying to raise her son while her husband (Paul Winfield) is jailed for stealing meat to feed his family. Movie critic Roger Ebert called “Sounder” “simply told and universally moving” and singled out Ms. Tyson’s work for its nuance. “It is a wonder to see the subtleties in her performance,” Ebert wrote. “We have seen her with her family, and we know her strength and intelligence. Then we see her dealing with the white power structure, and her behavior toward it is in a style born of cynicism and necessity. She will say what they want to hear in order to get what she wants to get.” See the rest of the article HERE.

The world will certainly miss Cicely Tyson. But to be absent from this world is to be present with God. 

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Any thoughts?

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Black Pastor Dwight McKissic Sr. Shares Racist Letter He Received After Leaving the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention

Hello World,

When will our country ever be rid of racism? Sometimes, I feel pretty hopeless about the prospect. That may never happen in the country at large, but what about in the church? Check out this letter that Rev. Dwight McKissic, Sr., founder and current senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas recently received.

There is an element among Southern Baptists who believe that racism is a myth and systemic injustice no longer exists….

Posted by William Dwight McKissic Sr. on Monday, February 1, 2021

Also recently, McKissic announced that he and his church were leaving the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Below is an article in which he is interviewed about his decision.

Why did you decide to leave the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention?

At their annual state convention, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention passed a resolution, essentially denouncing critical race theory. Having some limited understanding of it, I could not embrace where the SBTC was on that question so I’m no longer compatible with them and made the decision that we need to disengage from them. As a matter of fact, I got the confirmation today they received our letter. See the rest HERE.

Just pathetic…

Any thoughts?

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Pastor Tom Buck Calls Vice President Kamala Harris ‘Jezebel’ on Twitter & Stands By Slur After Backlash…

Hello World,

Even though I’m hurt, I’m not surprised. Tom Buck, pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas tweeted this about our country’s first female vice president, Kamala Harris, who is of black and Indian descent. See below:

As was noted in an article “SBC [Southern Baptist Convention] pastor calls Vice President Kamala Harris a ‘Jezebel’ two days after inauguration” written by Mark Wingfield of BaptistNews.com, “calling a black woman ‘Jezebel’ is a racist trope documented by the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. It has roots in slavery and the perceived sexual promiscuity of black women compared to white women.”

Below is how Pastor Buck explained his statement because he likely was told that his comment seemed racist.

Obviously, many had lots to say in response to these tweets. Here is one  response from Wingfield’s article: “Some noted his hypocrisy for eagerly supporting Donald Trump; others castigated him for advancing a racist trope. One commenter wrote: ‘It’s funny how willing the SBC was to overlook Trump’s divorces, his affairs, his sexual assault allegations, the dishonesty, and the constant cruelty, but it is a woman whose politics they disagree with who draws their contempt.'”

You can read the entire article HERE for all of the details. But this is why I’m hurt. Everybody knows that black people have been marginalized and much more in these not so United States of America for generations. As black people have ascended, through the grace of God, to places and positions that would have been unthinkable to previous generations, black people feel a sense of pride that we are finally able demonstrate that we’ve had the potential all along although it wasn’t recognized on a wider scale before recent history.

And people of other races, ethnic backgrounds, etc. should be able to understand why although some don’t or maybe won’t, which I’m not surprised by. Sadly, it’s been that way for longer than I’ve been here. Even if you disagree with Vice President Harris’ politics and that is fair, name calling, particularly, in this example is insensitive. The more productive thing to do would be to work to change policies with which you disagree. The same grace that was extended to the former president despite how his choices didn’t always reflect Christian principles  is the same grace that needs to be extended to Vice President Harris. Actually, let me rephrase that as some supporters of the former president appeared to be in a cult or else the insurrection at the capitol wouldn’t have happened. A better way to say this is that many Christians were willing to work with the former president even if they didn’t agree with everything about him. That should be true for Vice President Harris.

Christians will be never be able convince the broader culture that we are different unless we are different. I try my hardest (well not always) to be different. Anywho, that’s all I have to say about that. Below are a few more of Pastor’s Buck’s tweets just for additional information…

Final thought:  I will stop being proud of “first black” or “first female” designations for that matter when we no longer need to denote “first black” or “first female.”

What say you?

Any thoughts?