Skip to main content

Posts

For those of us who live in war zones

  For those of us who live in war zones right here in the US... who see the teens running inside "somebody shootin 'round da cornuh," they shout who see the kids just tryna work on their layups in beautiful 62 degree weather grab their balls and sprint for cover "what's alla that, man?" who see the young woman running downhill away from potential death away from her home who see the grandma get up from her post-church porch sit and crawl away from her peace and into her prison Nobody should live like this We are at war RIGHT HERE Everything is connected Liberation is a global pursuit For those of us who live in war zones I see you

In this season of my life...

I am not climbing; I am weaving.  I am re-membering self  back to wholeness. I am being  In a world where beingness is criminalized; I am creating lives  outside of blueprints and boxes  that suffocate  and satiate When holy hunger  and bottomless breath are necessary for life And liberation. I am not climbing, filling my days with  clockwork conferences, monotonous meetings, strategic selfies, rubbing chafed elbows with the  "right people" for "opportunity." Who is "right" in a world where chains  taking on new forms keep our elbows free while binding our feet? I am not climbing; I am cultivating The earth beneath my feet, remembering dust, remembering reformation, Because who are we  Without the soil? - September 1, 2023

Cracked Eggs, Nerf Guns, and the Murder of Karon Blake

  Cracked Eggs, Nerf Guns, and the Murder of Karon Blake At the time of my writing this, I am sitting in my big chair, staring at my front window from inside the house, looking at the drippings that have stained the glass from the eggs that some neighborhood kids hurled at my window almost two weeks ago. They were mad at me (I suppose) because they came to steal another package off my front porch in December, but they did not know that it was a package I’d planted with a note inside. I had them on camera stealing several packages on my block during the winter break, including one of mine that contained dog food (I know they were disappointed when they opened that one up ha!). Instead of calling the police or posting their faces on the many neighborhood apps, I decided to take an old amazon box, place a note inside, retape it and leave it on the porch. The note read: “God loves you. I care about you. Stop stealing packages. -Pastor Mac.” I wanted these 3 kids who look like they ar

Exhausting Possibilities: A Sermon by Rev. Mia M. McClain

2 Kings 4:1-7  Delivered on August 15, 2021 at Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina I am a child of Grey’s Anatomy. No, not the human anatomy book by Henry Gray; the hit medical television drama. It’s safe to say that because of my obsession with the show, I am who am I, today. Between Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder, writer and producer Shonda Rhimes was basically my 3rd parent. In Grey’s Anatomy, so many life lessons were taught and learned. I saw so much of myself in the various groundbreaking characters she made room for on primetime television, and Shonda’s theologies and ideologies are on clear display in many of the landmark scenes. One scene, in particular, has had a lasting effect on me.  In the 2nd episode of season 2, a trauma patient comes in who the paramedics have been working on for almost a half hour with no improvement in his condition. The paramedic tells the Chief Resident, Dr. Miranda Bailey, that the patient is practically g

"Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?"

Today (December 1st, 2020), Facebook reminded me that 5 years ago, I wrapped up a 5-week run of Ain't Misbehavin' at Portland Center Stage in Oregon, and flew back to New York City to re-enter my life there. I had just applied to seminary a few days before Thanksgiving and was excited about the possibility of leaning into this strong calling I felt to deepen my theological knowledge. I was still under the illusion that I'd be able to maintain some sort of performance career, so I kept my manager, Greg, and he'd continue sending me out on auditions. I was becoming very picky about what I'd say "yes" to-- Would I go on that national tour of Hamilton that he wanted to send me on or would I go to seminary? Would I leave to do a 9-month stint in After Midnight on an international cruise ship or would I go to seminary?  That was the question over and over again. I decided that I'd still do local stuff in NYC or short stints in other cities. Even as I ente

Time's Up!

God revealed something to me last Thanksgiving that is resurfacing now.  Amidst the turmoil of  ongoing injustices against black bodies  the expected miscarriage of justice regarding Breonna Taylor's murder (is there even justice for the dead?) this insidious drama with Tory Lanez, the man who shot Megan Thee Stallion  the reality that we are entering the 7-month of quasi-quarantining and the future is yet uncertain and the personal strife many of us are dealing with that is exacerbated by political and social discord I found myself coming back to what God spoke to me last year: "Time's Up!" I don't have anything profound to say in this post beyond Time's up for expecting people and systems to be anything other that what they are--what they've been.  Time's up for expecting forced accountability to save *us. Time's up for holding folks who don't hold us back. Time's up for investing in people and institutions where the ROI is limited or

Let The River Run Dry

i wish somebody woulda told me that some soul mates wouldn't stay forever i wish i'd have known that letting go was welcoming better parts of ourselves i wish  i didn't fall so hard i didn't scream so soft  i didn't bottle up tears drowning in them complaining bout keeping my head above oceans I could've let  spill into streams sinking in memories  that could've been dreams  i wish  i'd have known  that some soul mates wouldn't stay forever  that the river only runs as long as the rain falls that forever is fantasy or fallacy or fear  bottled up as fate  and here we are fighting for forever when the sun is saying let the river run dry