Signs of the Times

10 September 2015  •  No. 37

¶ In praise of a life fully and well lived. Amelia Boynton Robinson, who led voting drives and ran for Congress as a civil rights activist in Alabama, and whose severe beating by police during the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” confrontation at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., shocked the nation, died 26 August at a hospital in Montgomery, Ala. She was 104. This past March she again crossed the Pettus Bridge, in a wheelchair and holding hands with President Obama, on the 50th anniversary of that historic event. —See Andrea Germanos, “Crusader, Warrior, Fighter for Justice, Civil Rights Icon Amelia Boynton Robinson Dead at 104”

¶ Invocation. “So come on darling, feel your spirits rise; come on children, open up your eyes; God is all around, Buddha’s at the gate, Allah hears your prayers, it’s not too late.” —Mary Chapin Carpenter, “Why Shouldn’t We?”

3 September 2015  •  No. 36

¶ Invocation. The Icelandic group Árstiðir singing a 13th century hymn “Heyr himna smiður”  (“Hear, Heavenly Creator”). Go here for an English translation of the lyrics.)

¶ Pictured at right: “Rice fields in Manali,” Himachal Pradesh, India, photo by Ahmed Labib. Other stunning photos of sculpted fields in Asia can be found here.
        Also: For more breathtaking photos, view the International Landscape Photographer of the Year winners. (Thanks, Norman).

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.)

20 August 2015  •  No. 34

¶ Early New Year’s resolution? One year from now, August 2016, marks the centennial of the National Park Service. If you haven’t already (or even if you have), begin planning to spend some time in one of the parks. One resource to get started is the PBS series, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,”  by producer Ken Burns. Go here for more views of spectacular national park photos. (Photo above: Storm in Arches National Park in Utah, Anthony Quintano/Flickr)

¶ Coincidentally, attention to national park history offers the chance to be aware of moral ambiguity in human affairs. Former US President Theodore Roosevelt was arguably our greatest environmental president, not to mention his courageous resistance to corporate wealth’s influence in public affairs. But he was, arguably, our most imperial and racialized president when it came to our nation’s role in global affairs. (Re. the latter, see “The Imperial Cruise: A secret history of empire and war” by James Bradley.) Awareness of this ambiguity is essential for any attempting to mount a morally-high horse.

13 August 2015  •  No. 33

¶ Invocation. Through the sorrow and the sadness, Stand by me. / Through the heartache and the madness, Stand by me. / Arms of mercy, sure surrounding, hearts protected, ne’er confounding / Joyful singing, grace astounding, Stand by me. (Continue reading Ken Sehested’s original lyrics to the Charles Albert Tindley hymn, “Stand by Me.” )

¶ Diplomatic breakthrough. “It took three years, but all 193 member countries of the United Nations have signed on to a resolution to create new and stronger protections for the world’s wildlife. The resolution calls on countries to beef up courts and law enforcement to protect wildlife, and encourage communities to join the fight against poaching, trafficking, and selling illicit goods taken or made from threatened animals.” —Leigh Henry, of the World Wildlife Fund, told ABC News

6 August 2015  •  No. 32

¶ Invocation. With haggard hearts each voice / imparts this plea for constancy. / Draw near, dispel confounding fear, / with Heaven’s clemency. / Each tongue, by supplicating lung, / invoke bright morning’s rise! / Through darkest night let love’s Delight / condole all mournful eyes. (Continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Draw Near.” )

¶ Marvel in the stunning visual effect of reflective photography, like the one at right by Arty Ali. A search of “reflective photography” yields a number of sites. My favorite is “One Hundred Remarkable Examples of Reflection Photography.”

23 July 2015   •   No. 31

Hark, here—aka "the Gerald Angel," in my role as prayer&politiks’ guardian angel.

The usual weekly “Signs of the Times” column will be abbreviated this week and next, to allow Ken to focus on other deadlines.

16 July 2015   •   No. 30

¶ Invocation. Who among you believe that / grieving and lamentation / are symptoms of despair. / Not so! / Only the hopeless are silent / in the face of calamity— / silenced because they no / longer aspire even to be heard, / much less heeded. The labor / of lament, on the other hand, / is premised on the expectation / that grief’s rule will be bound / by the Advent of Another. (Continue reading “The Labor of Lament” by Ken Sehested

A newly hatched sea turtle (right) makes its way to the ocean. Photo by Courtney Campbell, “The Pendulum,” Elon University Student News.

¶ Shores of hallelujah! “In Florida, sea turtles are making a comeback. The green turtle is leading the way. It's a species that a few decades ago was close to disappearing from the state, and the scope of its recovery is virtually unprecedented for an endangered species in the United States,” says National Public Radio host Robert Siegel. “As a scientist, I have to be a little bit careful about how I throw the word miracle around, but yes, I agree that, in this case, it is really quite extraordinary. —Lou Ehrhart, University of Central Florida researcher who has counted sea turtle nests in this refuge since the mid-'80s.

9 July 2015  •  No. 29

¶ Invocation. Listen, O people of the Way, and take note. Your ancestors were once illegal aliens in the land of Southern Appalachia. Boat people, all of you, undocumented immigrants. Scots-Irish trash; crackers and kaffirs, wetbacks and wops; gooks, goyim, gringos and gypsies. / Strangers we were, with no stake in the Promise; hopeless, helpless, beggarly-born. (Continue reading “Strangers we were,”  by Ken Sehested.)

¶ Hymn of praise. Kate Campbell, “Jesus and Tomatoes Coming Soon,”  Get your own “Jesus and Tomatoes Coming Soon” bumper sticker ($5 postpaid) at katecampbell.com.  While you’re there, sample the tracks from her fabulous new album, “1000 Pound Machine.”

2 July 2015  •  No. 28

¶ Invocation. “With good pleasure, in the beginning, the Beloved aspired all that now breathes. Then again, in the Lovely One, even Christ Jesus, the Wind of Heaven confounds the wail of rancor. Come, heaven! Come, earth! With mercy so tender, adopted in splendor, all bloodletting malice shall melt into praise.” (Continue reading “Good Pleasure,” a litany for worship inspired by Ephesians 1:3-14.)

¶ “Why is it that when we talk to God we’re said to be praying, but when God talks to us we’re schizophrenic?” —Lily Tomlin