Category Archives: Church

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Dr. King’s Church Ebenezer Baptist Church Hosts ‘Worship in Wakanda’ Today Ahead of Tonight’s Oscars!

Hello World,

Tonight is the Superbowl of the movie industry! In other words, the 91st Academy Awards aka The Oscars, as fraught with controversy as it may be and has been, is tonight at 8 pm! Of all of the nominees, I’m most interested in “Black Panther” as a nominee for Best Picture! “Black Panther” was the highest grossing film of 2018 and was the third highest grossing film in the United States EVER and should definitely win tonight!

And if you did not know, “Black Panther” was filmed in Atlanta, which has been called the real Wakanda, the fictional destination in the movie where black excellence is fostered and celebrated every day of the year not only during Black History Month! I don’t know if this on purpose, but Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King and his father Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. served as pastors, is hosting “Worship in Wakanda” today at its church services.

And here I am in my African garb to see the movie!

According to the flyer, on this Black Emphasis Sunday, African heritage, highlighting black genius and creativity, will be honored. Also, members are being encouraged to wear Afr0-centric or Afro futuristic attire. And “Black Panther” costume designer Ruth E. Carter could be the first black person to win an Oscar for costume design if she wins tonight! Remember when erebody was posting pics of themselves in African garb to see the movie? #WakandaForever!

Another Atlanta hero and civil rights giant Congressman John Lewis will be one of the best picture presenters tonight!

And speaking of civil rights, today begins the last week that the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta is free to visit! Coca Cola paid the admission for all to visit for free during Black History Month! I’ve visited and what I loved the most is seeing the collage of mug shots of the young people of all races who were willing to be arrested for the cause of civil rights back in the ’60s. Some of them looked as young as my 17-year-old nephew…

Anywho, I’m watching the Oscars tonight! What about you?

Any thoughts?

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Viral Older Couple Murphy & Lucinda Wilson Appear on ‘STEVE’ & More Valentine’s Day News…

Hello World,

Happy Valentine’s Day Y’all! As has been said, “You Can’t Hurry Love, No You’ll Just Have to Wait.” After deciding that I most definitely wanted to get married in 2003 (and telling God to show up right then), I had to wait until Valentine’s Day weekend 2010 to go out on a first date with the man who would become my husband in 2013! (Happy First Date Anniversary to US) That’s seven years of waiting if you’re paying attention!

And some have to wait even longer than that…Two years ago, the joyful engagement photos of an older Alabama couple Murphy Wilson and Lucinda Wilson, who are both in their 70s, went viral likely because their story proves that love can happen at any age! Lucinda, who had been divorced for 30 years, was able to find love again when she met Murphy, whose wife had died in 2013, at their church…

Below is an excerpt of their story from their engagement photographer Gianna Snell’s website…

Lucinda Myers, a florist and baker, moved to Huntsville, AL in July 2013, the same month that Murphy returned to church. Myers is originally from Boston, which coincidentally is also Murphy’s hometown. Having been divorced and single for 30 years, she had been praying and waiting for God to send her a husband. And although the wait was difficult, and she had moments of saying out loud, “God, where is he?”…she kept on praying and doing the things that made her happy, such as cake decorating, babysitting and helping others. She moved to Huntsville for a fresh start.

Each Saturday, Lucinda sat in the balcony on the front row at church while Murphy was one row behind. For over 3 years, they both occupied the same space in church but didn’t have any interaction with each other. Murphy had made it up in his mind that he was not going to talk to anyone because he really wanted God to do the choosing.

But one day, something caught his eye… “It was her hair,” he said. “And then she turned around, and Man…she’s got this smile. She was very attractive…I just couldn’t stop looking at her.”

Still not saying a word to her from week to week, Murphy became more and more intrigued by this woman… so much so that a nearby church member caught Murphy staring at Lucinda one day. After church, the woman approached Lucinda and told her that she had a secret admirer in the balcony. Lucinda was shocked because she’d had no interaction with him, so she emphatically said, “Well if he is admiring me, he has to come to me. I’m certainly not chasing any man.”

To read the whole story, go to giannasnellphotography.com.

The couple told their love story to Steve Harvey on his show STEVE earlier this month. Check out the video below!

