Sunday School

Each Friday, the folks at Preachy will offer you something of a reflection for your weekend. Since we missed this past Friday, we’re offering this playlist today. It’s from Salawu Olajide, our colleague at Olongo Africa, who is also the author of Death to the Baobobs! We hope you enjoy it.

“Nam myoh renge koh. Nam myoh renge kyo. Nam myoh renge kyo.” Six years ago, on an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday night, my dog began shaking out of control. He couldn’t stand upright, and his body became stiff and cold. I love my dog fiercely. I was heartbroken. I thought I had lost him. Looking for […]

When I was 10 years old, our next-door neighbor’s 21-year-old daughter held a traditional white wedding. The celebrations went on for a full week.. The wedding cards were handed out like candy. At the bottom of those white square cards, in black font, was text reading NO CHILDREN ALLOWED. I remember being distraught. I sulked […]

Alaina grew up with fond memories of Ramadan. She loved the satisfaction of having her favorite foods after a long day of fasting. But along with the samosas and jalebis she so enjoyed, the iftar table was accompanied by another constant: a conversation about how fattening these same foods were and how much weight everyone […]

I am an Indo-Trinidadian woman who settled on Turtle Island in 1999 — more specifically, in Brampton, Ontario, in Canada. Despite an early unwavering religious conviction, my relationship with Hinduism, the religion of my childhood, remains complicated.  Way back when I first left Trinidad, it felt as if I had to hold on to those […]

In falling in love with my girlfriend’s religion, I was able to make peace with my own. The Cobble Hill branch of the Brooklyn library is so small that I feel an automatic (though of course, false) sense of intimacy with all of its visitors every time I step inside. On my last visit — […]

Background: I grew up in the evangelical church, extremely leery of anything that smacked of new age religion or paganism. I’m half-Chinese and half-white, but I have never communed directly with my ancestors. I was inspired by Tada Hozumi’s idea of your ancestors showing up to fuck up your life—this idea that they are still […]

Welcome to Preachy’s Sunday School. Most of the time, you’ll find testimony about religious experience in this space. But we’re kicking things off with a playlist. Here goes: