Posted on Sunday, March 8, 2015

The Sunday School Lesson of Selma’s “Bloody Sunday” 50 years later…(Pics from Selma 50 included)

Hello World,

My friend LaTosha Brown and the Obama girls…

For those of you who won’t make it to Sunday School this morning because of Daylight Savings Time (I’m opening my eyes wide right now because of that one hour), you don’t have a church home or you haven’t heard about Sunday School but want to know more, I’ve got you with a brief Sunday School lesson for you…Touch your neighbor and say, “Brief.” LOL…

In all seriousness as this subject requires, I cannot imagine living in a world in which I did not have the right to vote and yet that was essentially the case a mere eight years before I was born…Because of three marches in March 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, particularly the march that occurred on March 7, known as “Bloody Sunday” because of the violence the officers unleashed on the peaceful protestors, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became a law with the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson…

I believe it is no coincidence that “Bloody Sunday” occurred on a Sunday…Sunday is the day that Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ as he paid for the sins of humankind by shedding His blood and dying on the cross…One of the ultimate lessons in life is that without sacrifice, nothing changes…And the ultimate sacrifice is sacrificing your life or blood…

Because of the sacrifices paid by those involved in the American Civil Rights Movement, black Americans now enjoy many freedoms including the right to vote without facing discrimination although the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in 2013 with it’s decision to allow several states to change their election laws without federal preclearance.

That being said, the best way to honor the sacrifices of those on “Bloody Sunday” and in the other marches is to vote in every.single.election.

And, we have to remember that sacrifice is a key tenant in change as we grapple with how to stop black boys from being targeted whether by police officers or others in this country and Christians in Africa and the Middle East from being targeted by Boko Haram and ISIS…

Because “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,“ as Dr. King said…

And as President Obama, the ultimate fruition of Dr. King’s sacrifice and dream, said yesterday in Selma at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday…

Because Selma shows us that America is not the project of any one person. Because the single-most powerful word in our democracy is the word “We.” “We The People.” “We Shall Overcome.” “Yes We Can.” That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.

Fifty years from “Bloody Sunday,” our march is not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two hundred and thirty-nine years after this nation’s founding our union is not yet perfect, but we are getting closer. Our job’s easier because somebody already got us through that first mile. Somebody already got us over that bridge. When it feels the road is too hard, when the torch we’ve been passed feels too heavy, we will remember these early travelers, and draw strength from their example, and hold firmly the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on [the] wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”

To read President Obama’s entire speech, go to medium.com.

So that was your brief Sunday School lesson…

I wasn’t able to be there yesterday, but my friend LaTosha Brown was there. She wrote about her conflicting emotions as she prepared to go back to Selma, her hometown, this weekend in her blog post “Selma Is More Than A Place; Selma Is A People!” on her blog Latoshalove.blogspot.com. Little did LaTosha, who is an Atlanta transplant, know that not only would she be returning to her hometown to honor a critical time in our nation’s history she would also be able to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in arms length of of first black president of the United States…LaTosha is just behind First Lady Michelle Obama and is wearing the black sweater with white hearts 🙂

And here are a few more photos of LaTosha and her experience in Selma yesterday and her commentary that I am sharing with her permission…

Yesterday I was unexpectedly selected as part of a delegation to cross the bridge with the President of the United States and his family. I actually stood directly behind the first family. I’m still very happy about the experience. I walked with The foot soldiers and the first family. Can’t get no better than this.

First Lady Michelle Obama and LaTosha…(My friend cut off Mrs.Obamas head but I still appreciated this opportunity)

Got to take a photo with former Attorney General Holder...

A familiar face…Former President Bush and LaTosha…(Guess who gladly took a selfie and cracked a joke?!)

President Obama and Congressman John Lewis, one of the protestors beaten on “Bloody Sunday”…(I asked the President for a selfie and he cracked a joke and said, “I can’t take a selfie with you because then everybody would want one.” But I did get a photo from walking across the bridge behind him while leading freedom songs with him and his family, and foot soldiers.)

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, March 1, 2015

Kelly Gissendaner Will Be Executed on Monday Without Our Intervention…

Hello World,

Last week, when I first saw a story about Kelly Gissendaner, I quickly looked at the mug shot and read a few lines of the story “Weather Threat Postpones Georgia’s First Execution of a Woman in 70 Years” and concluded, she looks like a criminal and went on with my life…

But then through the blog post “When Is Grace Enough?” by Alisha L. Gordon on findthepieces.com, I saw another side of this dead woman walking initially through the picture above…and then through these words…

This matters, even now, as I have friends and colleagues who personally know Kelly. They’ve laughed and talked with her. They’ve walked with her through new theological understandings and guided her to completing a certificate in theological studies through the Candler School of Theology and the Lee Arrendale Prison, where she’s currently housed. The partnership between Candler and Arrendale has provided women like Kelly the opportunity to transform their lives — from the inside out. It has given her a fresh start on a life that took a terrible turn. It was a full extension of God’s grace in action. To read the rest of the blog post, go to findthepieces.com.

