Pioneers Church is treading on holy ground

Rev-elution is an independent, local, Black-owned, and Black focused news outlet. It is entirely sustained by the contributions of readers. Please support by contributing at: Cash App, $CMizzou, or Venmo, @Carl-Kenney-1.

commentary – Spaces are made sacred by virtue of the people who gather to make it home. These welcoming and affirming places are more than temples where lessons about faith are taught to separate wolves from lambs.

It matters when a congregation is planted on sacred ground.

Close to 6,500 people have signed a petition to prevent Pioneers Church from opening its doors in the area made holy when residents Married Durham.

Pioneers Durham is a retail, coffee, and co-working space in the Hutchings Auto Supply Building located at 402 W. Geer Street. The revenue from Pioneers Durham will be used to fund Pioneers Church, a new congregation led by Sherei Lopez-Jackson and her partner Daniel Jackson.

The petition chides Lopez-Jackson for supporting the position of the United Methodist Church to withhold ordination from LGBTQ+ persons and supporting her denominations opposition of same sex relationships.

“Under the limits of my ordinations (united Methodist Church) and my own convictions, I am not permitted to marry people within the LGBTQ+ community,” Lopez-Jackson said in response to her critics.

More than 2,000 people took vows on March 19, 2011, during Marry Durham

“Today, we marry each other. Beyond race, beyond gender, beyond class, beyond sexual orientation, beyond religion and all other declarations,” are part of the vows I wrote binding residents to each other with a deeper commitment to protect our mutual interest.

Residents of Durham evoked the spirit of their vows when Republican State Senator Peter Brunstetter introduced Senate Bill 514, Amendment One, to the North Carolina General Assembly in September 2011.

Not in the Bull City.

Durham responded with a resounding hell to the no when the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (HB2) took effect on March 23, 2016. HB2 required people to use the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex as the designation appearing on an individual’s birth certificate.

Not in the Bull City.

“We are married by our thoughts,” that’s what I said that day. “We are married by a love made deeper by the strength of the others in our community. We are more than the labels others create to separate and define. We are married to the truth of universal claims. We are more powerful because of every you in our city.”

More than 2,000 people said yes to that. We meant every word. We’ve proven it by our enduring love for every person who lives in the Bull City – beyond race, beyond religion, beyond gender, and, yes, beyond sexual orientation.

I meant every word I spoke that day. We all meant it.

We prove it by how we vote. We don’t always agree, but the vows still matter. They have shaped how we think about Durham. Ten years later, we continue to be impacted by the day we Married Durham.

It happened in the shadow of Pioneers Church.

There are hundred of congregations in Durham. Many endorse the position of Pioneers Church. They don’t accept the ordination of LGBTQ+ persons. They refuse to marry same sex couples. Durham is a community with diverse theological viewpoints.

Not all ministers think like me.

Granted, but it matters that I officiated a wedding with vows aimed at defining the heart of Durham.

“I promise to promote the strengths of the city I love, rather than to demean and destroy the reputation when I disagree with the actions of others I vow to love,” I said that. I meant that. I still do.

Churches are being planted across the city. These gentrifying churches are planted to claim territory for their hipper version of Jesus. They mingle a chic marketing strategy with a Bibicalist bent. They bring a new swag to a white evangelical theological perspective under the guise of a more modern, friendlier version of Jesus.

They occupy territory like the Crusaders intent on winning souls to their homophobic white Jesus. They offer coffee and pastries with space for millennial business owners while rejecting the humanity of men and women in search of safe spaces to gather in peace.

We honor a moment in time where hands were held, and the collective dreams of residents mingled to pioneer a new movement. Statements were made about what we desire to be in a city made holy by a love transcendent of all our difference.

Geer Street is holy ground.

It’s the place where we said “I do” to what it means to be a community committed to loving and embracing each other beyond differences.

Not in the Bull City.

Durham needs marriage counseling

Rev-elution offers independent, local, Black journalism and reflections on faith in public space. Support Rev-elution by contributing at: Cash app, $CMizzou, or Venmo, $Carl-Kenney-1

 

“What Durham needs is marriage counseling,” Angie Santiago said during a recent encounter at Vaguely Reminiscent, one of my favorite places to purchase gifts for women.

