I collaborated with Chester Higgins, award-winning photographer and a longtime shooter for the New York Times, to produce this inspiring portfolio. The original concept I pitched was a bit edgier, but what we ultimately delivered for Essence was on-brand for the book. Tamara Jeffries delivered the text. Editing them both was a very rewarding experience.

1. How We
Worship
“WE ARE A SACRED PEOPLE,” SAYS RENOWNED PHOTOGRAPHER CHESTER HIGGINS JR. OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS.
Our expressions of faith have sustained us for centuries. And for many of us, spirituality is as indelible a part of our identity as Black-
ness itself. Sisters in particular don our spiritual armor daily as naturally as we do our clothes. But as remarkable as our devotion is,
even more so is the diversity of spiritual traditions and practices we hold dear. Black women are Baptists and Buddhists. We pray in
megachurches, storefront churches, at work, in mosques, in solitude. In this photo essay shot exclusively for ESSENCE, Higgins in-
vites readers to journey to sacred realms both familiar and unexpected, as Black women like us provide a look at how they worship.
Photographs by Chester Higgins Jr.
Text by Tamara Jeffries
INSPIRED BY ISLAM
Benoit-Ahmed: Muslims pray five times a day. In the summer I wake up at a quarter to four to make the first prayer. At work, I find
a little corner to pray. That is the most sacred thing I do. When I pray, I’m doing what Allah asks of a Muslim. I’m showing I appre-
ciate that I’m so blessed. When I stop everything and take ten minutes to do midday salat, it gives me a moment of peace in the
middle of a busy day. After I pray, I sit for a few minutes in silence. I’m able to reflect on things that happened during the day and
work things through in my head. So it’s more than a spiritual practice; it’s a practical practice. Islam is my compass. It’s a way for
me to stay on the straight path. It’s what keeps me sane in an insane world and helps me to be a better Jo Ann.
Jo Ann Benoit-Ahmed I took my shahada—the profession of faith—during Ramadan, the holy month in which Muslims fast during the daylight hours.
lifting her hands in prayer, In the evenings, people gather to pray together, eat together. It was magical. I’d never been in such a community, where folks shared
or performing salat. the same spiritual goals. When I found them, I was like, Wow, this is what I’ve been longing for. .
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2. how we worship
A MIGHTY FLOCK OF FAITHFUL
Malissa Redmond, praise and worship leader (not pictured): My whole family was raised in Rugged Cross Baptist Church. It was
very close-knit; you knew everybody and everybody knew you. But I felt in my spirit that I needed more. When I started visiting Christ-
ian Cultural Center, I found that it filled that void in my life. At my old church, there were about 300 members. At CCC, we have more than
28,000. It was a definite change for me. But when I first came to CCC, I wasn’t coming to get to know anyone personally. I’ve always
known a lot of people. I was in dire need of ministry. For me this was actually a hiding place, a refuge.
As time went by, I realized that I was in the process of building a relationship with the church and making this my home. I thought, Okay,
how am I going to do this? There’s no way that you’re going to get to know everybody. It came as a revelation to me that as long as I re-
mained open and wasn’t afraid, God would bring the personal relationships that I needed to have.
This is an amazing place to experience God. Entering into the sanctuary when it’s full, there’s a sea of people. When service starts, Service at Christian
everyone focuses on what’s happening onstage. It’s amazing to see the ignition. Believers are ignited by the fire of the Holy Ghost to wor- Cultural Center,
ship, to weep, or to lift their hands in adoration and praise. Sometimes it sounds like a million people, even though it’s just thousands. . Brooklyn.
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3. how we worship
Baptism of Artisha Arthur at
Cornerstone Baptist Church
in Brooklyn, by Pastor
Lawrence E. Aker III (left),
and Deacon Wade Mitchell.
CHILD OF GOD
Artisha: I’ve been loving the Lord and praising God all my life. As a baby, I was dedicated at Cornerstone Baptist Church in
Brooklyn. I’ve felt that Jesus Christ was my Lord and Savior since I was 7 years old, but I was a little too young to make the deci-
sion to be baptized. At 13, I’m old enough to make the decision for myself. I was really prepared and ready in my heart to make it
official—to let everyone know I had accepted Him. Baptism is when God changes your whole life and makes it clean and purified.
God kills the old you and brings you the new you. After I was baptized, I felt purified. It has made my heart fill with joy.
