Worship

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 25 2010

Our connection to the afterlife

Ancestry is a highly regarded realm of life among many of us in our domestic sectors and even abroad. Many families have a deep reverence for those who have passed on to another life beyond the clouds in heaven or a life among the spirits in a realm unseen by the human eye.

Memorials in honor of the ancestors may remain on mantels in homes, or a small token from their former life may be kept away in a relatives, and loved ones’ secret space.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 11 2010

Carrying on the spirit of our ancestors

African Americans are a colorful people, who claim some of the most phenomenal talents, elaborate philosophies, and eccentric belief systems. One thing about Black religion and spirituality is that we know how to have us some church.

From the dancing and singing to the worshiping and preaching, when we get down, we get down. It would almost be appropriate to say that in church, temple, mass, mosque and whatever other service you can think of, we always seem to welcome in the spirit of the Higher Being, the ancestors, or respective spirits.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Oct 21 2010

Similarities, differences evident

The Ambo people in Zambia call the Creator Cuta; the Bacongo people in Angola call him Nzambi; the Digo people in Kenya call God Mulungu; the Kpelle people in Liberia call the Almighty Yala; and the Ndebele people in Zimbabwe call the All Knowing Unkulukulu. These are but a few names our brothers and sisters in the Motherland call the being whom most of us call God. Living worlds apart, yet connected through ancestry and even spirituality, African Americans have long been consciously disconnected to whom we used to call God.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Sep 30 2010

Silence doesn’t make the issue of church molestation go away

Between the Lines

The on-going (and ever-increasing) reported sex scandal of one of black America’s most prominent (and extravagant) “mega-preachers,” Bishop Eddie Long has the nation talking.

They’re not just talking about the event itself. Black America is in a debate, on Facebook, on Twitter, on blogs in chat rooms, and in editorial commentary as to whether we, as a community, should even be talking about this.

May 28 2009

A popular Christian club event

Los Angeles, CA -- Dance as a form of worship is a common occurrence in many religions. For example Praise dancing is a combination of modern, jazz, and ballet. But KRUMPING for Christ as a form of worship? KRUMP - an acronym for Kingdom, Radically Uplifting, Mighty, Praise can be used as a form of worship and is a perfect fit for the skateboard riding, Mohawk wearing, sagging jeans sporting youth who prefers not to worship like their parents.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.