Category Archives: Writing

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The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Magazine Articles for Black Christian Women in July 2021…

Hello World,

I’m back with my monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine articles for black Christian women! Below is my Top 10 monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine/newspaper articles for black Christian women for July, 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. “Retiring Bishop Vashti McKenzie, first AME Church woman prelate, reflects on a groundbreaking career” by Adelle M. Banks

Excerpt: Just-retired Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is an apologist for an adaptive style of leadership. It’s what has helped her succeed as the first woman to hold many roles in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. And it’s a style of leadership she said was needed during the pandemic “Adaptive leadership means that you are faced with situations but do not have a solution or answer that comes from past experiences, so you have to adapt,” she said in an interview on Thursday (July 15), a week after her retirement began at the close of her denomination’s General Conference in Orlando, Florida. See more at: religionnews.com

Sadly, just weeks later, Bishop  Murphy McKenzie’s husband Stan McKenzie passed away…

“Former NBA player Stan McKenzie, husband of first woman AME Church bishop, dead at 76” by Adelle M. Banks

Excerpt: Stan McKenzie, the first male episcopal supervisor of missionary work in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the husband of Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, has died. The Christian Recorder, the official publication of the denomination, announced his death, which occurred on Wednesday (July 21). Stan McKenzie, 76, died in Dallas after a brief illness, John Thomas III, the publication’s editor, told Religion News Service.  See more at: religionnews.com

2. “Marla Gibbs to receive star on Hollywood Walk of Fame” by Jared Alexander

Excerpt: Congratulations are in order for Hollywood icon Marla Gibbs. The actress is set to receive a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame this July. Whether you know her for her iconic turn as Florence Jefferson on the CBS sitcom, The Jeffersons, or as Mary Jenkins on the hit series 227, Gibbs, 90, is a national treasure, and she is about to get the flowers she so richly deserves. Gibbs will receive the honor on July 20 at 11:30 a.m. The living legend took to her official Instagram account to celebrate the honor with her many fans and followers. She shared a meme that reads, “why don’t we celebrate Marla Gibbs the way we do Betty White?” with pics of Gibbs at various stages of her accomplished career. See more at: thegrio.com

3. “The first African American contestant to win National Spelling Bee is now aiming for Harvard, the NBA and NASA” by David Williams and Kevin Dotson

Excerpt: Zaila Avant-garde wasn’t focused on her place in history on Thursday when she became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 93 editions of the competition. Instead, she was thinking about Bill Murray. The 14-year-old from New Orleans, Louisiana, won the 2021 crown after correctly spelling murraya — a type of tree — that she associated with the famous comedian. When she realized she won, Zaila gave a little spin and jumped in the air as confetti rained from the sky. See more at: cnn.com

4. “Nearly 70 years after she was married, Birmingham woman wears a wedding dress: ‘It was too special’” by Carol Robinson

Excerpt: Martha Mae Ophelia Moon Tucker was watching her favorite movie – ‘Coming to America’ – with one of her granddaughters last week when she whispered a life-long dream of hers that she had never before said aloud. “I’ve always wanted to try on a wedding dress,’’ the 94-year-old Tucker said under her breath, which was heard by granddaughter Angela Strozier. Strozier asked her grandmother to repeat what she had just said, and Tucker said it again. See more at: al.com

5. “‘I’ve Got 10,000 Books in My House’: Dallas Woman Shares the Joy of Reading” by Laura Harris

Excerpt: Many people would call Emma Rodgers a living legend in and around the Dallas community. She was the co-owner of Dallas’ Black Images Book Bazaar for 29 years. It was a place where the community could go to learn about Black literature and hear authors speak. The store opened in 1977 and closed in 2007, but Rodgers’ love of books and childhood literacy has not stopped. “Let me tell you how I got into books,” Rodgers said. “I had an aunt who would buy me books for Christmas every year, and it was a sniff and lift the page activities. It was just so cool. I have just always loved books.” Her love of books carried into the rest of her life. She estimates she has about 10,000 books in her Dallas home right now. See more at:  nbcdfw.com

6. “Ban on ‘Soul Cap’ Spotlights Lack of Diversity in Swimming” by Jenna Fryer

Excerpt: Alice Dearing has an afro, a voluminous puff nearly impossible to protect in most swimming caps. Her hair shrinks if it gets wet. And the chlorine? The chemicals in a pool can cause severe damage that requires substantial time and money to treat. The first Black female swimmer on Britain’s Olympic team uses the the Soul Cap, an extra-large silicone covering designed specifically to protect dreadlocks, weaves, hair extensions, braids, and thick and curly hair. But Dearing has been forbidden from using the cap in her Olympic debut next week in the women’s 10k marathon swim . See more at: time.com

