Hello World,

Kirk Franklin has had a week including a triumphant high and a tough low…Such is life at times…

He laid his grandmother Cuba Mae Allen to rest on Friday…

She was not the elderly woman who raised him I believe. That woman was his great aunt Gertrude Franklin, but still losing an elder in your family is life-changing and hard. My sincere condolences to him and all of his family members.

Earlier in the week, after a triumphant night at the Grammy Awards, he shared that he was not always deserving of the accolades he has received and how he is trying to save gospel music…

See that video below…

Any thoughts?

The post Kirk Franklin’s Grandmother Cuba Mae Allen Has Passed, Shares Photos from Homegoing Celebration… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

I love that familiar hymn “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.” While a tie may seem restrictive, a tie can actually be wonderful thing that keeps us together when the rigors of life can easily separate…

One of the ties that binds me is the tie that I have to the University of Georgia, my blessed alma mater…Although the University of Georgia wasn’t my first choice when I was applying to colleges, going to and graduating from the University of Georgia has proven to be a blessing to me over and over again…

One of the ways that I reconnect to my beloved alma mater is attending homecoming…I don’t always get to attend but when I do, I am reminded of the four years it took to make a Georgia Bulldawg (I said, ‘It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog!)

At the University of Georgia, I was blessed to pledge the best and most illustrious sorority in the world Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. What makes a sorority is the sisters that you meet and bond with hopefully for the rest of your life…I am forever tied to Delta Sigma Theta, and it was wonderful to reconnect with them yesterday on the campus where we started as girls, became sisters and left as women..Unfortunately, two of beloved sorority sisters, my line sisters to be specific, are no longer with us due to breast cancer (Please remember that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.), and we celebrated our ties to them…our dear Kim & Lola…Take a look at some of the memories I made yesterday at the University of Georgia…Go Dogs!!!

Celebrating Kim & Lola & Honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month…

A better view with my line sister and me…

More line sisters…

Explaining about breast cancer awareness…

Still spreading the word…

One thing about Zeta Psi Deltas…we love to take line pics

Exhibit B…

One of my favorite Delta “Big Sisters”

Deuces!!!

Many of us met our future husbands at Georgia and created more Georgia Bulldogs

Perhaps future Georgia bulldogs?

Doesn’t she look like a future Georgia bulldog?

If you didn’t meet your future spouse at UGA, you definitely met great friends…

Everyone, including my hubby, loves the Georgia bulldogs!

Red and Black in Technicolor…

Of course, I had to get a pic of me too…

At the end of the day, we collected hundreds on behalf of breast cancer research…Please consider doing the same…

Any thoughts?

The post Celebrating UGA, DST, Kim & Lola…Blest Be the Tie That Binds… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

I’m not ashamed to admit that 20 years ago, 1992, I graduated from Benjamin Banneker High School in College Park…I am ashamed to admit that since then I had not been back to my high school alma mater until Monday…

As a part of Banneker’s Homecoming Week Celebration with the theme “The Rise of the Trojans,” BHS Alumni Association representative Michael Shepherd, class of 1993, invited Banneker alum to return to be a part of the homecoming festivities starting with Career Day!

First of all, I was impressed with the brand new buildings that are now Banneker High School! Gone are the dusty trailers that were a daily part of my schedule at BHS! The new school is beautiful and looks like a mini-college campus. I’ve always loved to go to school (at least most days), but going to such a beautiful school would have definitely enhanced my high school days all those years ago now. But I will stop telling you about what I saw. Instead of I will show you what I saw…

Isn’t this a beautiful and impressive new building?

Alum were invited to assemble in the media center before we got started with Career Day…

Class of 1993 member Alfred Bacon, who has a high-tech computer job, came back…

Class of 1992 member Shaun Ware came back to show her support…We still look good

William Arnold III, who I think is in the class of 1990, and another BHS alum showed up…

Mike Crooms aka Mr. Collipark aka DJ Smurf, class of 1991, represented…

Another BHS alum…

BHS Principal Mr. William Bradley took a picture with me…Mr. Bradley was a BHS teacher when I was there…

A new generation of BHS teachers…Looking younger than some of the the alum

Just another view of the fabulous new media center…

I spoke to a 10th grade language arts class taught by Ms. Marscida Kinlaw, my friend and BHS Class of 1990 alum…I love that she teaches at BHS!

Ms. Kinlaw let me pretend to be a teacher…Unfortunately I was not able to take pics with her class, but the funniest part of my discussion with the students was trying to explain the concept of pagers to them…Communication technology has certainly evolved since 20 years ago

Following our presentations, BHS ROTC members escorted alum to the auditorium for a Career Day assembly…

The auditorium…Only select members of the school were allowed to attend the assembly…

Members of the 2012 BHS Homecoming Court…

2012 BHS Homecoming King and Queen listen to Mike Shepherd encourage BHS students…

His words of wisdom really inspired the students…

Mike handed out candy as a part of his presentation…

The students were really excited about Mike throwing candy into the crowd…

BHS alum and BHS ROTC…It was so good to come back…

Final pics before leaving…

On the way to my car…

Driving off of the BHS property…It was my first time back, but it won’t be my last…I hope to see more BHS alum at the new and improved Banneker High School in the near future…

Any thoughts?

The post Return to Banneker High School…20 years later… appeared first on After the Altar Call.