Leaders worth following. Sisters worth loving.
January is full of birthdays. I know that every month is, but the number of amazing womanist preachers, pastors, leaders, and activists celebrating their birthdays right now is amazing. I LOVE birthdays. Life is hard. To make it another year is no easy measure. When you know good people, deeply good people, you have to celebrate them. I can’t roll up to Dr. Bridgeman or Aimée with a bottle of champagne and cupcakes (heeeeey, Candace!!! Happy Birthday again, fam), but I can write this.
Rev. Dr. Valerie J. Bridgeman is one of the most honest, passionate, loyal, committed, and brilliant people I have ever known. Her laugh is delightful. It sings. I’m always grateful when I can hear it. (Especially if we tickle the hell out of each other.) She has taught me so much and trusted me so much it has exponentially increased my confidence as a professional and helped me find what matters to me most as a leader, a boss, a colleague, and a person. If you know her, really know her, you know that she has prayed down walls for you. You know that she will comfort, advise, celebrate, and cuss with you. She doesn’t have any problem calling the calvary on your behalf either. Many of us have been blessed to know and love her sisters, Pamela and Gwen. Their stories about her fidelity and fight are both hilarious and a witness to her dedication to her relationships. If you know her, you know that conflict does not ruin her relationships. She does not pretend to be obnoxiously perfect and is gracious when you are having a very human time. It’s freeing. Her love is freeing. She’s an artist of many gifts. Dr. Bridgeman can teach you the Gospel and how to play bid whist and spades on the same day. She is as dynamic in her soul as she is in her preaching. She has changed the lives of so many people because everything she is ripples through everyone who she receives and receives her. If you have been shaped, loved, or even slightly changed by her presence in this world, you know what a wonder her light is. Happy Birthday, Dr. B.
Aimée Laramore is a jewel. She is precious. If you get the chance to know her, you should never take it for granted. I’m real woo-woo when it comes to “coincidences.” Some are just the randomness of the universe. Others, I just know somebody somewhere is making things happen. I met Aimée at a meal at an FTE Christian Leadership Forum in 2018. I kept her card for years in a memory box. I could tell you why I did, but it’s another article about not wanting to forget people no matter how brief our encounter is. So, when Dr. Bridgeman said her name in a meeting, that she would be coming on to help us continue to build, I tore through that box and thanked God for a small world. Aimée has shown up and shown out for us. She has cheered us on, championed our work, protected us, fought for us, and churned out incredible grants on our behalf. She has cried with us, loved us, checked on us, sent us notes of love and encouragement, been deeply honest (in the way only real trust allows), and she has never ever let us down. Her honor is impeccable. Aimée has taught me that our honor need not grow out of perfection but integrity. She is brilliant and just utterly delightful. Like, you still want to be around her if you haven’t had your coffee, and it was a long week kind of delightful. She’s an amazing partner and an incredible friend. Aimée, thank you for being heart-to-heart with us. You have changed all our lives in ways we will forever thank God for. Happy Birthday.
