{"product_id":"sunday-morning-church-crowns-african-american-wall-calendar","title":"Sunday Morning: Church Crowns by Keith Conner 2027 Wall Calendar","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.\"\u003c\/em\u003e Psalm 103:1 (KJV)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore the first hymn is raised, she has already been up for hours. The dress was pressed on Saturday night. The gloves are laid out. And the hat comes down from the top shelf of the closet like it is going somewhere important, because it is. She is going to the house of the Lord. She walks in with her head held high, not to be seen, but because she knows Whose she is. Every brim and every feather says what generations of our mothers said without a word: I made it to another Sunday, and God is still good.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSunday Morning: Church Crowns 2027 carries that testimony through sixteen months. This African American wall calendar features the art of Keith Conner, with a portrait of a woman of faith in her Sunday crown every month, each paired with a verse of scripture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy Sunday Morning Matters\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor enslaved African Americans, Sunday was often the one day without field labor, and many put away their work clothes for the best apparel they owned. Where gatherings were watched or forbidden, they stole away to secluded woods and brush arbors known as hush harbors to pray, sing, and worship in their own way, at the risk of punishment if they were caught. Those hidden services became the foundation for the independent Black churches that rose after emancipation. Sunday morning has been sacred ground ever since: a day to rest, to worship, and to be fully seen as children of God.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe History of the Church Crown\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe church hat, often called a crown, grew from several roots. Christian tradition drawn from 1 Corinthians 11 called for women to cover their heads in worship. Many historians also trace the bold shapes and adornments to the ceremonial headwear worn by women in West Africa, a love of head adornment that survived the Middle Passage in the headwraps of enslaved women. For those women, a beautiful Sunday head covering was a rare chance to express individuality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early twentieth century, as many Black women spent their weeks working as domestic workers, Sunday became their moment to shine, and the hats grew bolder with every decade. As a Black middle class emerged, the crown also became a mark of pride and accomplishment, and Black milliners such as Mae Reeves of Philadelphia, whose hats are now held by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, built celebrated businesses. Along the way the tradition gathered its own unwritten rules: never touch another woman's hat, match the hat to the suit, and save the grandest crown for Easter and Mother's Day. A favorite hat is often passed down from mother to daughter as a treasured heirloom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Art Inside\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeith Conner paints each woman with warmth and reverence, framed by lush watercolor florals. The cover gathers three sisters on a royal purple field: one in a cream crown with a rhinestone brooch, one beneath a coral wide brim heaped with roses, and one in a sky-blue pillbox. Inside, a woman lifts both hands in praise under a sapphire hat that sparkles with sequins, beside Psalm 123:1. Another reads her Bible in a golden wide brim next to Proverbs 31:10, \"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.\" Others wear a feathered red crown, a regal purple hat trimmed in rhinestones with white gloves, and a green suit with lemon-yellow gloves raised high, each paired with scripture from the Psalms, Proverbs, and Genesis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Artist\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eKeith David Conner's path to art began in Flint, Michigan, where his parents taught him he could become whatever he set his mind to. While many young people in his community headed for the auto plants, he took classes at the Flint Institute of Arts as a child, earned a place in the Gifted Artist program at the Genesee Area Skill Center in 1971, and went on to graduate from the American Academy of Art in Chicago in 1976 with a focus on design and illustration. His paintings of faith, family, and Black church life have become favorites with collectors who see their own mothers and grandmothers in his work.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReady for the Church Calendar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe opening page covers September through December 2026, so it can go up today. Every month gives the artwork the full top page, with a soft date grid below for Bible study, choir rehearsal, usher board meetings, and anniversaries. Holidays are printed on the grid, previews of the previous and following months help with planning ahead, and a notes line sits at the bottom of each page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Gift for the Mothers of the Church\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt makes a cherished gift for the church mother who never misses a Sunday, the first lady, the family's devoted hat lover, or the women's ministry, whether for Mother's Day, Christmas, birthdays, or pastor's aid celebrations, and a beautiful way to honor the women who prayed us through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Keith Conner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51158294397093,"sku":"WC266","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0217\/9998\/files\/sunday-morning-church-crowns-2027-african-american-calendar-wc266-main.webp?v=1794416408","url":"https:\/\/www.blackartdepot.com\/products\/sunday-morning-church-crowns-african-american-wall-calendar","provider":"The Black Art Depot","version":"1.0","type":"link"}