We were discussing the possible renewal of the vows taken at Marry Durham, the legendary event Santiago and I helped organize in 2011. We discussed the changes in Durham since that day and the reasons making it hard to imagine proudly participating in a service dedicated to reveling our love for Durham.

Less than an hour later, I found myself emmeshed in a similar conversation with David Streib, a Durham based musician, artist and craftsman who participated in Marry Durham.

“I miss the community from back then,” Streib said. “I don’t know the people who live here.”

It’s a sentiment felt by many of the people who made Durham home before the wave of new residents cleaned up the dirty that made Durham unique.

We talked about when Whisky, a bar in downtown, was a common gathering spot to listen to Brandford Marsalis and his jazz quartet entertain just because it was a cool thing to do. We talked about when Motorco Music Hall first opened on Rigsbee, and when my son King Kenney and his business partner Jeff Johnson curated Michael Jackson versus Prince, tributes to Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin and customed-themed dance parties.

There’s a sadness in the voices of the people who remember those golden years between 2010-2013. When we gathered in the parking lot of Motorco to marry Durham, it’s because we felt the love. That love is gone after the intrusion of other lovers. Our pride and deep love for community is distorted by a prettier face – taller, new buildings -owned by people from far away.

We miss the Hayti Heritage Center Blues Festival when it was held at Durham Athletic Park, where the movie Bull Durham was filmed and the former home of the Durham Bulls before James Goodman, owner of the Bulls, held the city of Durham hostage with a threat to move the team. The city financed the parking deck for the Bulls and the surge of development south of the railroad commenced.

We discussed when life on Ninth Street was different.

“Have you seen Concrete,” Streib said. “Man, I miss Concrete.”

Concrete is one of the beloved members of the homeless community that frequented Ninth Street before national chains invaded our space. I wrote, Home is a Cup of Coffee, a short story featured in  27 Views of Durham, as a work of fiction based on Concrete’s story.

Streib asked me to send him the vows to the Marry Durham ceremony. His request reminded me of images from the day while officiating the service in one of the robes designed and made by my mother. They counted thousands of people representing the idealism of Durham residents in 2011.

I read my own words before sending them to Streib.

Santiago is right. We need counseling.

For those who remember that day, this is for you. For those who missed it, this is what you missed.

MARRY DURHAM CEREMONY by Carl W. Kenney II on March 19, 2011 

Today, we merge our memories. We gather to collect our thoughts related to the city we all love so much. Our collective memories serve as the backdrop for a day made possible due to our appreciation for what it means for us to be joined by our former days.

The mixture of hues and ideologies is what makes this day a celebration of oneness.  It is our willingness to build beyond our distinction that makes our home a place like no other. We gather to show our love for the myriad of places we all have come to love. We cherish our assortment of places for fine dining- some with seats and others with serving stations on wheels.

We honor the places that educate us: our schools and universities, our museums and libraries and the vast nonprofits dedicated to building hope and teaching a better way. We mark the memories of those who helped build the Black Wall Street.  We remember the lives of those who treaded the rivers of our hallowed union. We stand today a community made better by our difference. We have fought the lure of sacrificing the range of our difference for a façade of inclusion.

The strength of our bond is the clash of colors and perspectives on the canvas called Durham. We are more than communities divided by districts, streets, subdivisions, and roadblocks. We are married by our thoughts. We are married by a love made deeper by the strength of the others in our community. We are more than the labels others create to separate and define. We are married to the truth of universal claims. We are more powerful because of every you in our city.

Today, we marry our city. In doing so we affirm our love for each other. Today, we marry each other. Beyond race. Beyond gender. Beyond class. Beyond sexual orientation. Beyond religion and all other declarations. For better and for worse. In times of economic strength and recession. We love you Durham and we love each person gathered to bear witness to our absolute love for all that makes our happy home.

Now, as we hold hands in solidarity, we build a human bond of love stronger than all words and actions of contradiction. We claim the command of our communal witness.

I commit to cherish diversity by celebrating the contributions made by so many in Durham. I promise to keep our streets clean and to do all I can to make them safe.  I vow to show love for Durham by shopping locally and by protecting our natural resources. I promise to learn more about and to support Durham’s nonprofits. I will support our local artist by purchasing their work and sharing with others the creative geniuses in Durham. I vow to participate in local government by electing local leaders and holding them accountable to the meaning of our union. I promise to promote the strengths of the city I love rather than to demean and destroy the reputation when I disagree with the actions of others I vow to love. In good weather and during snowstorms, during good days and heated elections-I give myself to you Durham…until death do us part. And, if I relocate to another city, I will spread the word wherever I go-there is no place like Durham.

