baltimoreblackwoman

It’s been awhile since I posted anything new on the blog proper. I’ve mostly been posting items on my Baltimoreblackwoman Facebook and Instagram pages, or on my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. But with Christmas 2024 less than a day away, it’s time to wrap up this year.

First, allow me to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hannukah! The last time I recall these two holidays overlapping (but not starting on the same day) was in 2016 when my family celebrated them both at a relative’s home. That first time seemed like a random novelty. This year, however, the dual holiday feels like a hidden message for my spirit. Though I was raised a Christian, with a Methodist mother and a lapsed Catholic father, I’ve always had an insatiable curiosity about different faith traditions. This curiosity was fostered by my family’s openness to learning about other cultures and beliefs, especially those in the Judaeo-Christian world.

My childhood was spent regularly attending services, Sunday School, and Vacation Bible School at my maternal family’s “home church,” Metropolitan United Methodist Church. But I also frequently attended services and special events at Catholic churches, where both maternal and paternal relatives were members. At home, my father recited the Catholic grace before meals, as did his relatives. Depending on which family (Catholic or Protestant) we were visiting, we said different prayers at meals.

I was confirmed in the United Methodist Church when I was about 12 years old. Yet, just a few years later, in high school, I decided to attend Catechism classes at a neighborhood Catholic Church. I dropped out before the classes finished. Thanks to my studies in high school, I began to dabble in other religions—reading about the I Ching, the Ba’hai faith, and Judaism, among others. I also encountered other Christian denominations during a short stint in Girl Scouts, while singing at folk services at churches of varying denominations (Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran), and while working at summer jobs as a camp counselor at different venues.

One summer job at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church led me to other opportunities, from 1974 to the early 1980s. First, as a folksinger, I appeared as “Miss Jackie” on a Sunday morning television show called “Children’s Chapel.” (Incredibly, when I started my first professional job a few years later, my trainer recognized me as Miss Jackie!). Then, at my last college summer job, I did administrative work and neighborhood evangelism calls at Third English Lutheran Church, as a prospective Deaconess in a career program called Ventures in Vocations. I ended up becoming a member of that church, serving as a chorister, organist, choir director, and Administrative Board Chair.

By 1987, I had returned to my childhood Methodist Church, where I again served as a chorister, choir director, and organist; served on a church committee or two; and attended many Bible Study classes alongside my mother. However, by the year 2000, my active membership ended; I was a Methodist in name only.

Fast forward to January 2016, a little more than a year after I started my blog. My mother and I visited a synagogue for the first time in our lives, to attend a Martin Luther King Day concert. We were so impressed by the warmth and kindness of the congregants of Beth Am that I wrote about it on my blog and sent the post to the Rabbi, and now my dear friend, Daniel Burg, setting the stage for what has been the most productive, educational, and spiritually enriching period of my life, so far. My mother and I had no idea that this event would change the trajectory of my life, and yet, I believe she somehow knew.

This Season also marks a major milestone for my blog: December 27, 2024 is the 10th Anniversary of baltimoreblackwoman.com! I’ll be back this weekend with a blitz of posts to celebrate….