Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding was one of the most memorable parts of the ceremony and he’s since reflected on the event. Curry, who delivered a stirring speech on the power of love, said that afterwards he “could feel slaves around the place” - calling it a “sign of hope.”
Curry, who has published a new book called Love is the Way, said of the experience to People, “After I preached the sermon, I just remember it was like I could feel slaves around the place. 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.'”
He continued, "It was like their voice, one of their songs, one of their descendants was there that day. The Queen was most gracious.”
“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," he said.
Curry delivered a stirring 14 minute speech in which he quoted Dr Martin Luther King Jr on the “redemptive power of love” during the 2018 Royal Wedding.
He also quoted lyrics from ‘There is a Balm in Gilead’ and said, “‘There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole, there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul’...Oh, that’s the balm in Gilead! The way of love, it is the way of life.”
“Love is not selfish and self-centred. Love can be sacrificial, and in so doing, becomes redemptive. And that way of unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive love changes lives, and it can change this world,” he continued.
The Sussexes’ Royal Wedding was hailed for being a marriage of both Prince Harry and Meghan’s cultures. While it of course had all the tradition and pomp of a British Royal Wedding, Black culture was celebrated throughout the ceremony - from spotlighting British cellist prodigy Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon and the presence of Black gospel choir The Kingdom Choir.
Prince Harry and Meghan, who currently live in Los Angeles, have more recently urged people to vote in the upcoming US election - which Meghan called the “most important election of our lifetime”.
Read More
Speaking in a recent interview for Time 100, Prince Harry urged people to “reject hate speech” as Meghan said, “When we vote, our values are put into action and our voices are heard. Your voice is a reminder that you matter, because you do and you deserve to be heard.”
It is against royal protocol for members of the Royal Family to get involved with politics, however the Sussexes stepped down as senior royals this year.
