Category Archives: Church

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Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 11: The End is Near…

Hello World,

As the title of tonight’s episode of OWN’s “Greenleaf” suggests, Season 3, with only two episodes left, is coming to an explosive ending soon so keep reading for Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 11: The End is Near…

Is This The End?…

A conversation with Bishop and his daughter (or is she?) Grace begins this episode. While in Bishop’s office, Grace tells Bishop that when Rochelle’s mother went to prison after her father died in a fire, Rochelle and her sister Tara went to live with the Flannery family who took them in as foster children. “Basie Skanks was their half brother,” Grace tells him. When Bishop doesn’t immediately respond to her suspicions about Rochelle’s motives for inserting herself in Bishop’s life, she follows up with, “Why is this so hard for you to believe?” Bishop starts to list reasons why he trusts Rochelle including the fact that she raised money for Grace’s legal defense fund, but before he can continue his ridiculous rationale for his blind trust, the FBI busts into the office! They are on a search and seizure mission as Calvary AND Triumph are being accused of embezzlement of church funds!

Meanwhile, in another part of Calvary, Lady Mae is being interviewed about the upcoming “A Day With Lady Mae.” She says it will be a day of “renewal and rededication.” To Lady Mae’s surprise, the interviewer asks, “Will your daughter be speaking?” and calls Grace the “new face of Calvary.” Lady Mae responds with, “The fabulous roster is full as it is. The Spirit of God will be speaking no matter who is in the pulpit.” I swear Lady Mae stays trying to keep her daughter in the background although it is impossible. But before the interview can be completed, the FBI busts in there too!  As can be expected, Lady Mae runs up on her daughter and asks if the FBI raid has to do with her helping Coralie. Grace says she has nothing to do with what is happening and Lady Mae finds out her name is on the warrant! As the FBI is seizing everything, Lady Mae nearly loses it as her sermon, music and PowerPoint presentation for “A Day with Lady Mae” is on one of the computers that is seized. She goes up to her ex-husband and pounds him on the chest. “Get off the phone,” she says. “They’re taking everything.” While the ruckus continues, Grace calls an attorney. “We need your help,” she says.

Over at Triumph, Jacob learns that he is being accused of transferring $200,000 from the church’s treasury into an account that he shared with Bishop. Supposedly, Bishop was able to withdraw the money and used it as a down payment for the IRS. Still in denial, Bishop swears it was a legit investment account and that he was able to periodically check the balance on an app on his phone. But when he tries to access the account this time, there is nothing to access! “Both of you got played by these women,” Kerissa says to Bishop and her husband about Rochelle and Tasha.

Back at Calvary, as Lady Mae and Maxine meet her in her office, Lady Mae is told that Lionel Jeffries is calling her. She doesn’t take the call but Maxine calls Lady Mae out. “Have you talked to Grace yet?” she asks. Later she goes by Grace’s office but Grace is not there. Her assistant says, “I can let her know that you came by.”

Charity finds herself caught up in the commotion as well. Using the power of her femininity (batting eyes etc.) approaches an FBI agent about some risque pictures that are on her computer that has now been seized. She asks the agent if he has heard the expression “PK.” When he says that he is not familiar with the term, she explain those initials stand for “preacher’s kid” and that to be a PK is to feel like you’re “walking on a tight rope.” And sometimes you do things, silly things, to break free from the mold! Amen to that I must say as a PK myself. She asks if she can get those pictures back somehow since they are unrelated to the investigation. By the looks of things, he seems to be willing to help her.

Also, Darius the journalist shows up at Calvary and Grace goes off on him as he is there to get the story. He tells her that he wants to “confirm a few facts which were going to come out anyway.”

End of the Road…

Now that Jacob knows that Tasha is the one who took the money, he calls her to confront her. “I know that you took the money but I know that you couldn’t have come up with this by yourself. I promise I won’t press charges.” When Tasha remains mum, Kerissa, who is next to Jacob, tells him to tell Tasha that he loves her. Y’all when he says those words, Tasha melts like a hot Popsicle and Basie and Rochelle, the evil Wonder Twins, are right there to see her reaction.

