As many of you realize, I am pretty fearless about most things and tend to take life’s punches in stride.  So the afternoon of Monday 9th August 2010 was a strange moment in time for me, as I found myself growing increasingly worried about what might be the outcome of a meeting scheduled for the next day in [...]

On a recent night I sat up late discussing the afterlife with friends Elizabeth and Rick who are still suffering in the wake of their young son’s untimely death. Together we acknowledged their desire to experience Andrew again in some manner beyond dreaming of  or “seeing” him as an apparition; a desire so real and so strong as to be all-consuming at certain moments. We examined the Christian doctrine of resurrection hope from many [...]

 This upcoming Saturday our Board and staff will meet together for an extended time to project ways of guiding, governing and funding our agency for the 2010-2011 term. In this meeting we will transition to a newly-constituted Board of Directors and adopt a revised budget plan that outlines what is needed to keep our programs going.  Of course, we then will strategize [...]

A month ago my godfather Jimmy Thrower observed that he thought his wfe Edna S. Hargrett-Thrower was losing her energy and verve.  “I’m afraid it won’t be long now, Fr. Rudi.” were his exact words. The decline would have been barely perceptible to anyone except those of us who saw her on something of a daily [...]

Two of my sisters drove in to see me on Friday.  The one came to view my body for any signs of early ravage from the cancer, the other to poke at my spirit and confirm that my sense of self is intact.  Not long before they alit, I lay in bed beyond my usual time reflecting on [...]

I do not often take time to simply bask in the goodness of a thing, but it is unavoidable now.  We are exactly a week removed from the occasion of our fourteenth annual World-Premiere Gala and, oh my, was it a fine one!  A host of  friends gathered around our Foundation to applaud the young people we [...]

With the hoopla of seasonal frolic behind us, we here at the “Negro Spiritual” Scholarship Foundation band together and turn again to the hard but joyous  tasks of celebrating great American music, uncovering tremendous talent, and supporting great futures in 2010. In two weeks we will join the City of Orlando in commemorating a U.S. [...]

The weeks just past have been a time of trial and perseverance.  I cried at the death of a young man of nineteen, holding tightly to his parents and other relatives as we struggled to absorb the shock.   Andrew Siebenaler’s death gave me pause to remember how distressing it was to watch the mother of my [...]

When the news came earlier in this year that the opera company which we collaborated closely with for such a long time would cease operations, our “NS”SF Board of Directors and staff members immediately huddled  to strategize a future that would see us in new space adequate to our needs and affordable within our budget.  Now, after [...]

It was an unscripted moment which I did not foresee.  With Terrance Lane (Minister of Music at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church) conducting from a podium, the audience for ‘Suitable Airs’ XI was participating in a spirited sing-along segment that has become a tradition at these annual concerts.   The last of four tunes on the songsheet was the old standard “We Shall [...]