As Denzel Washington gets closer to retirement from acting, he’s getting ready for another kind of role: A minister!
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Can you imagine the sermons from the man who gave us some of the most moving speeches in cinematic history?
The actor, blessed and highly savored by fans in Gladiator 2, also marked this next chapter in his spiritual journey with a baptism. According to People, the Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ held the ceremony on Dec. 21. Supporters who couldn’t make it to the sanctuary in Harlem could watch it on the Facebook livestream by the First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Eastern New York.
Denzel started in a white baptismal gown before changing into some casual post-dip drip. As usual, his wife Pauletta was by his side. She got emotional as she said a few words about this long-awaited moment.
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“Forty-six years later, here I’m still standing next to him as only God will have it. So I’m very proud of you. You are the head of our house and you have set a great example for our children, who are now adult children who know the difference because we have shown them the difference,” she said, getting teary-eyed.
The iconic actor revealed to Archbishop Christopher Bryant why now is the perfect time to take this next step.
“In one week I turn 70. It took a while but I’m here. If [God] can do this for me, there’s nothing He can’t do for you. The sky literally is the limit,” he said.
Won’t He do it?
Check out the video from the ceremony below.
Although he received a minister license this week, that is just one of the first steps in getting ordained. Denzel hasn’t announced plans for the pulpit just yet, but he recently opened up about navigating Hollywood with his firmly-held faith. He wrote in an essay for Esquire last month that it’s hard to connect with peers on the topic, but recalled a come to Jesus moment thanks to Robert Townsend.
The epic Hollywood Shuffle director suggested that Denzel attend L.A.’s Pentecostal West Angeles church, where he “was filled with the Holy Spirit.” The Oscar winner claimed it’s “unfashionable” to share that experience with other industry insiders, but it was “the biggest moment of my life.”
“When you see me, you see the best I could do with what I’ve been given by my lord and savior. I’m unafraid. I don’t care what anyone thinks. See, talking about the fear part of it — you can’t talk like that and win Oscars. You can’t talk like that and party. You can’t say that in this town,” he reflected.
Now that he has peaked and prepared to move on from in front of the camera, Denzel is more free than ever to share that side of himself.
“Things I said about God when I was a little boy, just reciting them in church along with everybody else, I know now. God is real. God is love. God is the only way. God is the true way. God blesses. It’s my job to lift God up, to give Him praise, to make sure that anyone and everyone I speak to the rest of my life understands that He is responsible for me,” he wrote.
Congratulations to Denzel Washington!