In Atlanta, Jacob and Kerissa’s spawn Zora and her buster boyfriend Isaiah discuss her going to the studio with him. She wants to go, but Isaiah says she will just be bored. Instead, he gives her some money to get her nails done. You already know that is a set up. He is not being nice for no reason…

Apparently a day has gone by but the fallout of the FBI raid continues at Calvary. Grace pulls up on Rochelle as she is on her way to Bishop’s office. “I know you’re Basie’s half sister. You set up my father to make him pay for the death of your father.” Rochelle admits that she is Basie’s half-sister but she says that Grace is “paranoid” and  will not put up with her “PTSD bull****.” Futhermore, she says that she was in Bishop’s bed last night and that they professed their love for one another. “If we decide to marry, you have to let go of this mania.” At that point, Rochelle would have had to marry my fingers but my fist would have kissed her mouth.

In another part of the church, Deaconess Connie meets with Bishop. She tells him she is calling an emergency meeting of the deacon board. She tells him that she will recommend that he step down from the pulpit as Calvary needs a “fresh start” after the IRS scandal. But Bishop disagrees.

At the Skanks household, Basie and Tasha continue their tense reunion. She tries to serve some food to her husband. Basie tells her to stop playing that she is a “good wife.” He says that while they were apart, he was “begging God to put you in my dreams.” Tasha responds with, “You had me thinking you were dead.” He goes to say, “I don’t trust you.”

At Triumph, Kerissa says, “It’s a good thing I didn’t quit my job because we are done.” Just then Tasha calls Jacob. When the call is done, Jacob says. “She wants to meet.” Kerissa has a startling revelation as she watches her husband speak with Tasha. She says, “You care for her. I can see it.” Everyone can see it, but Jacob tries to deny it. “I’m not having this conversation,” he says.

Across town at Calvary, Lady Mae is also startled from a phone conversation. Aaron Jeffries tells her that his father is dead. “He had a bad reaction to a chemo treatment.” Lady Mae offers perfunctory condolences and ends the call. Afterward, Grace shows up at her mother’s office as her assistant told her that her mother wanted to see her. Now that Lionel is dead, he will take a secret with him. Dead men tell no tales. More on this later. Lady Mae says that she wanted to apologize for her behavior around the FBI raid, specifically for accusing Grace of having something to do with it. “I was presumptuous and infantile…” Grace should know her mama by now. If Lady Mae is apologizing to Grace, something is amiss. Still she accepts the apology and leaves.

She tracks down her father in the storage area of the church. “Did you sleep with Rochelle last night and tell her you loved her because that is what she told me?” Eeewww….parents have sex lives?! Yuck…

Meanwhile, Lady Mae goes to the sanctuary where she finds Maxine rehearsing. Maxine stops singing and asks how Grace responded to Lady Mae’s news. Lady Mae says, “I no longer have to talk to Grace. Lionel died.” “You still have to tell Grace. You’re about to ascend. You don’t want to give Satan any hooks to pull you down.” Amen. When you’re about to go high, the devil does want to bring you low so you have to careful. Maxine goes on to say, “The future may be female, but women have to tell the truth.” True…A reference to the #MeToo movement? Quite possibly.

Loose Ends…

For the first time this episode, Sofia makes an appearance but she is STILL in her room. SMH. She sees a video of Isaiah and some girl getting more than friendly and sends it to her cousin. “Have you seen this?” Apparently not. Zora asks Isaiah, “Is she the reason why I couldn’t come to the studio? Are we really together?” Isaiah responds with, “You know you’re my First Lady.” He kisses her then and Zora falls for it. But later on, she watches the video again. Little by little, she is starting to see the light.

Back in Memphis, Charity has gotten through to the FBI agent! After he tells her that he knows there were no scandalous photos as she originally represented, he returns some of the computer files to her anyway as they have nothing to do with the investigation. Among the files are Lady Mae’s PowerPoint presentation and accompanying photos which Charity gives to her mother. Lady Mae is surprised and impressed. Charity is starting to come into her own. As the baby of the family, she is used to being coddled. As a result, her family downplays her contributions. But now she is starting to prove that she is an invaluable part of the family and doesn’t need special treatment.

