‘Spiritual Bank Accounts’ rock in times like these

Dear Lucy: Lately, it just seems that everyone and everything is against me. No matter what I do, I run into roadblocks of criticism or failure. I know that there has to be a way out of this awful place that I am stuck in. Please help! – Stuck

Dear Stuck: It just sounds to me like you have depleted your Spiritual Bank Account!

St. Patrick’s ready to roll with mobile produce market

The Green Machine is Memphis' first mobile produce market and it's ready roll.

And on May 5 at 12:30 p.m., the public is invited to a ready-to-roll celebration at St. Patrick's Catholic Church downtown at 277 S. 4th St.

The retrofitted bus is operated by St. Patrick Community Outreach, Inc., a ministry of St. Patrick's Catholic Church and will bring fresh produce to 15 underserved neighborhoods with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The Green Machine will make three stops a day, five days a week. The targeted locations are community centers, public schools, housing complexes, senior citizen facilities, recreational centers and health clinics.

Home look like a tornado struck? How about some help?

Dear Lucy: My husband works evenings and I work days. We have 3 very busy school age children. I pick them up from school, help with homework, take them to events, cook and clean. Our house always looks like a tornado struck it. My husband helps out by cooking and washing. But we are both exhausted. I have a friend who wants to clean house for me but my husband says we can't spend money on that. It wouldn't be much and I am tempted to just pay for it and do it anyway! I am so tired all the time. What do you think?

– Living in Chaos

Tea with the new first lady at The Blvd.

The Women's Ministry at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church welcomed the new first lady, Bridgett Nicole Turner, at an afternoon tea at the church on Saturday (April 20th).

The tea was attended by 300-plus ladies adorned in their finest. First lady Turner says she loves to dress-up. She requested the attendees wear hats, pearls and gloves.

The MBCC Fellowship Hall was decorated in spring colors. From the bow-covered chairs to draped-tables dressed with pearls, the setting was fit for a queen.

Hail (Shirley) Caesar!

Iconic Gospel artist Shirley Caesar, who has traveled the world spreading the Gospel, settled in Memphis for a short while last week – long enough to receive accolades from a host of fans, friends and supporters.

Caesar was honored last Friday (April 12) at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, whose pastor – the Rev. Frank Ray – has known her for years. Ray said the local event took shape after a local promoter came up with the idea of saluting the gospel legend. Soon after, several singing artists stepped up to join in.

Sunday Celebration of Teachers

Hundreds of educators across Memphis and Shelby County were honored on Sunday (April 14) at the 2nd annual Sunday Celebration of Teachers.

The event was coordinated by Shepherding the Next Generation – Shelby County, a group of local pastors and ministry leaders who advocate for improvements in public education.

More than 75 churches paid tribute to and congratulated teachers of all levels for their hard work. Participating pastors preached on the profession, with each teacher in attendance receiving a gift of appreciation.

Be the ‘I Am’ that you are

Dear Lucy: I have a co-worker who is very religious. She is always evangelizing and bragging about how blessed she is. That's fine for her, but I don't want to be made to feel like I am somehow less than she is just because she walks around beating up people all in the name of The Lord. Frankly, she uses God's name in vain by always telling us that "the Lord doesn't like this or that" or that bad stuff in our life is God mad at us. How do I deal with this? – Tired of it!

‘Planes’ of movement explored via Healthy Church Challenge

Katie Banks grimaced as she pushed up and down against the padded gymnasium wall at Streets Ministries-North in the Grahamwood community. After a few minutes into the workout, she'd worked up a little sweat.

"I'm glad I got some Advil in my purse," she said.

The expression on Veronica Mitchell's face was just as telling after stretching her upper body, jogging across the floor, and shuffling from side to side to keep her legs and hips from stiffening. A few minutes into the workout, she called out a familiar name to give her strength.

COGIC Service of Installation Memphis bound

The Church Of God In Christ General Assembly will host the Service of Installation for Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. and COGIC's General Board and officers on Monday, April 8, at 7 p.m.

The high-profile historic event will be held at Temple of Deliverance COGIC, 369 G. E. Patterson Ave.

Over 4,000 people from Memphis, the Mid-South and various points around the world, are expected to attend. The service will kick off the church's three-day business meeting at Mason Temple, world headquarters for the 6.5 million-member Pentecostal denomination.

Same-sex marriage and the African-American divide

The Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, and the Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative in Washington, D.C., are brothers of the cloth. Though they share a love for Christ and the Bible, they do not share the same views on same sex marriage, an issue now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I'm not going to ever believe that gay marriage is right," says Rev. Evans. "It contradicts our tradition within the black church. We take the Bible very literally when it comes to marriage."

Rev. Brown, on the other hand, says: "You can't use the Bible to support your position on this – Jesus didn't say one word about gays. The Bible also says if your child disobeys you, you should kill them and that women who are menstruating should not be allowed in church. These are low-case words and actions of men, they have nothing to do with the high-case word of God and Jesus in terms of love and beauty."

Kickboxing keeps Healthy Church Challenge participants on their toes

Madison Hopkins kicks her legs and swings her arms and Bettie Nelson throws a left jab followed by a right cross. This is not your average step class.

It's kickboxing in its simplest form and taught by a certified personal trainer, who kept dozens of Healthy Church Challenge participants on their toes during a March 9 workout session at Mississippi Blvd. Christian Church.

"My goal is to inspire people to reach their goal," said Yacqui Peete, 41, who got men, women and children to stretch, bend, kick and punch to loosen up their limbs. "I'm trying to get people to change their lifestyle. If you fall off the wagon, dust yourself off and keep going."

Lucy Shaw: ‘Wishing you a song in your heart’

Dear Lucy: My next door neighbor is a music freak. He plays music all day long. He gets up at 6:30 in the morning and starts to blast. When he comes home at six in the evening he starts to blast again. He always turns it down when I ask him to, but I just don't understand how someone can need to listen to music like that. What do you think?

– Earplugs Wanted