ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      MANY HEARTFELT THANKS are due to the folks who made up my editing team: Dr. Doris Allen, Rev. Kendal Brown, Rev. Stella “Toni” Dunbar, Ms. Emerald O’Leary, and Dr. Louis C. Knox. All of you burned the midnight oil with me and gave so much to make me look good. Thank you for helping me tell our story. I owe you chicken, the holy bird.

      I also want to thank my forever family, City of Refuge United Church of Christ, for giving me time to finish this book. I missed you “muchly” when I was absent from you, and your prayers have supported me. I appreciate the stabilizing presence of all of the associate pastors. A special word of appreciation to my administrative assistants, Barbara Webb and Noni Gordon, for trying diligently to make sense of my schedule, and to Fran Houston for picking up the things I could not do and doing them without a complaint.

      To my wonderful family—Shirley, my life partner, Nubian and Latrice, my girls, and Leonard, my big brother—thank you for your words of encouragement and practical advice. Shirley, I hope this is the end of the all-nighters, and I promise I will get some rest now that this drama is over. I am also blessed with the most wonderful parents in the world: Bishop James and Rt. Rev. Mother Ruth Langston. I know I scare you both sometimes, but your support of me during my many transitions is such a tangible demonstration of the love you have for me. I am your girl and I am fiercely indebted to you.

      Finally, I dedicate this book to my grandparents, the late Bishop