And if you find yourself engaged today and live in the metro Atlanta area, but don’t have the money to get married or other circumstances have prevented you and your love from tying the knot, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church is FREE City Wide Wedding during their 9:30 AM Worship Service on Sunday, Feb. 24!  Now, pre-marital counseling is required for 2 sessions in their Multi-Purpose Room in order to obtain a Marriage Certificate from New Birth. And two sessions will be held THIS Saturday February 16 from 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM and THIS Sunday, February 17 12:30 PM – 3:00 PM! For more information, go to newbirth.org.

Also, if you are single today, you can get free wings at Hooters! From Thrillist: It’s true. Head to the famously skimpy restaurant on February 14, and you can partake in its annual “Shred Your Ex” event. Buy 10 wings, rip up a photo of your ex, and you’re going to land 10 boneless wings for free. As Jimmy Durante would say, “Hot cha cha.” If having to step over the waggling tongues of drooling pubescent teens isn’t your idea of a good time on a lonely Valentine’s Day, you can shred exes online. After you tear your former partner to pieces, you’ll get a digital coupon and can order some wings to take back to your empty apartment. Though if you do it at a restaurant, the pictures go into a shredder, which will truly impress the teens at the table next to yours. Teens love shredders!

Finally, whether you’re hitched or single and just love a good love story any time of the year, one of my favorite authors Kim Cash Tate is a launching a new web series “CLING” on You Tube. Premiering March 9, A New Love Story. It’s time to cling to your First Love. Shiloh ‘Rikki’ Stevens has a thriving ministry inspiring countless women to cling to God. But as her personal life crumbles, she finds herself holding on to God for dear life . . . and sometimes losing a grip. Created and written by Kim Cash Tate. Directed by Will Thomas. See the trailer above!

Any thoughts?

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Pastor Jamal Bryant’s Ex-Wife Gizelle Bryant Pens New Novel Loosely Based on Her Life!

Hello World,

One of my favorite ways to relax on a Sunday evening is to watch The Real Houseswives of Atlanta. While Real Housewives of Potomac star Gizzelle Bryant doesn’t live in the A, I wonder what her ex-husband Dr. Jamal Bryant, who recently became the new senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia thinks about his ex-wife’s new book “My Word?” The novel, which is being published by Brown Girls Books, according to Gizzelle’s Instagram page  is “loosely based on my dramatic, happy, fun, sad, crazy life.”

Below is the description of the book, which can be pre-ordered before it’s official debut on April 3o:

After marrying her college sweetheart, Ginger Williams gave up her own professional dreams to help her husband follow his dream of building a megachurch. It’s not long before Ginger and her husband, Jeremy, turn a small D.C. church into a burgeoning empire….catapulting the couple into a popular powerhouse.

But with a bigger spotlight comes more temptation…and the power is corrupting Jeremy in ways Ginger never imagined. When she seeks the advice of her peers on the First Ladies’ Council, she’s shocked when they tell her to accept Jeremy’s infidelities so she doesn’t damage the church and affect the many business opportunities coming their way.

With every part of her life—family faith, and finances—hanging in the balance, Ginger must decide if she will continue to live in the shadow of the sins of her husband…or face life on the other side of the pulpit.

Is Ginger really Gizzelle? And is Jeremy really Jamal? That would only make sense…And Gizelle, with some rosary beads dangling from her red lips, is the cover model for her upcoming novel so….My Word For Real!

Gizzelle wrote about the inspiration for “My Word” on her Bravo blog…

“I have lived a very interesting life. I am now in a space where I want to share tidbits of my story in a fictitious way on my terms… Again, whether I wrote one book or 17, this is FICTION and I can’t nor do I want to damage the black church…”

Although both Dr. Jamal Bryant and Gizzelle Bryant (or Jeremy and Ginger 🙂 ) have spoken about what broke up their marriage, they seem to be getting along well right now, at least according to Gizzelle’s Instagram’s page…

She congratulated him about coming to New Birth….

Dr. Bryant will officially be installed as senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on March 10!

 

And on last Father’s Day, Gizzelle said this about Dr. Bryant…

So will you be buying “My Word?”

Any thoughts?