7. “Simone Biles pulls out of individual floor exercise at Olympics, still to decide on balance beam” by D’Arcy MaineExcerpt: She later told the media she had experienced “a little bit of the twisties” and no longer trusted her ability to compete. In a series of posts to her Instagram account on Friday, Biles explained she was still experiencing the phenomenon, in which gymnasts feel like they get lost in the air, and said her “mind and body are simply not in sync.” See more at: espn.com 

8. “Naomi Osaka: ‘It’s O.K. Not to Be O.K.'” by Naomi Osaka 

Excerpt: Believe it or not, I am naturally introverted and do not court the spotlight. I always try to push myself to speak up for what I believe to be right, but that often comes at a cost of great anxiety. I feel uncomfortable being the spokesperson or face of athlete mental health as it’s still so new to me and I don’t have all the answers. I do hope that people can relate and understand it’s O.K. to not be O.K., and it’s O.K. to talk about it. There are people who can help, and there is usually light at the end of any tunnel. See more at: time.com

9. “Meet the sole Black female owner of the Milwaukee Bucks” by Rebecca Klopf

Excerpt: MILWAUKEE — The Bucks have made the playoff seven of the last 10 seasons. A majority of those appearances have come under new ownership that took over in 2014. You may know the names Wes Edens, Marc Lasry, Jamie Dinan, and Michael Fascitelli, the majority owners of the Bucks. But you should also know this woman: Valerie Daniels-Carter, one of the team’s minority owners. “There are couples that own the Bucks. I’m the only African American female that’s single that I know of that owns the Bucks,” said Daniels-Carter. See more at: tmj4.com

10. “Angela Bassett Dishes On The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Script ‘I Don’t Know What It’s Going To Look Like At All’” by Shannon Dawson

Excerpt: “I don’t know what it’s going to look like at all,” Bassett explained of the film’s new script. “There have been about five incarnations of the script and I hear another one’s coming.”  Bassett continued; “Of course, with our dear king [Chadwick Boseman] going on to glory, a lot of things had to be shifted and changed. So thankfully, [director] Ryan [Coogler] and [writer] Joe Robert Cole, they’re just such masterful storytellers that they’ve found a way into this world, and hopefully it will be satisfying, I think, for the fans and it will be honorable of our Chad. We love our king,” she added.  See more at: madamenoire.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 blog, magazines 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  🙂.

Any thoughts?

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Why I’m Looking Forward to the ‘Sex and the City’ Reboot ‘And Just Like That…’ Despite Samantha’s Disappearance, Carrie’s ‘Big’ Divorce and Diverse Characters Sprinkled In…

Me and Candace Bushnell with the print edition of my book, the first look photo for ‘And Just Like That’ & the Recorded Books audiobook version of “Destination Wedding”

Hello World,

I cannot claim to be unequivocally “Sex and the City’s” biggest fan, but I have to be in at least in the top five of “Sex and the City’s” biggest black fans. I mean I don’t know of any other black woman or person who wrote a whole novel because he or she was inspired by the show and tracked down Candace Bushnell, whose life was the inspiration for the hit HBO show, for an endorsement of said novel. (Other reasons I have to be in the Top 5: 1. I’ve watched every episode of all six seasons at least three times and seen and own both movies. 2. I have the “Sex and the City” trivia game. 3. I went on the “Sex and the City” tour in NYC  in 2006 and gleefully took a picture on Carrie’s stoop.

Me on Carrie’s stoop (I know I’m such a tourist…)

 

4. I own several books about “Sex and the City” including “Sex and the City,” “Sex and the City and Us” and “Is There Still Sex in the City?” (All signed by Candace Bushnell!) And I would like to think that my humble novel adds to the “Sex and the City” canon 5. I took part in “Sex and the City”-inspired events such as the “Sex and the City”-themed pop-up event at TapaTapa in Midtown Atlanta in 2019.)

All of that to say, I have an informed opinion about Why I’m Looking Forward to the ‘Sex and the City’ Reboot ‘And Just Like That…’ Despite Samantha’s Disappearance, Carrie’s ‘Big’ Divorce and Diverse Characters Sprinkled In…Although I was shocked when I saw Sarah Jessica Parker’s January Instagram post which featured the trademark NYC bustle, a cacophony of blinking lights, car horns and bodies in motion, underneath Carrie’s familiar narration accompanied by her computer keyboard clicking, I literally tingled at the news that the next chapter of SATC would be told.

