Bishop Curry: He could feel, hear slaves at Meghan and Harry’s royal wedding

The first Black presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church has very special memories of that day.

The Black bishop who delivered the sermon at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has written a book where he detailed his experience at the royal wedding.

“After I preached the sermon, I just remember it was like I could feel slaves around the place,” Bishop Michael Curry wrote. “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.’”

Prince Harry Marries Ms. Meghan Markle - Windsor Castle
Bishop Michael Curry gives an address during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Owen Humphreys – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Bishop Curry’s new book, Love Is The Way: Holding on to Hope in Trouble Times was released Tuesday.

“I can think of nobody better to help shine a light during these difficult times than Bishop Curry,” TODAY Show co-host Al Roker wrote in a review. “His wisdom and smile are a beacon for my soul right now.”

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Curry, the first Black presiding bishop in the Episcopal Church, says he is not in touch with the royal couple currently. He reflected on the solemnity of having a Black woman descended from American slaves marry into the royal family of the United Kingdom.

“It was like their voice, one of their songs, one of their descendants was there that day. The Queen was most gracious,” he continues. “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.”

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Curry’s book reflects on his personal life and hardships, and it aims to be a guide to help readers overcome the challenges of poverty and racism.

He writes that unselfish love should be one’s life goal. He says that he saw that kind of love between Prince Harry and Markle.

“What stood out for me was, these are two people who really do love each other,” he says. “It brought together two nations, Britain and the U.S. But it brought together people from around the world. I realized that the love of two people for each other brought together, at least for a moment, a world of differences. And I think that is a parable of what real love can do.”

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