As we take time to gaze at the city we love so much we proclaim that love.  We begin by sharing our love with each other.  We pause now to share our love by finding a person - a person you have never met -and sharing your love for the city and the people who make this your happy home.

(People share with each other for 30 seconds).

And now, by the power invested in me by the city I love so much. I now pronounce you citizen and city. Let no news article, blog posting or outburst of another person destroy what you have for one another.

You may express your love by shouting from the top of your voice - WE LOVE YOU DURHAM

 

 

  

Hanging With the Rev

In case you haven’t been paying attention, Durham has become a hotspot for entertainment. Folks are flooding the Bull City to take part in the good stuff at the Carolina Theatre and the Durham Performing Arts Center. A few weeks back we had Eric Benet and Aretha Franklin on the same night - one at the Carolina Theatre and the other at the DPAC. Don’t be fooled into thinking those are the only places jumping. It’s hard to keep up with all that’s going on.


As a service to those in search of a place to hang, the Rev-elution is dedicating each Thursday to Hanging with the Rev, a listing of events in Durham, NC.


We begin with the play featured on the Rev-elution on February 17. This is one that you simply can’t miss. Tell the ladies at the hair salon to pack the house to see I Love My Hair When It’s Good & Then Again When It Looks Defiant & Impressive. Written by Chaunesti Webb, the play is certain to get folks talking about the drama black women face due to their hair. If you don’t know, show up. If you know, well show up anyhow. It takes place at the Manbites Dog Theatre, March 8-17. Manbites is at 703 Foster Street.


If you love that time of year when the American Dance Festival is in town and need a fix, Gaspard & Dancers has a treat for you. Durham-based modern dance choreographer Gaspard Louis and his company will feature a powerful new work at the company’s third annual concert on March 13 and 15 at the Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke University.


Haitian-born Louis will present the world premiere of Souke, the latest in a series of exciting new works he has created in the Triangle since the founding of Gaspard&Dancers in 2009. Souke, which means “to shake” in Haitian Creole, captures both the chaos of the tragic 2010 earthquake and the courage of the Haitian people—courage that unites them in rebuilding their devastated country. Proceeds from the concert support those efforts.


In addition to four works by Louis, Gaspard&Dancers will perform a world premiere by Amanda K. Miller as well as Mark Dendy’s 1985 groundbreaking athletic tour de force BEAT. Dendy has launched and directed two acclaimed dance companies and created numerous award-winning works for theater and television. His choreography has been honored with an Emmy, an Obie, a Bessie, and the Alpert Award.


For those interested in stimulating their minds, The Pauli Murray Project is holding a series of discussion focused on Amendment One. The next event is a speech on Theological & Biblical Perspectives on Amendment One (Marriage Equity) at Pilgrim United Church of Christ, 3011 Academy Road. The speech will be given by Mary Mclintock Fulkerson, professor of theology at Duke University. The event begins at 6:30 pm and ends at 8:30.


If you love the genre of music some call Neo Soul (I hate the term because you can’t make a new soul), keep your calendar set for the Beyu Café on the fourth Saturday of each month. Grammy nominated singer Yazarah will set the stage on fire each month with an event called the Yazarah Love Series. I spoke to Yaz on yesterday and she has plans to bring some of the biggest names in the biz to Durham. It’s her way of showing love to the city she calls home. The only problem is the lack of space at the Beyu, so get those tickets early!


Finally, it’s time to renew our vows. On last year, I performed the ceremony that had people come out to Marry Durham. On Saturday, March 17, we will remember that day by affirming our commitment to keep our streets clean and safe, protect our natural resources, shop locally, support the arts and local non-profit organizations, cherish diversity and elect responsible leadership. It kicks off at 2:30 pm and will last until 5:30 pm. Like last year’s wedding, there will be food trucks, entertainment and a parade. Meet me at the 700 Block of Rigsbee Avenue (between W. Geer & Corporation Streets) to say I do again or for the first time.

Sponsored By: Motorco, The Bar, Surf Club, Lloyd’s Lounge and Fullsteam

Oh yeah, good things are happening in Durham. Come Hang out with the Rev.