no doubts about ‘doubt’

Most of my elementary and middle school education was obtained at a small Catholic parochial school on Ward Street in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood of Macon. Within the parish complex was the two-story brick schoolhouse, the church, the rectory where the priest lived, and the convent that was the abode of the nuns. Several of the nuns that lived in the convent were also teachers and administrators at the school.

There was Sister Zoe, the school’s principal – a relatively young woman who was part nun and part Berkeley hippie. Occasionally seen without her habit, but rarely without her guitar, Sister Zoe would often strum soothing, folk hymns to us kids, while little cartoon squirrels and birds gathered around to hear her angelic voice.

Sister Ramona was the school’s first grade teacher and also taught the little kids’ Sunday school class before 9:00 Mass. A middle-aged woman with gentle eyes set in a warm and caring face and a perpetual smile, even when she was disciplining she seemed to do it jovially.

There was also Sister Celine, our religion teacher, who was so old that we joked that she probably went to high school with JC himself. For years, she taught us the basics of Catholic catechism, and lovingly crafted handmade items for us – like the little pastel pouches that held our rosary beads. In her tremulous voice, she’d recite a number of prayers, sayings, and religious poems to us over and over, so that we would learn them by heart (to this day I still remember most of James Weldon Johnson’s ‘Creation’).

And then there was Sister Carmelita. Unlike the other nuns at SPC who were of the order of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Sister Carmelita was a Sister of Mercy. An ironic name to say the least, for there was nothing merciful at all about the woman. I think her sole job at the school was to loom hawkish and frightening, always ready to mete out punishment for the smallest infraction. If Sister Carmelita caught you running in the halls on your way to or from recess, her shrill voice would stop you dead in your tracks. “You there. Missy Jane! You stop that horseplay right this instant!” Lingering too long between classes? Talking too loud during lunch in the social hall? Before you knew it, Sister Carmelita would swoop down, grab the offending party by the ears and cart the victim off to be boiled in a vat of hot chrism.

In the newly released screenplay, Doubt, Meryl Streep plays Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the stern, tough as nails principal of St. Nicholas Catholic school in the 1960s Bronx. Within minutes of seeing her on the screen, I sat straight up in my theater chair, eyes wide with shock and whispered unbelievingly, “That’s Sister Carmelita…”.

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god loves me best!

Found this while surfing today and thought I’d share.

May your deity of choice not strike you dead for laughing out loud at this one. Enjoy!

Hummus Vs. Hamas-Terrorist Cuisine-God Loves ME Best! – #5 – The best bloopers are here

money’s growing like grass(ley) – prosperity pastors still under scrutiny

“…maybe your soul you’d sell to have mass appeal”
~ Guru

Today is the deadline for six well-known ministers to hand over records of their spending to Senator Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. Two of the so-called ‘Grassley Six’ are Atlanta-area preachers: Bishop Eddie Long of Lithonia, and Rev. Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church International in College Park. Of those two, only Dollar has agreed to participate with the Committee’s investigation.

So just who is this Senator Grassley and why is he after these ministers specifically?
Good question.
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the elect eleven

In a previous post, I mentioned that a girlfriend of mine got the inspiration to start a ‘sister circle’ in 2008. She’s named the group the ‘Elect Eleven’ – so called because there are eleven of us who will meet each month for eleven months to participate in a variety of activities from book discussions, to community service, to creating financial strategies and dream boards. The purpose of the group is to provide a safe, supportive environment for us all to share our successes, fears, dreams, frustrations, ideas and insights in a way that women – especially Black women – don’t usually do, unfortunate as that is.
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When one door closes…

We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spirits and principalities.Ephesians 6:12 (paraphrased)

Recently my pastor has been teaching on ‘breaches’, which he’s defined as a sort of spiritual door that is opened or closed based on an individual’s actions and choices.
As I understand it, a breach is analogous to spiritual cause and effect. With each thought, choice, or action you make, you create an environment that either welcomes in or shuts out a certain spiritual energy or principle that corresponds with that thought, choice, or action.

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in due time

Recently, I took a much-needed trip to Runaway Bay, Jamaica with a group of twenty or so friends to celebrate the birthdays of those of us who turned 30 this year. On our second day there, we were antsy to get off of the resort to get some souvenirs and to experience more of the local flavor. Fortunately, we ended up making a resort-buddy who’d been there several times before and was nice enough to arrange and pay for a local driver to take six of us shopping in nearby Ocho Rios. As we prepared to leave, we confirmed with each other that we should spend no more than a couple of hours shopping if we were to be back in time to get dressed for a planned dinner with the others in our group. Our driver arrived on island-time – i.e., almost 20 minutes later than he had promised – so we were a bit peeved that we’d have even less shopping time, but figured we’d still make a go of it. The driver dropped us off in a bustling marketplace in the center of Ocho Rios, agreeing to meet us back at that exact spot in an hour and a half. the six of us split up into ones and twos and went off in search of our souvenirs. Needless to say, the time passed quickly, and as my shopping partner and I made our way back to the pre-determined meeting spot, we could tell there was trouble brewing.

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