GOOD MORNING SAINTS: VIEWS FROM SERENGETI AND OTHER DEVOTIONALS

By MARCIA WILSON BROWN

In her first book, Marcia Wilson Brown brings a fresh new approach to devotionals as she narrates the story of our need as humanity to transform and be transformed, constructed through the intersection of biblical theology and pertinent social analysis.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Audible Publishing Services
• Release date: May 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869392541

Book preview

GOOD MORNING SAINTS:

VIEWS FROM SERENGETI AND OTHER DEVOTIONALS

MARCIA WILSON BROWN

GOOD MORNING SAINTS is a masterpiece of daily connection with GOD, beautifully written with inspiration and passion. The meditations touch on every aspect of life: hope, comfort, peace, and encouragement. They are concise and provide a daily dose of spiritual power, hope, and strength written in a simple language that is easy for anyone to understand and relate to.

Dr. Julius O. Adekunle

Professor of History, Monmouth University

Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church of Long Branch

GOOD MORNING SAINTS

Copyright @ 2023 Marcia Wilson Brown

Published by Audible Publishing Services

 All rights in this book are reserved. Other than what is in the public domain, no part of the book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publishers except brief quotations or photos or images already in the public domain.

Acknowledgements

To my friends, family, and brothers and sisters who stay in the WORD and set the example for my journey, chief among them my daughter Karma, my beloved siblings – Harvey, Chappeus, Marvin, and Maria –who are Guardians of the Galaxy in their own spheres of faith, my mentor Dr. Howard, always the wind at my back; and always to the village – who read my work, encouraged me and sustained me to get this done, fed me, listened to me, was patient with me and accepted me for who I am…..THANK YOU!  Finally, I dedicate this book to my Mother, whose steadfast love and faith has guided me into these devotional moments.

Foreword

For several years now, Marcia Brown has been writing a daily devotional, mainly for her own inspiration, and for sharing with a few close friends. As an occasional beneficiary of these special reflections on her faith, I was overjoyed to learn that she was considering publishing a selection of these writings. This meant that a much larger audience might find succor and courage in her writings so as to walk boldly in a world that calls us to conformity and cowardice.

Marcia is a lawyer by training, and a long-time administrator in higher education. Moreover, by her own admission, although she spent a good bit of her formative years attending church, her own faith blossomed after her 50th year. That is why readers may find her pure, almost innocent faith so compelling and infectious. She writes fluidly in theological language, drawing largely upon her confessed encounters with God, not so much upon conventional theological studies. She is also artfully adept at using contemporary metaphors to illustrate her message. And because she has a long history of social activism and exposure to progressive scholarship in sociology, the arts and politics, her piety might surprise some. Her evolving (exploding?) faith in Christ has in no way quelled her devotion to the struggle for justice, instead it seems to strengthen it in a way that secularists are likely to find unfamiliar. Accepting that Marcia has a long history of work and concern for justice in society, her faith is in no way contradictory to that commitment. Rather, one will find in her writing virtually a complete emphasis on faith as a vehicle that connects the faithful, beyond contemporary moments, to things eternal.

Faith for Marcia is, more than anything, a source of spiritual grounding, of comfort, and assurance…a source of strength that enables one to encounter the world fearlessly. What she has to say, and the conviction with which she says it, leaves one wondering whether people of faith are expected to take on roles that are not primary to their mission. So many of my friends hardly see what church people do as relevant—when they appear to exert relatively little effort toward changing the world beyond their walls, which explains their lack of appreciation for what motivates people to give of their time, talent and treasure so freely to their churches. At their best though, faith communities are enriched by fellowship and a shared acceptance, that their mortality, plus a resolve about their ultimate destiny, is what anchors them in hope.

So much of what we might all agree is wrong with the world, Marcia might say cannot be resolved with simple reason or diligent work, if it can ever be permanently