Just Thinking Out Loud

Not to make too fine a point of it, or raise the black movie issue again, but have you noticed;

1) Yes, there are some excellent movies with strong casts of African-Americans in all kinds of roles.

• Moonlight- black writers and director, powerful coming-of-age story in a whole new way. Great Oscar buzz for a while.
• Fences- a marvelous adaptation of African-American playwright August Wilson's play. Mesmerizing to watch.
• Hidden Figures- a true story of three African-American women who truly did get Americans into space through their mathematical skills. Made me want to make sure we don't lose the gains we have made.

2) Yes, there is also another excellent movie, Lion starring Dev Patel, a British actor of Indian heritage, a person of color. The most moving and epic of these four. My pick for Best Picture!

3) Yes, there are all kinds of nominations for people of color and these movies. Any one of which is highly qualified for Best Picture, Best Acting, Best Direction, etc. This is not in reaction to the previous years missing many good performances. All these movies have been in production long before that and are truly great movies on their own and should stand up to any of the excellent movies, past or present.

But here is where I am cautious, yet just thinking out loud....

With all these utterly amazing movies and cast, the movie that seems to be taking the world by storm is an admittedly top-notch musical about Los Angeles, a white jazz musician, and an update of the "golden era" movie musicals, called La La Land.

Calendar of Saints: Absalom Jones

Periodically I post a quote from a saint from the Episcopal Calendar of Saints that week. I connect it with a picture that I have taken as a kind of poster. These are meant to be meditative and mindful, playful and thought inducing. I hope they are helpful in your spiritual journeys.

Absalom Jones (1746 - 1818)
Abolitionist and Priest
February 13

Born into slavery then granted his freedom, Jones became a lay minister at the interracial congregation of St. George's Methodist Church. Together with Richard Allen, he was one of the first African Americans licensed to preach by the Methodist Church.

In 1772, while at St. George's Methodist Church, Absalom Jones and other black members were told that they could not join the rest of the congregation in seating and kneeling on the first floor and instead had to be segregated first sitting against the wall and then on the balcony. After completing their prayer, Jones and the church's black members got up and walked out.

As 1791 began, Rev. Jones started holding religious services at the Free African Society, which the following year became the core of his African Church in Philadelphia. Jones wanted to establish a black congregation independent of white control, while remaining part of the Episcopal Church. After a successful petition, the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, the first black church in Philadelphia, opened its doors on July 17, 1794. Jones was ordained as a deacon in 1795 and as a priest in 1804, became the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church.

Famous for his oratory, Jones helped establish the tradition of anti-slavery sermons on New Year's Day. His sermon for January 1, 1808, the date on which the U.S. Constitution mandated the end of the African slave trade, called A Thanksgiving Sermon was published in pamphlet-form and became famous. [Note: The words above were part of a hymn written by Michael Fortune and used for the occasion.] Nonetheless, rumors persisted that Rev. Jones possessed supernatural abilities to influence the minds of assembled congregations. White observers failed to recognize his oratory skills, perhaps because they believed rhetoric to be beyond the capabilities of black people. Numerous other African-American leaders faced similar rumors of supernatural activities.

-Link