17 Comments

Congratulations. Looking forward to reading your book.

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I am SO EXCITED for you! Congratulations on getting a book contract! I cannot wait to preorder a copy (multiple copies) of your work!

The bit about two contracts sounds frustrating and aggravating and... I'll be praying for you as you process all that.

Thank you for this week's list, beautifully curated, as always. Marcie, you're wonderful, and I'm glad to know you.

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Of all of the writers that I follow, you are the one whose book I would be most excited to preorder and read, read, and read again. You are talented and it is evident that you put the work in to bring words to life, graciously and generously. Congratulations and may peace find you in the process. <3

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Congratulations. I’m tearing up while reading between your lines this morning. Reading the cost of being where you were never meant to be, twice, and also the triumph and holiness of it. The dedications and the books you chose to honor (I already know there are so many more, and it must have been tough to narrow down) are our heritage of here-ness. Still here. Prophesying.

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Thank you for all of this. So looking forward to reading your book! I was unaware of these dedications and now see the significance and poignancy. <3

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Wonderful! Thank you for sharing.

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You and your writing are far from ordinary Marcie - you are fantastic!!! I'm glad you pursued this - you are meant for it!!!

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Happy to already have read three of these and looking forward to the others! 📚❤

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Congratulations, Marcie. So thrilled for you and so thrilled that the rest of the world will soon know the magic of your incredible writing.

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Wow. I wrote a heartfelt, eloquent benediction, well you inspire me and will make a writer out of me yet! Sending a silent roar of congratulations your way with a big smile. I accidently lost it during login so I am just writing this with great joy and confidence. I feel like shouting! This is a big win for the sensitive and perceptive. I have been around friends when they go through life and career changes and when wind shifts, it's thrilling and I receive great power to be happy for them and cheer them on. I don't want to say stepping stone because people I value most don't think of life on those terms, but I am overjoyed not only for the sobriety that you approach this with but also the clear and unconfused joy of seeing you elevated, that comes with trust in how you have helped my life and many others. Obviously I know very little about the challenges and road that awaits, but please take this gift of some of the joy I feel and may it refresh you on your journey today! Happy Monday as well

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Ps I was deeply moved last week when you rested from the Phat Juicy Abundant God lesson series. It made me want to share two things I have seen that I think about for encouragment sometimes who wresteled with intersectionality in public and important ways. I sometimes reflect on some churches in Philadelphia that stand out in radical art and hospitality. One was the Broad Street Ministry where I felt a lot of love when I went through a short period of homelessness years back. The others was a historic civil rights church with the most vibrant and prophetic murals I have ever seen in a sanctuary. I hope you do not mind my sharing these links here, they probably won't work so will need to be copied and pasted into one's browser if you or anybody want to be encouraged and amazed. Even though they were done years ago, they still speak to me across time and give me goosebumps because of how compelling a witness they stand :Church of the Advocate Philadelphia, PA: Murals & History

Church of the Advocate: Scribe Video Center 2min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqtZ9YQxX2I

The Neighborhood Advocate 2min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aTIFUGvt0Q

Philadelphia Church of the Advocate-Temple U. TV 3min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPl8fNXIzQo

Richard Watson and Watler Edmonds: Murals of the Church of the Advocate 2min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iORff9QMq80

advocate part1 13 min, Artist Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf0tsj8sIfI

Art Of The Advocate part2 Philadelphia PA 7min., Artist Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsyvRh_Zv4U

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Ps I am working through the links you shared of youtube interviews of each author. The vastness of the world of white unseeing and it's consequences are addressed by each author. Both the scope and the brilliance with which the greats have asserted the right for black life to exist and the unearthing and bringing to light deeply hidden assumptions and narratives behind so many of the discussion reveals how deeply rooted. That these are decades old is both rich resource and mapping but discouraging in how sprawling and entrenched. The longing for a peace built on passivity is indeed in the way of getting help. I am so aware of my limits in saying anything helpful in this, but overanalyzing is my way of expressing solidarity and of acknowledging as much as I can of the tangle and obstacles. Yet I don't know the way through and I don't think I have been able to convey how serious and dismaying the spiritual warfare is, how subtle, and how the group of witness in the authors you have gathered testify even decades later to a guiding light of abundant love that has not even been recognised in many circles. It's a triumph to me that it's recognized here in this space as love and as God as cosigner. For you to do so I think is a priestly function of adults is to bless God where they see love, to speak it out, to lift it up, and say here it is! That we live in a world where church approved love is badly branded, packaged, and redundant and small doesn't seem to trouble everyone but artists, with whom an uneasy relationship rests, and different responsibilities, than brand building. I think an artist adult can see God working in places that organizations sometimes cannot imagine or associate with. It is their job to imagine with great love a world so different. That nobody changes as a result, at least not immediately, is both the danger and the freedom. It's the problem and the peace. I pray strength and courage as you walk the road you have been and I celebrate your words. I hope the horrors and fury of entrenched unseeing also give you power to speak fully everything you have in your heart to say that God has given you. Life is short and your words matter and you do make a difference and the stories, links, and connections you share do matter, as do the pains and anguishes that you face down and share a portion.

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I’m so thrilled you’re working through the author’s links. Some of them are rare. Audrey Lorde especially

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Matthew, thank you for the links!!! I love it! I will go through each one, friend. Thank you.

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Matthew, your enthusiasm and joy for me is more than anyone deserves. Wow. What a blessing.

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Echoing all these congratulations with so much gratitude for the way you invite us to see the world. It will mean so much to have your words not just in our pockets but also on our bookshelves!

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Oh my goodness!!! Thanh you

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