Q&A (and brownies) with J.J. Murray discussion

Believe it or not, I will be leading a revival at St. John's AME in "Ballyhack," VA, November 17-19. I wrote about "Ballyhack" (nickname for this country section of Roanoke) in Original Love six years ago, and for whatever reason, they want me to preach.

I have been the acting pastor of Acting Faith in Salem, VA, since early September, so you can hear me every Sunday--except Oct. 17 (traveling to Chesapeake, VA, for my son's football game) and Oct. 31, which is Youth Sunday.

Mt. St. Mary's (Emmitsburg, MD), the oldest public Catholic university in the nation, has invited me to speak/read/sign in March 2011. I had been interviewed by a student doing her senior thesis on interracial marriage, and she and her faculty adviser liked my quirky answers enough to invite me. I'll let you know more as I know it.

I was recently invited to an author's conference, too, but I had to turn that one down. The email began: "Dear Ms. Murray."

I am a lot of things, but I am not a "Ms."

I didn't turn it down for that reason, however. It would have involved me driving five hours to "present my work" for a "maximum of three minutes." That's a lot of gas money for 180 seconds. How do I condense 10 novels into 180 seconds? 18 seconds per novel ... :) Sounds like sound-byte city.

WOW! You are a blessed man! I am so very proud of the fact that GOD is your source and not man! PLEASE keep up the good work and positive role that you have set for all interracial relationships! We need more people who are committed to the "Original Love" that was GOD's plan from the beginning.
The best to you and yours, Denise

An update:

The revival has been rescheduled to January for a number of reasons.

I will be speaking on interracial dating and relationships at Mt. St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, MD (very close to Gettysburg, PA) in early April, 2011. It's not exactly on the beaten path, but if you're in the area ...

I'll post the specifics as I get them.

Almost final details on the Mt. St. Mary's (Emmitsburg, MD, near Gettsyburg, PA) visit in April:

Monday, April 18 (or Wednesday, April 20):

Guest speaker at Race and Ethnics class with Dr. Virginia McGovern.

Tuesday, April 19:

Main speaker (and later panelist) at the Alpha Kappa Delta Honors Program 7-8:30 PM. Our topic: "Is Love Colorblind: Race and Romance in the 21st Century."

If y'all remind me, I'll post my speech after the program. I'm having a lot of fun writing it.

JJ, what you wrote in the previous post:

"It's not exactly on the beaten path, but if you're in the area ... "

If that hasn't changed, one or two of my book swapping homies and I would probably like to come. Ya never know.

It's only about 200 miles from our section of the beaten path, so it may only take us 3 1/2-4 hours...well if my friend drives. If I do, we could make it in 2 hours, 45 minutes. Sounds interesting. You'll be speaking on their favorite topic.

Ahh, I can hear the familiar siren sound amongst the crew.

"ROOOOAAAADDD TRRRRRIIIIIIPPP!"

How was St. John's AME? I'm AME but I belong to 5th District, Pacific Northwest. I know AME has it's roots on the east coast and is very big there, so I always wonder how it is out there?

The revival didn't happen. Lots of reasons, mainly that we (Acting Faith) were in the process of moving.

Oh that's too bad, well if you get another chance. I'd like to know. I'm always curious how my church is on the east coast. I'm sure very different than the west coast and certainly the PNW.

Here is my finalized itinerary for my visit to Mt. St. Mary's University April 18-19:

April 18

Lecture/Q&A on "Stereotypes" for Race and Ethnicity class

April 19

Lecture/Q&A on "The Melting Pot" for Social Theories class

Keynote address: "A Multicultural Life" for the Alpha Delta Kappa Honors banquet

Panel discussion: "Is Love Colorblind: Race and Romance in the 21st Century"

They are putting me to work!

Wow, those are interesting topics. Do you have to reserve a seat?

The panel discussion is open to the public and will take place in Laughlin Hall from 7-8:30 PM on April 19.

I will be using the "rules" (such as they are) for this group as the "rules" to interracial dating.

Will any members of this group be going to Mt. St. Mary's University (Emmitsburg, MD) on Tuesday, April 19?

I plan to give away over 200 books, and I want to make sure to save y'all some.

Let me know ... and bring brownies (with or without walnuts).

Hi JJ,

Sorry I couldn't make it due to Holy Week activities. How did it go?

All sessions went well. They laughed. They asked questions. They took plenty of free books. The panel session began with a bang--a thunderstorm! The turnout was still pretty decent (@ 50). I would love to do it again.

Glad to read it went well.