Category Archives: Politics

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The Inaugural Black Church Presidential Candidate Conversation Series Will Feature Five Democratic Presidential Candidates in Atlanta Starting Tomorrow!

Hello World,

If you are interested in getting to know the Democratic presidential candidates, you need to get to A! According to the AJC:

Five Democratic presidential hopefuls will converge on Atlanta later this week for a forum with African American church leaders and thousands of black millennials.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro are slated to speak at the Young Leaders Conference on Friday afternoon at the Georgia International Convention Center.

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders will be interviewed onstage a day later beginning at 11:30 a.m., according to Black Church PAC, which is co-hosting the event. The conference is expected to draw 5,000 African American millennials and will be live-streamed on social media, organizers said.

Mark Moore, Jr., the Atlanta-based pastor who is hosting the conference, said having five presidential candidates in attendance “demonstrates the inherent power and potential of our black church millennials and the unique appeal of our gathering.” To read the entire article, go to ajc.com and see the flyer above for more details.

If you are interested in the entire conference, which starts today, see the flyer below….

Any thoughts?

 

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The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Magazine Articles for Black Christian Women in May 2019

Hello World,

Happy June! I’m back with my monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine articles for black Christian women! So below is my Top 10 monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine/newspaper articles for black Christian women for May but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out 🙂  As usual, let me know if you like my list! Enjoy and share!

1. “For the First Time in History, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America Are All Black” by BOTWC Staff

Excerpt: We already know that Black is beautiful, but for the first time in history the top beauty pageants in the country have simultaneously elevated this truth. Three Black women are currently wearing crowns as the 2019 Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America. When Cheslie Kryst’s name was announced as Miss USA on Thursday she completed the historic trio with pageant winners 2019 Miss America Nia Franklin and recently crowned 2019 Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris. See more at: becauseofthemwecan.com. 

2.”Ciara Finally Lets Us In On The Prayer That Led Her To Russell Wilson” by Taylor Honore

Excerpt: Since Ciara and Russell Wilson got married in 2016, single women everywhere have been scouring the church pews in search of the fateful prayer the 33-year-old “Level Up” singer said in order that to secure the man of her dreams, and sis finally gave up a sip of the proverbial tea. See more at: xonecole.com. 

3. “Searching For A New Church Home? Here Are 6 Things To Consider” by Ashley Hobbs

Excerpt: You’ve visited twenty different churches but none seem to fit. Some Sundays, you’re excited to get up, get dressed and go search. Other times, you’d rather pledge membership to Bedside Baptist and call it a day. But there is a tug at your spirit. Your desire for faith community is growing by the day and YouTube sermons are starting to feel supplementary at best. You want to experience God corporately in a way that not only transforms your life but others’ lives through you. I’ll say this: Sometimes you find what you want by experiencing what you don’t. Finding the right church home is an important search and it takes time, trial and error, and a discerning heart to find a community that speaks to you. A faith space in which you can grow, serve, and thrive. See more at: xonecole.com.

4. “All-Black World War II Women’s Battalion To Be Honored at Memorial Day Parade” by Andrea Cambron

Excerpt: The Women’s Army Corps, created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 1, 1943, included a little known battalion of African American women. Nicknamed “Six Triple Eight,” the unit of 824 women traveled overseas to England and France where they were tasked with handling, sorting and delivering an immense backlog of mail destined for and sent by U.S. forces. Women of the Six Triple Eight ran their own mess hall, hair salon, refreshment bar and other recreational facilities. When the unit’s military police were denied firearms, they instead trained in jujitsu, an effective alternative in keeping intruders out of their compound. See more at: wtop.com.

5. “Nigerians Celebrate Leah Sharibu’s 16th Birthday, Demand Her Release” by Samson Folarin and James Abraham

Excerpt: Sharibu was among the 112 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram members at the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, on February 19, 2018. While most of the victims were released, she was reportedly held for refusing to deny her Christian faith. On Tuesday, May 14, Nigerians took to different social media platforms to mark her birthday as they demanded her release after 449 days in captivity. See more at: punchng.com. 

6. “‘God Has Been Calling Me Here:’ First Female, Black Episcopal Bishop in Colorado Talks Her Past and the Church’s Future” by Allison Levine

Excerpt: For the first time in history, the Episcopal Church in Colorado will be led by an African-American woman. On Saturday, the church hosted the ordination and consecration of Kym Lucas as its 11th bishop. She is both the church’s first woman bishop and first black bishop.  See more at: 9news.com.

7. “Unita Blackwell, Civil Rights Pillar and First Black Woman Mayor in Mississippi, Dies at 86” by Adam Ganucheau

Excerpt: Unita Blackwell, the sharecropper who later became the first black woman mayor in the state of Mississippi and advised six U.S. presidents, died Monday at age 86. Her son Jeremiah Blackwell Jr. told Mississippi Today his mother died Monday morning at a hospital in Biloxi after a long battle with dementia. See more at: mississippitoday.org.

