Author: ppadmin

Molly Ivins quotes

A brief collection of personal favorites

My collection of favorite quotes from political commentator and satirist Molly Ivins (blessed be her memory). —Ken Sehested

•So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. ’Cause you don’t always win. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin’ ass and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.

•It's hard to argue against cynics—they always sound smarter than optimists because they have so much evidence on their side

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For what do we hope?

A litany for worship

by Ken Sehested

    For what do we hope?

We hope for the Beloved’s Promise to overtake the world’s broken-hearted threat.

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I’m not saying it will be easy

A litany inspired by Mark 8:27-38

We travel today with Jesus as he was leaving Caesarea Philippi, in the far northern region of ancient Israel. Named for the Roman Caesar, located in what is now known as the Golan Heights, a site of contention to this day, Syrian land occupied by Israeli allure. Even after these years together, the disciples still imagine Jesus supplanting the great Caesar, scattering Rome’s legions, restoring the glory of Judea’s lost splendor, fulfilling its remembered boast as the capital of nations.

And now this! What is this gibberish about “the Son of Man must suffer,” rejected, kicked to the curb, tracked and targeted by the drones of imperial purpose and religious conceit.

“No!” screams Peter, mouth in gear before his brain engaged.

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The voice of Wisdom

A litany for worship inspired by Proverbs 8

Listen to the voice of Wisdom, O people of folly. Hear the voice of understanding as She makes Her stand at the city gate and presides in the town square.

“All of you, hear my cry. Your lives are marked by trivial pursuits. Deceitful ways and crooked days are unbecoming, no matter how much gold acquired or jewel-attired.”

Guided by Wisdom’s voice every ruler’s choice leans toward just and worthy decrees.

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We travel today with Jesus

A litany inspired by Mark 8:27-38

We travel today with Jesus as he was leaving Caesarea Philippi, in the far northern region of ancient Israel. Named for the Roman Caesar, located in what is now known as the Golan Heights, a site of contention to this day, Syrian land occupied by Israeli allure. Even after these years together, the disciples still imagine Jesus supplanting the great Caesar, scattering Rome’s legions, restoring the glory of Judea’s lost splendor, fulfilling its remembered boast as the capital of nations.

And now this! What is this gibberish about “the Son of Man must suffer,” rejected, kicked to the curb, tracked and targeted by the drones of imperial purpose and religious conceit.

“No!” screams Peter, mouth in gear before his brain engaged.

Read more ›

News, views, notes, and quotes

26 August 2015  •  No. 35

Special issue on
LABOR DAY
A collection of quotes

 

Creator God, we give thanks this day for work: for work that sustains; for work that fulfills. . . . As part of our thanks we also intercede for those who have no work, who have too much or too little work; who work at jobs that demean or destroy, work which profits the few at the expense of the many. (Continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Labor Day” litany for worship.)

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Meditations on Labor and Leisure

Several reflections on Sabbath keeping

by Ken Sehested

#1: Sabbath House mission

Written as a steering committee member shaping the mission statement
of a new retreat center, with particular reference to serving
the needs of perenially over-extended clergy

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Labor in the Shadow of Sabbath

A Labor Day sermon

Text: Ephesians 4:25-32

by Ken Sehested

         This weekend we mark another Labor Day holiday, both here and in Canada (excepting Quebec). At least 80 other countries celebrate the first of May as a workers’ holiday. Jamaica has the most interesting Labor Day tradition. For most of its colonial history the country observed “Empire Day” on 24 May in honor of British Queen Victoria’s birthday and her emancipation of slaves in 1938. But in 1961 Empire Day was supplanted by "Labour Day" on 23 May, to commemorate the 1938 labor rebellion which led to independence. And the day’s focus is not on picnics, retail sales and car racing but on community service projects.

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The Summer of Betrayal

A roundup of things best forgotten

by Abigail Hastings

Maybe it’s the extra week we were gifted with this summer—what with Memorial Day falling on the first possible Monday and Labor Day on the latest possible one, giving us 15 weeks of “cultural summer” instead of 14 (also noting that extra “leap second” we got to the world clock in June). Or maybe there was something in the contaminated water or fire-scorched air. The summer of 2015 is one for the history books, especially if you’re a fan of upside down world.

I’m talking about things not being as they seem and how that leaves us feeling a bit unmoored, sending us to reevaluate what we thought was solid and trustworthy. Of course I’m not talking about politicians—they long ago took us on circuitous paths of duplicity (setting the scene for the “anti-politician” candidates of this summer’s dog days). Few should be very surprised at embezzling FIFA officials, stock market vagaries, or that prisoners can escape maximum security prisons once in a blue moon (another rare event we had this summer). We can’t even feel very betrayed by the tumultuous weather—firestorms, floods, mudslides. That’s what Mother Nature does and if anything, she should feel betrayed by us in what shaped up to be the warmest year-to-date (well, just in the past 4,000 years, to be fair).

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