miracle Archives - After the Altar Call

Hello World,

Yesterday, all 50 states (yes, including the Aloha State) experienced freezing temperatures, and this morning, I’m still cold…not good for a girl with Jamaican blood…I was too cold 20 degrees ago…but then again, it is November…anywho, on to today’s post…

Big things are happening across the pond…On Monday, according to The New York Times, the Church of England solidified its decision to appoint female bishops with a final vote after initially agreeing to this change in July. This decision marks the first time that female bishops will be appointed!!! And the first female bishop may be appointed by Christmas!!! There are seven women that are being considered for the first appointment, according to itv.com.

One of those women is the Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who is already the first black female chaplain to the House of Commons and was the first black female chaplain to the Queen! She was born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica before coming to the UK in 1985.

Below is a video of Rev. Hudson-Wilkin speaking with The Telegraph about the miracle of the appointments of female bishops in the Church of England…

Below is her bio from the Church of England website:

The Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin was appointed to the role of Speaker’s Chaplain in June 2010 by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow MP. She is the Vicar of the United Benefice of Holy Trinity with St Philip, Dalston, and All Saints, Haggerston, in the London diocese. Rose combines this parish role with the position of Speaker’s Chaplain and as Priest Vicar at Westminster Abbey.

Rose was born and grew up in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Commissioned as a Church Army Officer in 1982, her theological training took place at the West Midlands Ministerial Training Course at Queens Theological College.

She was ordained Deacon in 1991, and Priest in 1994. In 2007 she was appointed a chaplain to the Queen, making her one of only a few who are occasionally invited to officiate and preach at the 400-year-old Queen’s Chapel beside St. James’ Palace.

She is a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and has served as one of the Panel of chairs. During her time on the Synod she was one of the CofE’s delegates to the World Council of Churches meeting in Zimbabwe & Porto Allegre.

She has served as Chair of the National Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC) and of the Worldwide Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK). She has also been a member of the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC).

According to Wikipedia, she is married Ken Wilkin, a chaplain to Holloway Prison, and they have two daughters and a son.

Any thoughts?

Hello World,

Lupita dancing with Pharrell as he sang “Happy!”

Three days later and I’m still unpacking the cultural celebration that was the 2014 Oscars this past Sunday…There were so many entertaining moments during the actual telecast and as the days go by, more and more drama is unfolding about the backstory featuring the winners of the golden statues…So without further ado, let me share 10 reasons why the 86th Academy Awards is one I will remember…

1. Matthew McConaughey. First of all, Mr. McConaughey is one of those rare actors that women of all races and backgrounds tend to find fetching…to say the least..He has managed to harness a mix of braggadacio aka swag and unaffectedness that makes him seem like the perfect boyfriend…But I digress…The fact that he thanked God first of all in his Oscar acceptance speech just pushed him in a different stratosphere…literally and figuratively…It seemed so genuine unlike some of the rappers who thank God in their acceptance speeches at music awards shows…How you gon thank God when your music is anything BUT godly…

2. Lupita. Yes, I know her full name is Lupita Nyong’o, but her beauty, intelligence and overall effervescence has made her this year’s it girl and capable of being recognized by one name only. Seeing this dark-skinned Kenyan beauty flit about the red carpet in a pale blue Prada whimsy of a dress made me want to time travel back to my 8-year-old self. I would say, “there is a black Cinderella after all” as Cinderella was one of my favorite childhood stories. After seeing Lupita as the dehumanized Patsey in “12 Years a Slave” and seeing that same woman who portrayed her celebrated by winning an Oscar was like watching the Cinderella story come to life. And then her speech about dreams being valid no matter where you come from…her story is evidence that dreams don’t only come true in fairy tales.

3. Steve McQueen. First of all, am I the only one who kept expecting to see the white American actor instead of a black man from the UK every time his name was mentioned? How did dude get his name? Was he named after the actor? (Aside: Doesn’t Steve McQueen look like he could be the separated-at-birth twin brother of “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson?) Anywho, “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen became the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Picture on Sunday! Unfortunately, since then it has been revealed that McQueen is allegedly behind-the-scenes beefing with John Ridley, the screenwriter of the film.

4. John Travolta. Like Cinderella, his name brings back happy memories of my childhood. His flowing thick raven hair and ice-blue but vacant eyes made him the hottest stupid guy on “Welcome Back Kotter!” But as the years have past, he seems to have become Hollyweird. What was up with his mispronunciation of Idina Menzel’s name? He introduced her as Adele Dazeem. And said the name with some weird accent! Hopefully, she has been able to “let it go” since then. My apologies to anyone out there who actually has that name! And if you want to Travoltify your name, go to this link. My name Travoltified is “Jasmine Herdson!” Ha!

5. Pharrell Williams. His Oscar-nominated ditty “Happy” has been one of my favorites since I first heard the song this summer. I swear if you hear this song, you automatically start doing a jig like you’re an Irish person in a St. Patty’s Day Parade…But his tux short set didn’t make me happy. It made me sad… 🙁

6. Ellen. For various reasons including the two I name below, Ellen was one of the best hosts of the Oscars ever! I love that she doesn’t use her humor to put down people. Only the best comedians can do this!

7. Carbs. Nowadays, everyone, particularly the celebrity crowd, is going gluten free and forsaking flour…But I still eat sub sandwiches and pizza and unless God tells me otherwise, I will keep loving my dough…So the fact that Ellen (who hosted this year’s Oscars) ordered pizza for the celebrities in the audience AND they actually ate the pizza is a miracle akin to two fish and fives loaves of bread feeding 5,000!

8. Selfies. Usually, actors take themselves way too seriously, but Ellen was able to get some A-list celebrities to just be regular people in this selfie seen around the world.

9. Peter Nyong’o. Do you see Lupita in this selfie? If you don’t, she’s up there on the far right in between Angelia Jolie and Brad Pitt…And the black guy in the FRONT is her younger brother…How you gon upstage your Oscar-winning sister by positioning yourself in front of her in the selfie that broke Twitter? Have several seats baby brother…

10. Cheryl Boone Isaacs. She was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last summer. She is the first black woman to be elected to this position and the third woman to helm the Academy altogether! I’m proud to recognize her achievement on this blog during Women’s History Month! In my imagination, she was like Lupita’s fairy godmother who made sure that Lupita was the belle of the ball on Oscar night!