Unexpectedly, Aaron shows up at Calvary, but he is there to see Grace not Lady Mae. He tells her that his father passed away and Grace expresses her condolences. “I know this is hard,” she says. He responds with, “It’s even harder than you think.”

Speaking of shocking encounters, Basie rather than his wife shows up to meet Jacob. Basie says, “What happened with you and my wife? On the phone you said, ‘I love you.'” Jacob reluctantly tells Basie that it was one kiss and that it meant “nothing.” “One man’s nothing is another man’s everything.”

He goes on to say, “Don’t worry about texting Tasha. I got her on the phone right here.” Apparently, Tasha was listening in via his cell phone. Somehow, I don’t think this is going to stop the affection between Tasha and Jacob, but they only have two more episodes to make something happen on the other hand. We will see, we will see…

Bishop finally catches up with Rochelle to straighten her about lying to Grace. “You told Grace we slept together. That didn’t happen.” In some kind of Jedi mind trick, Rochelle keeps on insisting that the two did sleep together. What’s up with that? Did she drug him or something or is she delusional? He also asks her if she is Daryl James’ daughter? She confirms that she is. At long last, Bishop finally realizes that he has been hoodwinked. Regarding her misdeeds, Bishop says, “You won’t get away with it.” When Bishop walks way, Rochelle says, “B****, I already did.” Yeah, she said that…

Thinking that she averted more than one crisis, Lady Mae, by her lonesome, reviews her PowerPoint presentation in Calvary’s sanctuary which is dark except for the light coming from the screen. But Grace comes into the sanctuary and disturbs her mother’s peace as usual. Lady Mae tells her that Charity saved “A Day With Lady Mae” by returning her PowerPoint presentation to her, but Grace interrupts her to tell her that Aaron Jeffries came by. She says that he told her that Lionel his father is dead. And then Grace asks the question of the episode. “Is Lionel my father?” Lady Mae looks at her straight in the eyes and says, “I don’t know” with the backdrop of the words “She Changes Everything.” And indeed, Lady Mae has and will continue to do so…but maybe the she in this scenario is Grace… (Where is Maury with the paternity test?)

One “loose end” that I’m not sure about: Was Triumph’s new accountant an FBI plant? What y’all think?!

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 11: The End is Near and my other recaps so far. If you would like to keep up with OWN’s “Greenleaf,” and my recaps, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂!

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Bebe Winans, Angie Stone & More Join Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hosting Election Eve Prayer Rally!

Hello World,

Can you believe it? There are only two months left in 2018! But if you’re still hoping, wishing and praying for something to change before the year is over as I am, God says in 2 Peter 3:8 that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” In other words, He sees time differently than we do and anything can change in an instant. It’s hard work having faith sometimes, but it’s worth it in the end.

Speaking of time, last month I pretty much only focused on OWN “Greenleaf” recaps in October, but now that I’ve met a writing deadline, I will be posting about twice a week unless life happens. Y’all know how that is. And for my new subscribers who read my recap each week, I hope you like my other content as well 🙂

So all of that aside and on to the topic of today’s post. Unless you don’t watch TV at all, you probably know that Election Day is THIS Tuesday! And if you didn’t vote early, Tuesday is the day to vote! I’m not sure where you live, but where I live, we have some pretty big issues to address in Tuesday’s election! And I’m proud to say that the first black woman to be the nominee of a major party for governor, Stacey Abrams, who is also PK as I am, is on the ballot! I won’t tell you whom to vote for, but I do think it’s important to vote!

Tomorrow night, Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is hosting an Election Eve Prayer Rally at 7 p.m. My father, pastor emeritus of Central Christian Church in Atlanta, likes to use this quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson in his sermons about prayer:  “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” I truly believe that, and if that quote is too “high post” for you, this quote will do: “Prayer changes things.” I don’t know who said that first, but it is true…

Among luminaries who will be there include: Bebe Winans (uncle of Deborah Joy Winans who portrays Charity on OWN’s “Greenleaf”), Angie Stone, Congressman John Lewis and the Rev. Dr. William Barber II. The church is located at 101 Jackson St NE, Atlanta, GA 30312, but if you cannot make it, check out the church’s website for the livestream.

