🎅🏿 Lifetime’s Sweet ’A Gospel Christmas‘ by St. Pete Director Is Now Streaming for the Holidays
When the Lifetime Television movie Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas premiered on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, St. Pete-based filmmaker, director, and educator Erica Sutherlin hoped as many homes as possible would tune in.
The film is now streaming again on Hulu, Lifetime, and other platforms for the 2022 holiday season.
The story centers on Olivia, a young pastor trying to find “her voice as a woman, a pastor, a leader, and ultimately as a singer.” Living in the shadow of her megachurch pastor mom, Olivia leaves to pastor a small church in Texas, following her journey to recover from “church hurt” and reclaim her family’s generational gift as a singing pastor.
Olivia’s journey to self-awareness is one many people can relate to. While there is a romantic aspect, along with Franklin’s high-energy gospel songs and the Jesus Christmas element, Sutherlin noted that it’s not the familiar Lifetime Television narrative. “That’s what I think is so sweet about it,” she said.
