Posted on Sunday, January 19, 2014

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day…An Atlanta Salon & Spa Gives Back….

Hello World,

As a black woman and an American (via Jamaica), I am in awe of the legacy of service of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To me, he is one of the founding fathers of this nation although he was born centuries after the official founding fathers. The fact that we have a holiday to celebrate his life is a testament to the power of God! I love always love being an Atlantan but on this weekend, it is particularly special to be here, the birthplace of Dr. King.

One Atlanta salon is celebrating his legacy by serving the community. As part of a day of service, the team at 1245 Salon and Spa will do its part to give back to others Monday, January 20 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The salon, at 1245 Fowler Street NW near Atlantic Station, will open its doors to the nonprofit organization Uplifting the Community.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 1245 Salon and Spa will provide free hair services and free clothing and shoes, along with free tax preparation advice (handled by a professional tax preparer) to approximately 50 clients of the Atlanta-based organization that serves adults 18 to 61 with serious mental health and substance abuse issues.

Uplifting the Community, located at 2001 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, will provide shuttle service for its clients to and from 1245. The salon has collected donated clothing, shoes, food, including canned goods, beauty supply products and more to help make the day a success. This will mark 1245 Salon and Spa’s first time providing a day of service at the salon. Stylists previously have volunteered on MLK Day on location through Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless.

Some 16 stylists will donate their services; this includes salon owners/siblings Terrell Mack, Tammy White and Rodney Mack, who will be joined by other 1245 Salon and Spa stylists plus professionals from four additional salons. A makeup artist and styling team from Forever 21 at Cumberland Mall also will be on hand.

Salon owners say they hope to make this an annual project. “Giving back is important to us at 1245 Salon and Spa, including with our work with Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless for many years on Martin Luther King Jr. Day,” says Terrell Mack, master stylist and co-owner. “We wanted a way to continue serving others and for this year’s day of service, we’re honored to offer our time and talent to Uplifting the Community.”

Incidentally, I featured 1245 Salon and Spa back on October when the salon and spa showed off its renovations in “Taking Care of Your Temple: Introducing 1245 Salon and Spa’s New Look!!!”

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2014

The Content Of One’s Character…Central Christian Church Hosts 8th Annual Racial Reconciliation Service!

Hello World,

Had Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived, today would have been his 85th birthday! Although he is no longer here with us, I think the best way to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday is to honor his legacy which he spoke of so passionately and eloquently in his “I Have a Dream” speech delivered Aug. 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in our nation’s capital…One of my favorite sentences in Dr. King’s speech is below….

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I think our nation has made great progress in allowing people of all races the opportunity to be judged by the content of their character rather than their skin color. While the American church has not always been at the forefront of equitable race relations, we have a long way as well…

My father, Dr. Denzil D. Holness, pastor of Central Christian Church in Southwest Atlanta, has been a champion of racial reconciliation in the Christian Church and began hosting our church’s Racial Reconciliation eight years ago in honor of Dr. King’s birthday and as a way of bonding Christians of all races.

Join us THIS Sunday, Jan. 19, at 11 a.m. for our 8th Annual Racial Reconciliation Service. Dr. Billy Strother, a full-time Professor of Preaching and New Testament at Point University, West Point, Ga., will be our guest speaker. The youth of our church will be paying tribute to Dr. King. And you know we’ve got to have the fellowship dinner after service!

Central Christian Church is located at 1916 Dodson Drive, Atlanta, GA 30311. For more information, call (404) 344-4114.

Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2013

Looking Back: 2013 in Posts…

Hello World,

In just two days, we get to press the virtual reset button on our lives and begin anew…But before we plot our path into the future, it is always wise to see where we have traveled up until this point…One the ways that I reflect on my journey is to go through the posts on this blog month by month and consider the events of the year…so indulge me a bit as I highlight the best of After the Altar Call 2013….

January 2013 – I was one of two authors selected as an emerging writer for 2012 by Written Magazine! Kim Green (author of “Hallucination”) and I read from our work as a part of Written Magazine’s “Wine & Words” at the historic Hammonds House Museum. It was a real blessing in more ways than one! In January 13, my beloved sorority celebrated its 100th birthday!

February 2013 – I recounted some of the the scandals that have shaken up the church, particularly the Atlanta church …From Bishop Eddie Long Accuser Centino Kemp To Release Tell-All Book to RHOA Kandi Burruss Releases Gospel Song “Stay Prayed Up” with Marvin Sapp

March 2013 – I revealed I am working on a novel in “The Next Big Thing…aka My Next Book in Progress…” I’m not quite finished with the rough draft, but my novel is shaping up to be a juicy page-turner (if I say so myself…at least prayerfully… 🙂 )

April 2013 – By April, I was in full wedding planning mode and was stunned by the average cost of a wedding…An astounding $25,656, according to theweddingreport.com….so of course I wrote the post “The Wedding Industry Heist aka maybe I should go in the wedding planning business.” I was also saddened by the Boston Marathon bombing…Although I am a late bloomer to running, I have fallen in love with it and wrote “An Ode to Running (my tribute to the people affected by the Boston Marathon bombing…).”

May 2013 – President Obama becomes an honorary “Morehouse Man,” delivering the commencement address to the 2013 to the graduating class of Morehouse College! It was the first time that a sitting president has ever addressed a spring commencement in the state! I was blessed to be to cover the event…

Brand new Morehouse Man President Obama!

June 2013 – I expressed my disappointment that a wedding vendor “jacked” $600 from me, but thankfully, with the Lord’s wisdom and guidance, I was able to get my money back!

July 2013 – The day after George Zimmerman was allowed to go free in spite of killing unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, all I could do was be quiet and reflect in “Why the Trayvon Martin Murder Case Matters…Peace Be Still”…And while I am no psychologist, one has to wonder why George Zimmerman continues to get in trouble following the not-guilty verdict…Is his guilt prompting him to act out in ways that will get him locked up? I guess we will know in time…

August 2013 – One of the best events in my life happened this month…I married my ace boon coon on August 10, and we traveled to Hawaii, the state of President Obama was born, for our honeymoon…Yep, it was the best month of the year…We also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his impassioned and ultimately prophetic “I Have A Dream” speech.

September 2013 – I joined the 4-0 club this month…I still cannot believe I am 40 years old…I remember when I turned 13…but those days are gone now…Hello Middle Age…LOL…Sadly, 50 years ago this month, members of the Ku Klux Klan, planted a bomb at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and killed four girls, Addie Mae Collins, 14; Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; and Cynthia Wesley, 14…

October 2013 – On Oct. 22, my friend and Delta line sister went home to be with the Lord…Although she is with her savior, the one who knows her and loves her best, and is now cancer-free, we miss her so…I had a dream about her last night…Please keep her family in your prayers…“The Light and the Life that was Lola…”

November 2013 – I was blessed to be able to speak to students at Milligan College and take a trip down memory lane with my parents who accompanied me on the trip…My father received one of his several degrees there in 1972, the year before I was born. In fact, when my parents arrived on Milligan’s campus they had just gotten married

The entrance of Milligan College…

months before in August 1971.

December 2013 – Every holiday season, it is hard not to lose ourselves in the Christmas commercialism, but thankfully, I am always able somehow to remind myself that Jesus is the real reason for the season in “Seven Scriptures to Remind Us that Jesus is the Real Reason for the Season…(Repost)” I also celebrated my first Christmas with the hubby…we are still working on figuring out to celebrate holidays with two families…

Our first Christmas together tree ornament…I know it’s corny but…

Any thoughts?