I’m in the eighth grade at New Grace Christian Center School. I’m looking at high schools now—public, private and Christian
schools. I know God will be with me wherever I go. When bad things come, I can stomp the devil out. I know that I’m in God’s hands.
Prayer helped me through a difficult time in my life. When my uncle was sick, I prayed that God would heal him from the crown
of his head to the soles of his feet. When he died, I prayed that God would bless him to make it to heaven with Him. After he passed
away, I felt sad a little bit at first. But I talked to God about it, and now I no longer feel sad. I praise God anyway. .
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4. how we worship
(Left to right) Monica Haynes-Wiggan at
Beth Shalom Hebrew Congregation in
Brooklyn, reading prayers of repentance with
Deborah Levy and Beryl Matthias Abubakar.
SHALOM
Haynes-Wiggan: Shalom—that’s Hebrew for peace. I am a Hebrew Israelite, de-
scendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I was born an Israelite—I just didn’t know it.
In the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, The Most High God told us that if
we didn’t follow His laws, He would uproot us from our land and scatter us, and re-
turn us to slavery by way of ships. I believe that describes the African holocaust to
a T. I believe we are those Israelites, the descendants of Isaac.
My parents raised me as a Christian; I was in my thirties when I did my shuva—
which means to return to the laws of the Creator. When I learned about an Ethiopian
Hebrew congregation in Harlem, I said, “These are my people.” We worship es-
sentially the same way European Jews do. I keep the Sabbath. I go to synagogue.
I keep kosher. My favorite time of year is the festival of Sukkot. Five days after Yom
Kippur, we build a sukkah, a temporary dwelling that we live in for the next seven
days. [Sukkot commemorates the 40-year period during which the children of Is-
rael wandered the desert, living in temporary shelters.] I built mine myself in my
yard. The roof is bamboo because it has to be built so that you can see the sky. It
is so peaceful at night to look up and see the stars and moon and to meditate on
the Creator and His vast Creation. I love it.
Abubakar: You have some people who accept Black Israelites and some people
who don’t. I’ve experienced some prejudices over the years. Some of the White
Jews will ask, “How did you become this?” Sometimes I answer them and some-
times I just tell them to go read Deuteronomy. .
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5. how we worship
Cecilia Loving (far left),
lawyer, minister, praying
with 11 members of
Spiritmuv, the Prayer
Circle of Light.
SISTERS IN CHRIST
Loving: Paul said in Acts 17:28 that it is in God that we live and move and have our being. It’s the idea that there is no
separation between us and Spirit. That is where I got the whole concept of Spiritmuv.
At the circle, I talk about a particular topic to help provide some spiritual perspective. Others will share as well; some-
one may sing a song. We usually do a meditation or visualization, taking time to be still and to listen to Spirit. The beauti-
ful thing is that once you’re centered in that Spirit—gotten really still and quiet—the Spirit will speak to you in amazing ways.
We have journals and we record whatever Spirit says to us.
At the heart of the group is the Prayer Circle of Light. Depending on the needs of the people, we will actually surround
a person and pray. We may have a laying-on of hands. Through this circle we are able to come together and realize our
oneness with Spirit and reinforce our own belief that nothing is impossible when we are totally in alignment with the Spirit.
We can move ourselves out of the way and do what we are called to do. .
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6. how we worship
BUDDHA’S BLESSING
Letman: As a Nichiren Buddhist, I have an altar with a Gohonzon—a scroll inscribed
with Chinese and Sanskrit letters that symbolically depict Buddhahood. I chant at
my altar before I leave home every day. It can have a profound effect on how I per-
ceive things. For example, when I walk out of my door there may be a lot going on
in the street—the smell of the garbage trucks, the noise of sirens. A million different
things can happen. By the time I get to work, all these things can put me in a pretty
bad mood. But if something happens that upsets me, I try to learn something from
it rather than see it as a setback. My Buddhist practice has been instrumental in that.
Before I became a Buddhist, I was always in a state of anger. When I started chant-
ing, I started to transform my inner self and the way I perceived life. Through this
practice, I learned ways of seeing things that have helped me overcome my anger
and cynicism. I chant to center myself and maintain an unshakable happiness.
Obviously you can’t go through life without experiencing obstacles. Nichiren Bud-
dhists see these obstacles as a way to change negativity into something positive. [
Lauren Letman
chanting at the altar
in her home.
“our belief and faith is the glue that we humans use
to bond us to the holy spirit and one to another.”
—CHESTER HIGGINS JR.
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