Michael Curry, who once gained fame for referring to “crazy Christians,” and who has focused on racial justice, gave an unusually animated sermon for a Royal Wedding. You can watch the sermon in full here in case you missed it (or just want to watch it again.)
Curry delivered the sermon at the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle. The reactions in the audience ranged from slight laughter to stoic or awkward gazes. On social media, though, they were absolutely loving Curry’s lively message of love, captured by the phrase “love is the way” and sprinkled with quotes from the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. For the most part. Some people made fun of aspects of it, while other people lavished Curry with praise.
That’s it. Zara Tindall wins best facial for ‘WTF is going on y’all’ #royalwedding
The Most Reverend Michael Curry … Granny was not amused … they just didn’t know what to make of it … #RoyalWedding2018 #HarryandMeghan
This is the only thing missing from Rev Michael Curry’s rousing sermon #RoyalWedding #micdrop loved it!
Bishop Michael Curry poured all the drama of the American South into that homily. If the Brits can do pageantry, the Yanks can do showmanship. #RoyalWedding
All of the INCREDIBLE reactions to Rev Bishop Michael Curry #RoyalWedding
Prince Charles isn’t sleeping y’all, he’s just exhausted after listening to Bishop Michael Curry’s speech… #DisTewMuch #RoyalWedding #Amen
You can see some more of the best Twitter GIFS, memes, and reactions to the Michael Curry sermon throughout this article.
Love Rev Michael Curry. Glad I watched this now 😆😆💙#legend #fire what a man! 🙌🏾#RoyalWedding #RoyalWedding2018
The head of #EpiscopalChurchofAmerica Bishop Michael Curry I think you lost all the British with your sermon, but it was truly an American style sermon! #RoyalWedding
Preach, Bishop Michael Curry! References to MLK, “A Balm in Gilead.” It is SO awesome to see an African American preacher preaching his heart out at a Royal Wedding at Windsor Castle. “When love is the way, poverty will become history.” #RoyalWedding
He spoke a lot about fire. Yes, fire.
If you missed it, Rev Michael Curry gave a big shout out to energy and how it has transformed human civilization in his extraordinary sermon at the #RoyalWedding
Curry, who also goes by the name of Michael Bruce Curry, is an American leader of the Episcopal Church who resides in Chicago, Illinois. Although the selection breaks with royal tradition, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who will also preside over the wedding service, praised Curry on Twitter, writing, “I’m thrilled that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have asked Bishop Michael Curry to preach at their wedding. @PB_Curry is a brilliant pastor, stunning preacher and someone with a great gift for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.”
I was just waiting for someone to get up, shout, dance, throw they hanky or something @ Bishop Michael Curry while he took them folks to church today. YAAASSS GAWD! #RoyalWedding
Bishop Michael Curry at the royal wedding…
Inspired by Reverend Michael Curry #royalwedding
Some people enjoyed the faces of the Royals and celebrities during the sermon.
Elton John seems unsure about Michael Curry’s sermon at the #royalwedding
According to Anglican News.org, “The US-based Episcopal Church is the oldest independent Anglican province outside the British Isles. When European travelers first colonized what is now the United States of America, they took with them clergy from European Churches, including the Church of England.”
Michael Curry sermon just now.
#RoyalWedding Prince Phillip Queen #HarryandMeghan
“This bishop is a tireless advocate for people on the margins,” said Adam Shoemaker, a church rector, to The News-Observer. Curry gave a fiery and passionate sermon that earned some fans on Twitter. “Love is the way,” was his core phrase. “Dr. King was right. We need to discover love. The redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world,” he said during the wedding in what was an unusually dramatic and lengthy sermon for a Royal Wedding.
Bishop Michael Curry; what a hero! 🙌
unsure what the fella behind is thinking #royalwedding
According to CNN, Michael Bruce Curry is the first black leader of the Episcopal Church in America. He first became known because of a sermon he gave that referred to “crazy Christians.”
Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreach Michael Curry #royalwedding
That 2012 sermon came when Curry was bishop in North Carolina and, according to CNN, he “quoted several versions of the Bible characterizing Jesus as someone who was thought to be out of his mind,” and said, “They thought he was crazy! And he was! He is!…And those who would follow in his footsteps, those who would be his disciples, are called and summoned and challenged to be just as crazy as Jesus.”
Imagining the global media that was frantically translating Rev Michael Curry’s sermon #RoyalWedding
“An approachable man and a charismatic preacher, he also uses Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo and the diocese’s website to advocate for social justice and racial and gender equality, and to encourage congregations undertaking that work,” The News Observer reported.
Rev. Michael Curry had me like … #RoyalWedding #HarryandMeghan
CNN reports that the sermon was later turned into a book. On his Twitter page, Michael Curry describes himself as “27th Presiding Bishop of @IAmEpiscopalian. Following Jesus into a loving, liberating, and life-giving relationship with God, each other, and with the earth.”
“There’s power in love. Don’t underestimate it.”
#RoyalWedding2018
So Pippa stole the show at the last memorable #RoyalWedding…
But this time Bishop Michael Curry was a wonderful game changer. There is power in love….❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Bishop Curry is outspoken on social causes, such as immigration policy and marriage equality, his Episcopal Church biography says. “In his three parish ministries in North Carolina, Ohio, and Maryland, Presiding Bishop Curry had extensive involvement in Crisis Control Ministry, the founding of ecumenical summer day camps for children, preaching missions, the Absalom Jones initiative, creation of networks of family day care providers, creation of educational centers, and the brokering of millions of dollars of investment in inner city neighborhoods,” according to his Episcopal Church biography.
The New York Times described him as a “gay marriage backer.”
For the record, I refuse to attend any future weddings not officiated by the Bishop Michael Curry. #RoyalWedding2018
The church biography notes that Michael Bruce Curry is married to wife Sharon Clement. The couple has two daughters, Rachel and Elizabeth.
Curry lives in Chicago, Illinois, and he has roots in that city. Meghan Markle also has ties to the Windy City because she once attended Northwestern University there. In his autobiography, My Grandma Sang, Curry revealed “that his family are descended from slaves and sharecroppers in North Carolina and Alabama,” The Guardian reports.