8. “How Black Women Championed Demands for Reparations” by FM Editors

Excerpt: Sojourner Truth also demanded reparations for slavery through land redistribution. Following the end of slavery, during Reconstruction, Truth argued that slaves helped to build the nation’s wealth and therefore should be compensated. In 1870, she circulated a petition requesting Congress to provide land to the “freed colored people in and about Washington” to allow them “to support themselves.” Yet, Truth’s efforts were not successful. US former slaves got no land or financial support after the end of slavery. See more at: faithfullymagazine.com.

9. “Uzo Aduba To Play Shirley Chisholm In FX Limited Series, ‘Mrs. America’” by  Wilson Morales

Excerpt: Mrs. America tells the story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and the unexpected backlash led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly, played by Blanchett. Through the eyes of the women of that era – both Schlafly and second wave feminists Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus – the series explores how one of the toughest battlegrounds in the culture wars of the 70s helped give rise to the Moral Majority and forever shifted our political landscape. See more at: blackfilm.com. 

10. “This Traveling Library Is Making Sure ‘Black Women’s Literature Has the Place It Deserves'” by Char Adams

Excerpt: So she kicked off the project by asking friends and family to simply donate a book to her cause. Nearly four years ago, that little girl marked her first trade, and now, Akinmowo has over 1,000 books in what she has named the Free Black Women’s Library. Since then, she’s set up a collection of books in monthly pop-ups all around Brooklyn, New York. Having graduated from brownstone stoops, the library now functions as a traveling biblio-installation that sets up shop in museums, creative spaces, theaters, art galleries, churches, and festivals. See more at: oprahmag.com. 

If you know of any black Christian women bloggers and or writers, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com as I’m always interested in expanding my community of black Christian women blogs and websites. As I noted before, while this is a roundup of interesting blog posts and or magazine and newspaper articles for black Christian women, you don’t have to be one to appreciate these pieces  🙂.

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Lamenting the Death of Christian Blogger & Author Rachel Held Evans…

Hello World,

One of my favorite funeral songs is “When We All Get to Heaven.” I know it’s weird to even have a favorite funeral song, but even in coming together to celebrate the life of a loved one, there is comfort in singing songs as a collective I’ve found. But as I thought about this song this morning, it occurred to me that that the key word in this title is “All” when I typically focus on the “Heaven” part. When we ALL get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be…

Till we ALL get to heaven, there is no day of rejoicing…This morning, I’m saddened by the news of the death of a wonderful Christian blogger and author Rachel Held Evans, who passed away yesterday at 37 years old after a brief illness…

If you would like to know more about her life, please read “Rachel Held Evans, Christian writer of honesty and humor, dies at age 37” by Emily McFarlan Miller.

If you like to read some of her writing, please read these three posts below:

1. This is from her last post “Lent for the Lamenting.”

Excerpt: There are recovery programs for people grieving the loss of a parent, sibling, or spouse. You can buy books on how to cope with the death of a beloved pet or work through the anguish of a miscarriage. We speak openly with one another about the bereavement that can accompany a layoff, a move, a diagnosis, or a dream deferred. But no one really teaches you how to grieve the loss of your faith, or the loss of your faith as it once was. You’re on your own for that.” – Searching for Sunday. Read the rest at: rachelheldevans.com.

2. As a romantic, I enjoyed this post “10 Marriage Reality Checks (from 10 Years of Marriage).”

Excerpt: This week Dan and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary!  Of the many good things in my life, I must say my happy marriage is probably the best. But like every couple, we’ve had to learn as we go. So here are a 10 myths and 10 reality checks we’ve encountered along the way:

 ***

Myth #1: The best way to prepare for marriage, and to thrive in it, is to learn the differences between men and women so you will know what men/women want.

Reality Check: The best way to prepare for marriage, and to thrive in it, is to learn about your partner so you know what your partner wants.

You don’t marry a gender; you marry a person. And yet the majority of Christian marriage books dole out advice based on gender stereotypes: “men need adventure,” “women need security,” “men like quiet time,” “women process verbally,” “men crave respect and control,” “women crave love and emotional intimacy,” “men are like microwaves,” “women are like ovens.”  But even before we got married, Dan and I realized that just as often as we fit these generalities, we don’t. Dan knows I’d prefer tickets to a football game over a nice piece of jewelry and that too much security and not enough adventure leaves me feeling bored. I know that Dan is better at nurturing friendships than I am and thrives creatively when he has the chance to collaborate with other people. Read the rest at: rachelheldevans.com. 

3. And this one is really brave – “Life After Evangelicalism.”

Excerpt: This is for everyone who stayed home from church yesterday—for every mom of a special needs kid, every survivor of sexual assault, every black or brown body in a predominantly white community, every son or daughter of an immigrant, every defender of the marginalized who just couldn’t bring yourself to stand and sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” alongside the people you feel sold you out this week, the Christians who supported Donald Trump. Read the rest at: rachelheldevans.com. 

May you be rejoicing in Heaven on high,  Rachel while those below lament your death…

Any thoughts?