For many people worldwide, the season of Advent is a magical time. For Western Christianity, Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical calendar and celebrates the birth of Jesus. Black Christians typically celebrate the season through extensive devotional time and a deep reflection on the past year and what is to come. The joy is palpable, and miracles reign supreme. For that short period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, the world seems to shift, and happiness and cheer become the law of the land.
As always, Black folks didn’t wait until Advent to spread great tidings of comfort and joy. At our core, we are a festive and cheerful people. Most recently, that’s been captured through the viral #CuffItChallenge, making its way across social media. Watching everyone groove to Beyoncé’s latest single from her album, RENAISSANCE, has given the endless hours I devote to scrolling my timelines a newfound purpose.
Bey brought this album to us when the world needed more inspiration than ever. The way we’ve had it on repeat since its June release and wake up every morning in hopes of being gifted with the visuals or a tour presale link proved that she wasn’t wrong. RENAISSANCE is fresh air that sparked vision, creativity, magic…hope. We felt good; we felt lighter. Communities often marginalized and ignored felt seen and deeply adored. And when she hopefully takes home all nine of the Grammys, she’s been nominated for, her win will prove that Mrs. Knowles-Carter has her finger on the moment’s pulse. And she’s had her finger there for a while now. As we watched Beyoncé evolve and mature into the powerhouse she’s become, we’ve developed and grown with her. When RENAISSANCE was released, “Church Girl” had me in a chokehold. Sis flipped a beloved Twinkie Clark song, mixed it with a DJ Jimi track, and gave us the holiest of ratchet anthems. Through it, she chronicled a journey of love and self-discovery grounded in faith. Of course, conservative Christians came for her. How dare she instructs us to drop it like thotties while Twinkie’s in the background telling God she wants to be centered in God’s will?
But that’s exactly why she did it. Far too many Black Christian women have lived in shame of their sensuality and spirituality. We were taught you can’t be saved and sexual, so we did two things: we either repressed it, or we did our stuff in secret–thus, making it dirty and leading to deep shame and guilt. But “Church Girl” came through like a wrecking ball. Irreverent and divine, it reflected the synergy that can be–and is–ours when we stop allowing others to define who we are and tell us how to live. We are who we are, and we are here.
Let me tell you what I know to be true: even if you were a sister who couldn’t rock with “Church Girl,” Black women love two things–Jesus and Beyoncé. Jesus gives us hope, and Beyonce gives us life. In celebration of Beyonce’s historic Grammy nominations and honor of a season that means so much to us, I offer “A Church Girl Advent.” Using the four Advent themes, we can explore what an album that meant so much to us this year can also mean for our self-discovery in this season of miracles.
HOPE: “I’m looking for a new foundation, yeah.” (Break My Soul)
While this was the world’s introduction to RENAISSANCE, it remains one of the most powerful anthems. When Black life remains under attack and long-held rights are being repealed, we’ve needed something to remind us that those powers don’t win. As Christian women on paths of synergy and wholeness, it’s often felt impossible to unlearn the toxic and harmful theologies suggesting our bodies don’t belong to us. Reclaiming our power is a necessary and important first step. There are books (including Red Lip Theology), podcasts, communities, and other resources all geared toward helping us see ourselves as good creations. Hold on to the belief that freedom—in all of its forms—is possible.
PEACE: “Dancing in the mirror, kiss my scars because I love what they made.” (Cozy)
The greatest weapon you will ever have in the fight to live in the authenticity of your sexuality and spirituality is your peace. So much of our social structure is built upon the subjugation of Black women; empowered sisters disrupt the paradigm. You have to know who you are. One of the biggest challenges many saved sisters have in accepting themselves as holy and sexual beings is past disappointments. Whether they “gave it up too soon” or to the “wrong person,” they think that’s what’s keeping them from experiencing or sustaining good love. And that’s a lie. You may have loved the wrong one before (Sis, you could be loving the wrong one now), but those mistakes don’t define you. They are merely threads woven into the tapestry of the complete you, and it is beautiful.
JOY: “You can be both; meet me in the middle. Dance all night.” (Pure/Honey)
And when you find that peace, baaaaaby, it feels so good! The old saints used to say, “this joy I have, the world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away.” You move differently when you step into the fullness of who you are and stop trying to convince the world (and yourself) that it’s okay to live at the intersection of pleasure and piety. We lose so much when we keep asking for permission to exist. There was a moment when I stopped asking questions and began seeking the answers. For me, that came through exploring womanist theology and Black feminist religious works. When I found my people, it helped me find myself. And when you find yourself, it’s something you never want to let go of.
LOVE: “I think you’re so cool, even though I’m cooler than you.” (Plastic Off the Sofa)
I used to scoff when people said, “until you love yourself, you can’t expect anyone else to love you.” Be clear; I still scoff at it. To me, it takes people off the hook for the harm they cause and blames people for the hurt they experience. While I don’t subscribe to that, I do believe that coming into a greater awareness of our authentic selves will shift our considerations when it comes to love and relationships. When we free ourselves from the repression we inherited from our faith communities and institutions, we can fully lean into what it means to experience the depths of love and pleasure with someone else. And the most significant part is we can do it all while remaining true to who we are.
When we needed it most, RENAISSANCE reminded us that, amid all the craziness in the world and our lives, we can still find a reason to dance and have joy. And, in so many ways, that’s exactly what Advent is about. It is the pause we need to remember that the dark times don’t win. We should never forget to thank God we have an album designed to help us remember.