Also, Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, wrote a piece “Here Are the Chilling Tricks We’ve Caught Georgia Using to Disqualify Voters” for The Washington Post about voting issues here in Georgia. Here is an excerpt below:

A young woman learned her name was no longer on the voter rolls in Georgia. Ironically, she discovered this while training as a canvasser for new voters. Since registering and casting her first ballot in 2008, she hadn’t returned to the polls, and under the new “use it or lose it” rule, the system purged her registration.

A dentist in Macon received a letter from the secretary of state, warning him that he was at risk of being labeled an “inactive voter” for changing addresses, not voting or not responding to election-related mail. None of that was true, he said: He’d participated in every Georgia election in the past 40 years and had lived in his home for 30.

To read the entire piece, go to washingtonpost.com.

So my final plea on this Sunday, please VOTE!

Happy Sunday!

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Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 10: The Promised Land…

Hello World,

I know many saints don’t celebrate Halloween but clearly OWN Greenleaf writers had some tricks up their sleeve on this Halloween night that I will reveal in this Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 10: The Promised Land so keep readin’ y’all…

Promises Promises…

This episode starts with a solemn scene as Lady Mae is at her laptop at Calvary alone and late into the night. She crafts an e-mail to her children and grandchildren confirming what we have feared since Season 3 began: Bishop and Lady Mae are legally divorced. I must say I didn’t think this would actually happen and I still wonder if the all of the “t”s have been crossed and the “i”s have been dotted as far as the documentation is concerned. Despite the dismantling of the family she and Bishop have built for more than 40 years, Lady Mae tells them they are still entering the Promised Land that they must take possession of with hope. She says she is aware of their “past sins but they are ready to grow. We are no longer married but we are still your parents.” She refers to them as her angels before she ends the correspondence.

In the next scene, Jacob and Kerissa are playing detective over at Triumph as Tasha Skanks has left without a trace and reason why although we (the audience) know what’s up. Kerissa speculates that maybe Basie is back, but Jacob feels that if Basie had returned, he would have have heard something. “Memphis ain’t that big and Basie ain’t that small.” (That’s a nice line.) At any rate, now that Tasha is gone and Kerissa has turned Zora over to God, Kerissa is finally available to take on all of the duties of a First Lady. She hires a new accountant. He has an African accent I think. He promptly notices some irregularities in the accounting…

At Calvary the next day, Grace and Rochelle meet with the murderess (per Lady Mae’s description) Coralie Hunter. Coralie is seriously considering the deal the district attorney offered her although she will be in jail for 20 years. 20 years in jail is better than life in jail after all. Grace pleads with Coralie to allow the lawyer they’ve hired to advocate on her behalf as this case is expected to set a precedent. Coralie aine tryin’ to hear that legal jargon, but Rochelle gets to her with a personal plea. She tells Coralie that her mother went to jail, forcing her and her little sister to be in the system and moved around like “hot potatoes that nobody wanted. I know that you don’t believe in Jesus but you’re going to have to have faith.” That story does the trick and Coralie meets with the new attorney.

Following that meeting, Bishop happens to walk by Rochelle, who is in a conference room at Calvary by herself. She takes the opportunity to ask him about the rumors she has heard. “Are you legally divorced?” she asks. Bishop confirms the rumors are true. “Lady Mae and I are officially no longer together.” Of course that news brings a smile to Rochelle’s face. She invites Bishop to do some “daytime drinking to celebrate or console as the case may be.” Bishop says he would like that. Maybe I’m a sheltered pastor’s daughter but I don’t know any pastor who is quick to sip like that! What y’all think?

The time for “A Day With Lady Mae” is almost here as Maxine Patterson is back! Lady Mae tells Maxine that Bishop looks “lost in his own church. Maxine replies with, “It’s won’t be his for long.”