And then on Friday, on the WAOK radio program “Too Much Truth” with Derrick Boazman, I listened to the testimony of Nikki Roberts, a former inmate at Metro State Prison in Georgia and pastor’s daughter, who found herself in jail and suicidal…As a pastor’s daughter myself, I was compelled to listen as she cried and described her friendship with Kelly Gissendaner…But for Kelly Gissendaner, she may have taken her life…Nikki Roberts talks about Kelly Gissendaner here…

Kelly Gissendaner’s story has even found its way to The New York Times…

From “A Death Row Inmate Finds Common Ground With Theologians.”

A lot of convicted felons find God while in prison. Some of their stories rise to the level of literature — Oscar Wilde, Malcolm X. Others are less sincere; parole boards around the country are treated to a lot of conversion stories.

Few are anything like Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 46, who is scheduled on Monday to be put to death by lethal injection. She became pen pals with one of the world’s most prominent theologians.

In 1998, Ms. Gissendaner was sentenced to death for persuading her boyfriend to murder her husband. The crime, which she now admits, was brutal. Many, including some of her slain husband’s relatives, want her to die. She probably will; the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency this week. To read the rest of the story, go here.

Here is a link to her clemency application

If you are moved to support Kelly Gissendaner like I am, you can contact:

Gov. Nathan Deal at 404-656-1776 or @GovernorDeal on Twitter. You can also contact the Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles at 404-656-4661 and www.pap.georgia.gov.

You can also:

sign this change.org petition…

or sign this letter if you are a clergy member

Also, tonight at 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., “A Vigil of Light, Life and Solidarity for Kelly Gissendaner” will held at the William R. Cannon Chapel at 515 S Kilgo Cir NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30322.

All are welcome to come and celebrate Kelly Gissendaner and what she has meant to the many communities of which she is part. The service will feature several speakers who testified on Tuesday at Kelly’s clemency hearing before the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles — as well as music, poetry, and prayer.

Speakers:

Rev. Yolanda Thompson, MDiv/MSJ
Pastor, Joy n’Java Fellowship

Rev. Della P. Bacote, M.Div.
Chaplain, St. Thomas Healthcare System
Teacher, Metro Nashville Public Schools
Watson Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Nashville, TN

And here is link to a Facebook page supporting Kelly Gissendaner, and if you tweet about Kelly Gissendaner, use the hashtag #KellyOnMyMind…

And of course, she can use our prayers….

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2015

Andraé Crouch: My Tribute…

Hello World,

When I discovered late Thursday night that Andraé Crouch, called “the greatest hymn writer of our age, the modern-day John Wesley,” by Billy Graham (according to LeVar Burton in this video) passed away, I knew I had to honor him in today’s post…What I most admired about Mr. Crouch was how he shared his gift of music in song after song decade after decade…From the time he was young until he got old, he didn’t stop until he literally could no longer continue…And so though my words may not be as inspired as his music, the best way I can honor him is to share my words…

Dear Mr. Andraé Crouch,

I don’t know if you will read my words from all the way up in Heaven, but I still want to write “My Tribute” to you…

Praise God! No longer do you have to sing “Soon and Very Soon,” because you are now in the very presence of Our King! “I Don’t Know Why,” our Father took you when He did, but I know you are up there singing, “Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus” like you could never sing it before!

Since you were ushered into the Heavenly gates on Thursday, you now know for yourself that “Jesus is The Answer” for this sinful world, but you no longer have to live with sin. Your earthly clay has been removed, and now your soul can soar! Because I still live in my earthly clay, bound in sin, sometimes, I want to despair. But I am so glad you reminded us the “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power” to save me from my sin. And “Through It All,” I pray one day I will be right where you must be this Sunday morning.

Even though the angels have probably welcomed you into your eternal rest, you probably declared to them, “I’m Gonna Keep on Singing” because that is just what God created me to do! And I’m so grateful that God allowed you to leave a precious legacy of music, because although your earthly body is no more, still “We Need to Hear From You.” And with that, “Let the Church Say Amen.”

Blessings,

Jacqueline J. Holness

Below is a video in which Mr. Crouch shares his testimony about when God gave him the gift of music at a Billy Graham crusade in 1975…

Below is more information about the funeral arrangements for Mr. Crouch:

A celebration of Andraé Crouch’s life will take place on Tuesday, January 20th and Wednesday, January 21st at West Angeles Church of God In Christ, located at 3045 Crenshaw Blvd in Los Angeles, California. Both services will be open to the public.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Viewing: 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Tribute Celebration: 7:00pm

Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Viewing: 10:00am – 11:00am
Celebration of Life: 11:00am

In lieu of flowers, please send tax-deductible donations to:
Andraé Crouch Memorial Fund
c/o New Christ Memorial Church
13333 Vaughn
Pacoima, CA 91340
www.newchristmemorial.org

Cards and letters may be sent to:
New Christ Memorial Church
Attn.: Mauri Jones
13333 Vaughn
Pacoima, CA 91340

Also, if you live in the metro Atlanta area, Gospel Announcer Larry Tinsley will be honoring Mr. Crouch’s music during his “Sunday Morning Praise” broadcast 6 am to 12 pm on V-103.

Any thoughts?