God and Wine

Today (December 1st, 2020), Facebook reminded me that 5 years ago, I wrapped up a 5-week run of Ain't Misbehavin' at Portland Center Stage in Oregon, and flew back to New York City to re-enter my life there. I had just applied to seminary a few days before Thanksgiving and was excited about the possibility of leaning into this strong calling I felt to deepen my theological knowledge. I was still under the illusion that I'd be able to maintain some sort of performance career, so I kept my manager, Greg, and he'd continue sending me out on auditions. I was becoming very picky about what I'd say "yes" to-- Would I go on that national tour of Hamilton that he wanted to send me on or would I go to seminary? Would I leave to do a 9-month stint in After Midnight on an international cruise ship or would I go to seminary?  That was the question over and over again. I decided that I'd still do local stuff in NYC or short stints in other cities. Even as I ente

God revealed something to me last Thanksgiving that is resurfacing now.  Amidst the turmoil of  ongoing injustices against black bodies  the expected miscarriage of justice regarding Breonna Taylor's murder (is there even justice for the dead?) this insidious drama with Tory Lanez, the man who shot Megan Thee Stallion  the reality that we are entering the 7-month of quasi-quarantining and the future is yet uncertain and the personal strife many of us are dealing with that is exacerbated by political and social discord I found myself coming back to what God spoke to me last year: "Time's Up!" I don't have anything profound to say in this post beyond Time's up for expecting people and systems to be anything other that what they are--what they've been.  Time's up for expecting forced accountability to save *us. Time's up for holding folks who don't hold us back. Time's up for investing in people and institutions where the ROI is limited or

i wish somebody woulda told me that some soul mates wouldn't stay forever i wish i'd have known that letting go was welcoming better parts of ourselves i wish  i didn't fall so hard i didn't scream so soft  i didn't bottle up tears drowning in them complaining bout keeping my head above oceans I could've let  spill into streams sinking in memories  that could've been dreams  i wish  i'd have known  that some soul mates wouldn't stay forever  that the river only runs as long as the rain falls that forever is fantasy or fallacy or fear  bottled up as fate  and here we are fighting for forever when the sun is saying let the river run dry  

In most theatrical productions--particularly large format musicals--the cast consists of leads --those who are featured the most in a show ensemble members --those who support the show tremendously, providing vocals, wonderful dancing, and often, facilitating set changes understudies -- those who are the next in line for lead roles should the performer call out sick or have an important engagement that forces them to miss a show. Usually, understudies are also in the ensemble, so they learn their ensemble track and the lead role standbys --those who understudy a very prominent role in the show that's usually the lead or a major supporting character. Many times, the standbys are not in the ensemble. They just cover that one lead track and are to be at the theatre during the entire show or within 15-30 minutes of the theatre should they need to go on at a moment's notice And finally, the swings No. No, I didn't say swingers 😎 ... though, I mean, nothing's wrong with that

  Scripture: Matthew 7:15-29 My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame But wholly lean on Jesus' Name On Christ the solid Rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand All other ground is sinking sand These lyrics, penned by the English hymnist and Baptist minister Edward Mote, in 1834 capture a rugged spirituality born at the crossroads of great industrial advancement and civil upheaval. 1834. This is the year when new inventions are being patented every week while anti-abolitionist riots are breaking out in New York City— The year that slavery is abolished in the British Empire while the Ursuline Convent in Massachusetts is burned to the ground by an anti-Catholic extremist group in the name of Jesus. On Christ the solid Rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand, Mote writes. I imagine him standing at the intersection of prophetic hope and indescribable despair with a pen and paper

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-10, Luke 1:38  (Sermon delivered on March 29, 2020) 

Within Methodist ecclesiology, there are bishops that appoint ministers to serve congregations. Methodist denominations--such as the United Methodist Church, African Methodist Episcopal Church, and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, among others--operate under some version of this ecclesiological practice. I won't bore you with all the details. Additionally, I am not Methodist and have never been a part of that way of doing church so my experiential knowledge is limited. Much of my experience has been in the churches that practice some version of congregational polity and ecclesiology in which the local church decides who their minister(s) will be. Within that system, the ministers, themselves, have greater agency--agency in the decision to apply, be interviewed and, if offered a position, say "yes" or "no." The congregations have agency as well. In most cases, ministers are at-will employees of a church, meaning there are no end dates in one's cont