 

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But I wondered what else could be told since the last time we saw Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha, they were satisfied with who they ended up with (in Samantha’s case no one…which may have been a forecast of what was to come looking back…) and what they had achieved. I won’t go into all of the details here, but you can certainly look them up. But as we have learned since then, as Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall are not really friends in real life to say the absolute least, their less-than-friendly relationship has led to Kim Cattrall taking Samantha with her. Samantha’s chapter as far as the show is concerned is complete. And just like that, SATC the next chapter became unwatchable for some people without Samantha. And I must admit that without Samantha adding her bawdy commentary to the girls’ banter, I wonder if the girls will be too tame. But there are three other lives that I’ve wondered about since Abu Dhabi so I will have to wait and see what’s up although I’m preparing myself to be let down at least somewhat…just in case…

Here is the official logline: This new chapter of the groundbreaking HBO series “Sex and the City” follows “Carrie” (Sarah Jessica Parker), “Miranda” (Cynthia Nixon) and “Charlotte” (Kristin Davis) as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.

At one point, I had read rumors that Mr. Big was not included either, and I was really taken aback by that. No Samantha? And then no Carrie and Mr. Big on top of that? What’s left? I love Miranda and Steve and Charlotte and Harry, but we all know that the Carrie and Big saga was the main thrust of the show season after season. Apparently, a leaked script reported by Page Six revealed that Carrie and Mr. Big are going through a divorce in “And Just Like That.” I’m sad to learn this news, but I’m not surprised by it. In Candace Bushnell’s “Sex and the City,” Mr. Big wanted a girl who was “someone normal.” Carrie was a lot of things, but “someone normal,” she was not. And although I appreciated the mystique of Big, if Carrie and Big had been real people, she would have married Aidan who didn’t mind that she couldn’t be tamed if she married at all. Because the fact is that both Carrie and Big are commitment-phobes which is why just the thought of marrying Aidan made Carrie break out in hives (Remember when she tried on that wedding dress?). And speaking of Aidan, he will be in the reboot in addition to Steve and Harry! So I’m at least looking forward to that…

And then there’s the chatter about the four diverse characters that have been added:

Sarita Choudhury, Sara Ramírez , Nicole Ari Parker and Karen Pittman have joined the cast of the Max Original series “And Just Like That”…Choudhury plays “Seema Patel,” a single, self-made powerhouse Manhattan real estate broker. Ramírez stars as “Che Diaz” (they / them), a non-binary, queer, stand-up comedian that hosts a podcast on which Carrie Bradshaw is regularly featured. Parker plays “Lisa Todd Wexley,” a Park Avenue mother of three and documentarian. Pittman plays “Dr. Nya Wallace,” a brilliant, challenging Columbia Law professor, according to HBO Max, where the 10-episode (half-hour shows) reboot will be streamed.

 

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As a super fan who happens to be black, I certainly appreciate the added diversity, but it has to make sense in the story. Diversity just for diversity’s sake in a story is just dumb. I remember after watching the first 2008 “Sex and the City” movie, which included “Louise” portrayed by Jennifer Hudson, with my girls, we were not just happy to see a black woman included in our beloved show. This was my final assessment that I wrote in 2009:  I watched the movie in its entirety again on Saturday. And as I watched the movie again (I’ve probably seen it 3 or 4 times now), I was reminded of the one criticism of the movie that all of my girls agreed on – Jennifer Hudson’s character “Louise.” I heard that in an effort to appeal to the black fan base of the show, the movie writers decided to inject a black character. But my friends thought that with her use of Ebonics and her penchant for renting not buying designer purses, Louise was more of an insult instead of a compliment to black fans. As I watched the movie again, I didn’t necessarily think her character was offensive, but her character did seem to bit contrived.

I don’t want to see stereotypical characterizations of women of color. Just as there are many ways to be white women in this world, there are equally as many ways to be women of color. Based on the description of these diverse characters in the reboot, these women seem highly accomplished, but hopefully they will have flaws (necessary for real characters) which is what we love about Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda (and Samantha too 🙁 .) Their professional lives were admirable, but their personal lives are what kept us watching…And I look forward to watching SATC the next chapter although we will have to wait until the release date is announced…

And just like that, I’ve come to the end of what I have to say…What say you?

Any thoughts?

