God and Wine

I preached my first public sermon on March 29, 2017. It was a total accident...at least that's what it felt like, but I'm sure God would argue otherwise. [ Read more about that experience and the after-effects here]   I was really emotional all day today. It's partially because I'm having an  issue of blood  😡, partially because I'm lonely, partially because it's Holy Week and I'm working a lot, partially because I'm approaching my 29th birthday, but mostly because today marks one year since I did this totally amazing and unexpected thing  in James Chapel at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Since then, I've preached 10 times. I've experimented with this thing  and explored my voice in more ways than I could've ever imagined. I've realized how much my acting training and career have helped me step into this thing  and I've embraced the bittersweet loneliness that comes along with this thing  (or at least I'm tryin...

Viaggio Solenne Solemn Journey A Reflective Poem I walked across a turf of green And halted where I’d be unseen To snatch a look one final time Of all I was to leave behind The beckoning of a blackbird heard Ironic doves of white appeared I swiftly summoned my untamed herd My spirit pained, eternally seared Took one last look, or so I thought At fields of roses budding by At nectar craving bees and birds At obese clouds across the sky Took one last gasp, so I assumed Of Spanish oaks and olive trees Of planted fields of fresh grown corn Of sweetly sour strawberries The light was fading quickly out I felt a sense of urgency I moved toward the darkened clout I walked yet with insurgency Yet, then I stopped and moved away The coming of another day As gleam pierced through the gloom and shade I stared at death one final time, Yet, chose the path that life had made. (c) Mia Michelle McClain

While I was listening to the presentation about The Conversation Project , I started thinking about all the mistakes I’ve made in trying to have “the conversation” with my mother. As an only child of a single, aging woman, I'm well aware that I'm her next of kin and I’m afraid I’d be completely clueless if something tragic were to happen to her tomorrow. In the presentation, something came up about entering “the conversation” by talking about your wishes first. I totally did that wrong last December, but all is not lost. I know that her mausoleum plot is paid for. I remember her talking about that back when I was in middle school, primarily because she was a single parent (and an older parent) and didn’t want me to be scrambling for burial arrangements in the event of an untimely death ( is death ever timely? ). However, we haven’t recently discussed where that information lives.  Nonetheless, I decided to walk through some of the questions in the Conversation Project’s...