by Abigail Hastings
Come ye thankful people, come
go ahead and raise
that song of harvest home
Come ye cranky people, come
raise your dirge
of gloom and glum
Author: ppadmin
Blood moon arising
A litany for worship, inspired by Mark 13:24-37, Joel 2:31, Daniel 7:13, Acts 2:20, Revelation 6:12
With a blood moon steep arising, and the sun beyond its set; stars, wobbling in their course, submit to gravity’s fated threat.
The Apocalypse’s disclosure of the Promised One’s descent into creaturely exposure ’mid cruel suffering and lament.
Speak, O Ancient of Days, from moon’s eclipse, sun’s sunken shroud, from blackened hills and choking streams,
Read more ›When life is violated
Grist for the contemplative mill in seasons of trouble
Selected by Ken Sehested
§ If it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart? —Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
§ The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. . . . Returning violence for violence multiples violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. —Martin Luther King Jr.
Read more ›Now Thank We All Our God
Revised lyrics to a Thanksgiving hymn
Now thank we all our God, With heart and hands and voices
Who wondrous things hath done, In whom the world rejoices
Who, from our mother’s arms, Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today
O may this bounteous God, Through all our life be near us
With ever joyful hearts, And blessed peace to cheer us
Enfold us in Your grace, and guide us when perplexed
And free us from all ills, In this world and the next
All praise and thanks to God, All gratitude be given
Our Christ and Spirit reign, Rejoice O highest heaven
The Sovereign One attends, All earth and heaven adore
For thus it was, is now, And shall be evermore.
A note from Gerald, on investing in prayer&politiks
We interrupt the weekly "Signs of the Times" posting schedule for an important note
from Gerald, guardian angel of prayer&politiks and scribe for the
heavenly host’s synod overseeing this site’s vision and mission.
I hope (after you read this note) you’ll listen to Ken Sehested’s granddaughter reading The Beatitudes on All Saints Day.
There’s more to this request than grandfatherly pride—or even the sheer cuteness of an articulate, confident seven-year 
old reading Scripture in public.
News, views, notes, and quotes
5 November 2015 • No. 45
Special edition
Quotes on music & singing
¶ Invocation. “How Can I Keep From Singing?” performed by Enya.
¶ “Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half-dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with 
strength. Be no more afraid of your voice, nor more ashamed of its being heard.” —John Wesley
New (and adapted) lyrics for Advent and Christmas hymns
by Ken Sehested
Joy to the World
Joy to the world! Salvation comes. Let earth rise up in praise
Let every heart prepare Christ’s Way
And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.
Big band or bluegrass
A litany for worship inspired by Psalm 98
by Ken Sehested
Open your mouths, oh people of praise. Unchain your lungs and unleash your lips.
Let joyful noise erupt from every muted tongue, thankful hymns from every muffled mouth.
Same question, different outcomes
A meditation on Zechariah
by Ken Sehested
Zechariah’s question to the angel: “How will I know that this is so?
For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.”
—Luke 1:18
Mary’s question to the angel:
“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
—Luke 1:34
News, views, notes, and quotes
28 October 2015 • No. 44
¶ Invocation. Malawian home-made instruments and home-grown gospel music. (Thanks, Phillip.)
¶ Call to worship. “We are a people acquainted with grief. In the bonds of this Body none need be embarrassed at the sound 
of sobbing, of the soul’s aching groan. Here the tear is neither uncommon nor unwelcomed. Here the strong confess their doubts, the fluent run out of words.” —Continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Acquainted with grief,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 42.