Let the Church Say Amen

253 Pages·2004·0.94 MB·English

by  ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Let the Church Say Amen
ALSO BY RESHONDATATE BILLINGSLEY
My Brother’s Keeper
POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead,
is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2004 by ReShonda Tate Billingsley All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this
book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Billingsley, ReShonda Tate.
Let the church say amen / ReShonda Tate Billingsley.—1st Pocket Books trade pbk. ed.
p. cm.
1. African American families—Fiction. 2. African American clergy—Fiction. 3. Children of clergy—
Fiction. 4. Spouses of clergy—Fiction. 5. Church membership—Fiction. 6. Houston (Tex.)—Fiction. I.
Title.
PS3602.I445 L47 2004
813′.6—dc22
2004050397
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-8556-5
ISBN-10: 1-4165-8556-7
POCKET BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
To Morgan
(my inspiration to keep writing)
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am so blessed to be able to utilize my passion—writing. But I wouldn’t be
where I am today without the love and support of so many wonderful people.
First and foremost, my husband, Miron, who not only pushes me to pursue my
dreams but who has never wavered in his support of those dreams. Thank you
and I’m grateful to have you, Morgan, and Mya in my life.
To my mother, Nancy Blacknell, who has shared my joy and sorrow as I
ventured into this publishing world. And don’t worry—people know this is
fiction … and not our family.
To my little sister, soror, and friend, Tanisha Tate—words cannot even begin
to express how grateful I am to you for being everything from my personal
assistant to my proofreader. Thank you for pushing my books like they were
your own.
Of course, as always, much love to my sorors who cheered me on, supported
me every step of the way, and spread the word to all of their friends and family:
Jaimi Canady, Kim Patterson-Wright, Raquelle Wooten, Clemelia Humphrey
Richardson, Kristi King, Trina McReynolds, Sabrina McReynolds, Beverly
Davis, Leslie Mouton, Stephanie Jenkins, and all the rest of the lovely ladies of
Delta Xi.
Pat Tucker Wilson, my new literary/writing/reporting buddy. I can count on
you to keep it real. Thanks for being such a great friend and supporting me in
every way. See you on the bestsellers list!
Much love to the ministers who let me pick their brains: Rev. Mark Edwards
(Zion Baptist Church) and A. Byron Coleman (Fifth Street Baptist Church). Also
thanks to Rev. Robert Childress (Covenant Glenn United Methodist Church) and
Kirby Jon Caldwell (Windsor Village United Methodist Church), who provided
inspiration for my story without even knowing they were doing it.
I have to give much love to the best coworkers in the world at KRIV-TV, Fox
26 News, especially my own boss/author Kathy Williams (who has an awesome
children’s book; check it out at daddybooks.com); Linda Drummond; Misty
Starks; Damali Keith; José Grinan; Isiah Carey; Joe McGinty; Bernadette
Brown; Lashauna Sewell; LaQuanta Dixon; Erin Anthony; Sinan Sadar; Keith
Rollins; Stan Kowalski; Lisa Whitlock; John Donnelly; Christina Garza; and
Michelle Casas. (I know I didn’t name everyone, but please don’t hold it against
me, I only have so much space).
Thanks to all the photogs at KRIV who understood that I just wanted to write
and not carry on conversations as we traveled back and forth to our stories:
Rodney Pearson, Torrey Walker, Matt Matejka, Xavier Kirts, David Lanier, Ray
Williams, Dick Hogg, Chris Desmond, Todd Smith, and Harry Hulsey.
Thanks also to: Waleed Salim, Della Jones, Tulisa Hicks, Brenda Goodwin,
Birdell Smith, Lawanda (LaSha) Smith, Sonny Messiah, Lucille Pervis,
Stephanie Banks Packer, Russell Pierce, Keisha Tate, the Houston Association of
Black Journalists (under the direction of our fabulously supportive president,
Anthony Ogbo), and the men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., who continue to
buy my books even though they’ll probably never read them (yeah, Joe and
Gerald, I’m talking about you).
And I would be remiss if I wrapped this up without giving major thanks to the
bookstores, booksellers, and book clubs who have shown me so much love.
They include, but definitely are not limited to: Tee C. Royal (RAWSISTAZ),
Yasmin Coleman (APOOO), Angie Pickett Henderson (Readincolor), The Shrine
of the Black Madonna (Houston), Pyramid Books (Little Rock), and Black
Images (Dallas). There are far too many book clubs to name, but I have to give a
special shoutout to the members of the Brentwood Baptist Church Book Club;
you ladies set the standard for how a lively, entertaining, and spirited book club
meeting should go.
Finally, I have to thank you, the readers, who continue to support my work,
send words of encouragement, and let me know what you liked (and in some
cases didn’t like). You are the reason I do what I do.
Hope you all enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Be blessed.