Bishop Curry Says He Felt the Presence of Enslaved People at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding
Bishop Curry's emotional sermon was a highlight of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's culture-blending marriage ceremony in 2018. And now, as he publishes a new book called Love is the Way, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is opening up about his experience at the royal wedding, and sharing that he could feel the presence of enslaved people at Windsor Castle.
"After I preached the sermon, I just remember it was like I could feel slaves around the place," Bishop Curry, told People magazine in a new interview. "I don't mean to be spooky, but it was like their voice was somehow heard that day. I included one of their songs, 'There is a Balm in Gilead.'"
"It was like their voice, one of their songs, one of their descendants was there that day. The Queen was most gracious," he said. "The fact that all happened, for me, it's a sign of hope. It's a sign of hope that one who descends from people who were captured in the slave trade, probably the British slave trade, is brought from the shores of West Africa, to the shores of America. That one of their descendants was in the presence of the Queen of England, and he quoted one of their songs. That's hope that we don't have to be the way we've always been."
In his sermon, Curry specifically referred to enslaved people in the antebellum South, and their spiritual hymn about the power of love.
Read that portion of his speech here:
If you don't believe me, well, there were some old slaves in America's antebellum south who explained the dynamic power of love and why it has the power, they explained it this way, they sang a spiritual, even in the midst of their captivity, something that can make things right, to make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the soul. They said if you cannot preach like Peter and you cannot pray like Paul, you just tell the love of Jesus how he died to save us all. Oh, that's the balm in Gilead.
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