Y’all know that’s a promise that Lady Mae intends to keep…

It’s A Long Way To The Promised Land…

Zora is back. I must admit I appreciated a break from that hellion in last’s week episode but like a bad weed, she’s back. Zora and Isaiah, the boy she was willing to turn her back on her family for, are at a radio station 104. 8 FM where he is answering interview questions about his latest project. He says the project addresses the “tribulations on tribulations” he’s endured and that it is an “amalgamation of pain.” Yeah, whatever man…moving on…I don’t know about the rest of the family but Zora will not be entering into her own promised land for some time.

Charity is back in her office at Calvary and looking mighty composed actually. Maxine’s music director, a hottie I’ve seen before on some show but cannot remember exactly where I’ve seen him, stops by to discuss how they will move forward with plans for the music included in “A Day With Lady Mae.” Charity starts to discuss a few ideas, but before she goes too long, the music director Michael asks if they can pause to pray. He was already fine, but now, he’s looking irresistible and by the look in her eyes, Charity agrees with me!

The two continue to converse and Michael asks Charity to dinner. She declines because she has to care for her son on the night in question. Michael mistakenly thinks that since she has a son that she is married and apologizes for asking her out. Charity says that she is actually divorced. She also chooses to reveal that her ex-husband is gay only because Michael may see Kevin at some point while he is in town. Michael apologizes for her ex-husband’s deception and says that “sort of deception is susceptible to prayer.”

Maxine Patterson also has some ideas about how to plan “A Day With Lady Mae” but Lady Mae disagrees with Maxine’s directions. Maxine wants Grace to be a part of the program for example, but Lady Mae suggests Jacinta Butler instead. Maxine asks Lady Mae if the theme for the event is “She Changes Everything” or is it “She Puts Everyone to Sleep?” LOL.  Maxine notices that Lady Mae has some sort of block when it comes her own daughter and asks her what is the deal with that. Karine interrupts the planning session to tell Lady Mae that Lionel Jeffries is on the phone, but she aine tryin’ to hear him either.

Maxine, without Lady Mae at her hip, eventually sees Grace alone and uses the opportunity to ask her about her legal defense fund. She decides to contribute. But she also uses the time to ask Grace about her troubled relationship with her mother. “What’s that all about?” Grace responds with “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” That’s right Grace. Keep family business in the family unless you’re in therapy 🙂

Speaking of troubled family relationships, Rochelle tracks down her sister-in-law Tasha at her home. “Why aren’t you at Triumph?” Rochelle asks her. “I quit,” Tasha spits out.  She adds, “The funds have already been transferred from Triumph.” In other words, Tasha wants Rochelle to just leave her alone, but Tasha has more to say first. “You’re messing with an innocent man,” she says in reference to Jacob. “He’s a good man, Rochelle.” Now Rochelle is perturbed. “Are you in love with him?” She doesn’t outright answer the question but she asks Rochelle about the whereabouts of that “no account nothing brother of yours.” She then escalates the conversation even more. “If you come back here, I will call the cops. And I might forget what story I’m supposed to tell them.” Rochelle calls Basie afterward. “We’ve got a problem,” she says. Basie and Rochelle thought they were finally on the fast track to their promised land, but there continue to be road blocks.

The Promise…

Y’all know that Grace is gangsta right? While Rochelle was talking about her childhood in foster care with Coralie, Grace was taking mental notes. Later on, she tells Darius to use his network of contacts to find out more information about a Rochelle who grew up in foster care with her sister and Darius obliges. He tells that there were three girls named Rochelle but only one could be their Rochelle and he even has a foster mother to interview! Rochelle, you ’bout to be discovered chile. That’s a promise.

But while we wait for that to unfold, Rochelle has more business with Bishop. Now that Bishop is single, she is passing time with him out in the open on Percy’s porch no less. (Percy does not make an appearance on this episode though.) Bishop complains that he is “running a church from the guest room of a house next door to a mortuary.” Rochelle promises to help him find a new place and the two drink champagne to that. They don’t kiss as far as I can tell but they do nuzzle.