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From Marriage to Divorce to Remarriage, Pastors Royal & Kimberly McClinton Share Their Secrets To 35 Years of Marriage

Hello World,

It’s common knowledge that half of all marriages end in divorce. Recent figures have shown that divorce in the church is high as well. The failure of marriages not only leaves dreams dashed but it also leaves lives crushed. Having experienced divorce themselves – after 20 years of marriage, Drs. Royal & Kimberly McClinton, pastors of the Chicago-area church, Life in Christ Family Worship Center International, understand the challenges that couples face in keeping a marriage together. They also know with the help of the Lord broken marriages can be healed. Their own testimony of remarriage, after 4 years of divorce, is a testament to hard work, strong commitment and an unshakable faith. Now celebrating thirty-five years of marriage, they are inspired to help other couples “keep it together”.

“We have been counseling couples for years and decided to put what we’ve been sharing in a book, Bare Naked and Not Afraid: The Marriage Manual,” says Dr. Kim. “People were regularly encouraging us to share our testimony and they wanted us to write a book so that they could come back to the information from our counseling sessions or our Bare Naked and Not Ashamed Conferences. We also realized that we have a voice and if we can help others through a book, we wanted to do it.”

Initially, they pondered writing two separate books, but Dr. Royal believed it would be more impactful if they wrote a book together. He says, “In addition to people asking us to write a book, the Lord really impressed upon our hearts to share what we had learned – through our first marriage, our divorce and our remarriage. We want to help others through the hard times and the challenges that come in marriage. We also desire to help those who want to marry and those who are engaged. We want to make sure couples are aware of the realities of marriage; we told them the truth so that they aren’t surprised after the wedding is over.”

Apostles McClinton have chronicled the lessons they’ve learned through their marriage journey in Bare Naked and Not Ashamed. Throughout the book, the couple reveals the realities of marriage that few choose to delve into. Starting with God’s intention for marriage and focusing on topics like oneness and partner expectations, they provide tools for couples seeking to begin their journey off right. Conflict resolution and the acknowledgement of spouses’ strengths and challenges are mentioned, too, and they tackle that dreaded word, submission, explaining the true meaning behind it. One of the most powerful insights is the couples’ description of love – not the world’s definition of love, but the sacrificial, agape love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13.

Their testimony of marriage, divorce and remarriage is one that is needed and is important to be shared in the church. Dr. Royal McClinton grew up in the church; he knew he was called to serve others from his youth. The son of a pastor, as a child, he had a strong desire to serve in ministry, helping others. Very familiar with the inner workings of the church, the Chicago native was the youngest of five boys and was ordained as a Deacon in 1989 at Bread of Life Church of God in Christ in Chicago, IL. Later he became a licensed minister and then in 2011, he was ordained pastor.

Prior to becoming the Senior Pastor of Life in Christ Family Worship Center International in Sauk Village, IL, he held a variety of positions including Bible Class Teacher, Sunday School Teacher, Fellowship Administrator, Board Member and Pastoral Armor Bearer. Dr. Royal has majored in Early Childhood Development at Chicago State University and obtained his Bachelor Degree in Theology; he received his Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Philosophy: Theology through New Life Theological Seminary/The Williams-Clemson-Davis Bible College.

Apostle Kimberly McClinton, Pastor of Life in Christ Family Worship Center International, was also raised in Chicago.  Raised by a mother who was a practicing Pentecostal and a father who was a committed Catholic, faith was a major part of her life. A lover of Word of God, she enjoyed sharing the Bible with others. She was licensed as a minister in 2001 at To God Be The Glory Ministry. Like her husband, she’s held numerous positions in the church including Church Administrator, Choir President, Section Leader, Praise and Worship Leader, Bible Class Teacher, Youth Teacher, Fellowship Administrator, Board Member and Trustee. In addition, she is an ordained Prophetess, Apostle and Pastor.

She launched Pure Life Bible Institute, an accredited Bible college, offering degrees through the Midwest College of Theology and attended Chicago State University and DePaul University. She is a recipient of Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Philosophy: Theology through New Life Theological Seminary/The Williams-Clemson-Davis Bible College. An entrepreneur at heart, she is the owner of both Completely Yours Events and Stationery and Earnest Ease, LLC. Dr. Kim is a singer/songwriter, having released her debut CD entitled, Restored, in 2018. She holds the positions of Board Member for ReFresh Global, as well as the Chief Operating Officer of Psalmist Raine Ministries.

Together, Dr. Royal and Dr. Kimberly McClinton aim to stop divorces in their tracks.

Any thoughts?