From Buffalo-
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry knew immediately what his message ought to be.
Curry is the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Representatives of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in Great Britain made contact with Curry's office last February.
There was going to be a royal wedding in May, with Prince Harry marrying Meghan Markle, an American. After discussions with Welby, the couple wondered if Curry – whose church is part of the England-based Anglican Communion – would offer a sermon at the ceremony.
This was an extraordinary moment. That meant a guy who used to say pretend Masses in front of his sister Sharon's dolls and stuffed animals in a Buffalo attic would be preaching in front of not only British royalty, but for a projected 2 billion – 2 billion – worldwide television viewers.
Curry said yes. He called his 14-minute sermon "The Power of Love," and he offered it in the passionate, cascading nature of the black American preaching tradition he embraced while growing up. A descendant of slaves, he quoted an old American spiritual called "There is a Balm in Gilead," and he spoke of how "unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive love changes lives, and it can change this world."
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