Another couple that I don’t like are figuring out their way around each other as well. Now that Zora is free is a bird, she mistakenly feels that freedom will be a part of her relationship with Isaiah. But that is not the case. She tells compliments him on the presales of his album and casually mentions that she forgot she applied to Spelman College. Apparently, the couple now reside in Atlanta where the school is located. She is thinking of setting up an interview, but instead of encouraging Zora to continue her education, Isaiah criticizes her. He says “Spelman doesn’t take high school drop outs.” Ouch. She should have stayed in school. But Zora calls him out on not claiming her during the radio interview to a female fan. He says, “I’ll claim you when you start acting like someone who deserves me.” He also knocks some food out of her hand. It looks like she decides to contact Spelman anyway, secretly of course so that her behind won’t be beat. I just don’t get it. Has he made some promises to her that we are not aware of because I just don’t get the attraction…

But maybe it’s just a case of the apple not falling far from the tree. Kerissa calls Tasha about her leaving Triumph in such a hurry. Tasha, who sounds high or drunk or both, says, “Why are you you calling me all mad? It was just a kiss. Don’t hate me Kerissa.” Now Kerissa knows that Jacob is up to his old tricks again and has not kept his promise to be faithful. At Triumph, Kerissa calls Jacob “trifling” and says that he is supposed to be a “strong tower” for the family and is nothing but a “twig.” In fact, he is worse than a twig. He is a “puddle of need, desires and bad decisions.” Wow, but he deserved every bit of that rebuke and probably more. But on the other hand, Kerissa continued to stay with Jacob through all of his past philandering and maybe that was the pattern that Zora observed growing up: My man may abuse me in a myriad of ways, but I shall stay and be abused any way. And in the midst of all of us, the new accountant interrupts them to tell them that $200,000 is missing from the church’s account!

Back at the Greenleaf estate, Charity answer’s Michael phone call. Since she was busy with her son on the night he originally wanted to go out to dinner, he asks her out for another night. She agrees at first, but tells him that something he said about her ex-husband got under her skin. He says that Kevin deceived her about that “struggle with his sin” but Charity doesn’t approve of how he describes Kevin. Michael says, “Charity, you deserve better,” and Charity responds with, “Maybe that’s not you.” So this is some growth for Charity. Usually, she just accepts any positive attention she gets without being selective about the source.

Across town, Darius and Grace go to see the woman who may have been one of Rochelle’s foster mothers. At first, she doesn’t remember Rochelle particularly with the last name Cross, but she does remember a Rochelle James who had a little sister! Gigi wastes no time in telling her father what she discovers. She goes over to Percy’s house to tell him in person. He has some news to share as well, but he allows her to go first. “Rochelle Cross is Daryl James’ daughter. She is the half-sister to Basie Skanks.”

Bishop looks crushed and we never find out what was his news. Maybe we will find out in a future episode.

Speaking of hidden identities and this is THE SHOCKER of the night, Lady Mae pays a visit to Lionel Jeffries in the nursing home. “What do you want Lionel?” she says. “I want to talk about my daughter!” Y’all, we’ve been wondering why in the world does Lady Mae hates her daughter so much. Even Maxine Patterson is perplexed. But now we know!!! I don’t know if a paternity test was ever conducted to confirm it but that is one reason among others in my opinion why Lady Mae is less than fond of Grace. And Grace is the oldest child too! You mean her first child wasn’t even Bishop’s? That’s crazy! (Oh, I don’t recall Lionel ever saying Grace’s name  so it’s possible that he may be referring to another one of Lady Mae’s daughters although that is not likely to me. What y’all think?!)

Speaking of crazy, Rochelle comes back to Tasha’s house and Tasha gets a lamp. I guess she is going to attack her sister-in-law with it, but before she does that, she sees Basie at the door!!!

Yes, my favorite short man character since George Jefferson is back! Brother and sister are both dressed in black. Basie says, “I’ve heard you’ve been a bad girl!” LOL. The funny thing is that Tasha looks like she loves some Basie too even while she was pining way for Jacob for the whole episode. But who doesn’t love a bad boy with some attitude unless it’s one who hits you like Isaiah. That’s another matter altogether. Anywho, that’s it and that’s all…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 10: The Promised Land and my other recaps so far. If you would like to keep up with OWN’s “Greenleaf,” and my recaps, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂!

Any thoughts?