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Signs of the Times  •  4 April 2017  •  No. 115

¶ Processional. “Mother Mary, full of grace, awaken. / All our homes are gone, our loved ones taken. / Taken by the sea – / Mother Mary, calm our fears, have mercy. / Drowning in a sea of tears, have mercy. / Hear our mournful plea. / Our world has been shaken, / we wander our homelands, forsaken.” —Eliza Gilykson, “Requiem,” written after the 26 December 2004 earthquake in the Indian ocean, creating a tsunami which struck Indonesia, killing over 260,000 (Thanks Steve.)

Above: Kalbyris Forest in Denmark placed first in nature and wildlife, photographed using a drone, by Michael B Rasmussen. See more in “The best drone photography of 2016” at The Guardian.

¶ Invocation. “From the depths of distress, every sail sagged and limp, / my mutinous lips offer insurrecting sighs. / With heart-aching hope doth my voice still rejoice. / Incline us, consign us, to steadfast Embrace.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Mutinous lips,” a litany inspired by Psalm 118

¶ Call to worship. “Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life.” —John Michael Talbot, “Shepherd Me, O God”

¶ Historic anniversary. On 4 April 1887, Susanna Madora Salter (2 March 2 1860 – 17 March 17 1961) became the first woman elected to the office of mayor, of Argonia, Kansas. See portrait at right. —for more see Wikipedia

¶ Good news. “20 Good News stories you may not have heard about.” —Curiosity (3:08 video. Thanks Kristen.) 

¶ Hymn of praise. “It Is Well With My Soul,” Zero8 Chorus. (Thanks, Karen.)

¶ Confession. “The Rock of the Righteous is our God: / Who marks the boundaries between justice and vengeance; / Who blazes the Way from enmity to peace; / Who causes the wicked to stumble in their folly / But protects the weak against howling storms of contempt.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “By Thy might,” a litany inspired by Psalm 31

[Artwork by Ella Kaye]

¶ Historic speeches anniversaries. “I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. When machines and computers, profit and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. —Martin Luther King Jr., “Beyond Vietnam” speak, 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City

Left: “Martin Luther King Jr., “I have been to the mountaintop,” art by Ella Kaye

        Two significant anniversaries of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches occur this week. Monday, 3 April 1968, was his “I’ve been to the mountaintop” speech in Memphis the night before his assassination. Tuesday, 4 April 1967, is the 50th anniversary of his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence” speech where he stated his full-throated opposition to the war in Vietnam, linking the roots of racism, materialism, and militarism.

        King’s “Mountaintop” speech is an instructive way to prepare for Holy Week; “Beyond Vietnam,” for Eastertide, when present realities come into sharp relief by Resurrection’s promise.

“I Have Been to the Mountaintop,” Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn., 3 April 1968, the night before his assassination.
        •Complete speech (43:14 audio)
        • Excerpts (22:14) of the speech along with photos, video clips and commentary from some of his colleagues.
        •Brief excerpt of the speech’s key lines. (2:37 video)

“Beyond Vietnam” speech
        •Full speech (audio, 53+ minutes)
        •22-minute excerpt from the speech
        •7:50 minute excerpt

        You will be surprised at how many paragraphs in “Beyond Vietnam” that are relevant, with little or no editing, to current realities.
        For more background, see “When the dream gets a bit dreamy: On the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s 'Beyond Vietnam'” speech.”

¶ Hymn of lamentation. "Death hath deprived me of my dearest friend," Thomas Weelkes, a eulogy on the death of Thomas Morley in 1602, performed by Vox Luminis.

¶ “He took control of Egypt. And he really took control of it.” Trump’s statement about visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was a compliment. “We agree on so many things,” Trump continued.
        In case you forgot, it was then-General el-Sisi who came to power in a military coup in 2011, deposing democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi (not to our liking), killing hundreds of street protestors and jailing thousands of others, including several American citizens. In 2015 President Obama blocked US military aid for Egypt because of these human rights abuses. —see Peter Baker & Declan Walsh, New York Times

¶ Words of assurance. “No, Never Alone,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe. (Click the “show more” button for the lyrics.)

¶ Kaiser Family Foundation poll. “When survey respondents are told that only about 1% of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid, the share saying the US spends too little more than doubles (from 13% to 28%), while the share saying we spend too much drops in half (from 61% to 30%).”
        The average citizen thinks foreign aid is 28% of the US budget. Only 4% of those polled knew non-military foreign aid is less than 1% of the national budget.

¶ “As Secretary James Mattis said while commander of US Central Command, ‘If you don’t fully fund the State Department, then I need to buy more ammunition.’ The military will lead the fight against terrorism on the battlefield, but it needs strong civilian partners in the battle against the drivers of extremism—lack of opportunity, insecurity, injustice, and hopelessness.” —Jeffrey D. Sachs, “The Ethics and Practicalities of Foreign Aid,” CommonDreams

¶ “Foreign Aid 101: A quick and easy guide to understanding US Foreign Aid (Third Edition),” OxfamAmerica. 

¶ It is a myth “that the United States carries the aid burden while other governments shirk their responsibility. This is plain wrong. The US spends less as a share of our income than other countries spend as a share of their income. US aid is now just 0.17 percent of US Gross National Income (GNI), roughly $32 billion in aid out of a GNI of $18 trillion. The average aid spending by other donor governments is more than twice the US share, around 0.38%.” —Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development, Columbia University

¶ The bulk of humanitarian foreign aid requires that recipient nations purchase from US companies and ship on US vessels. It is, in effective, a subsidy for the US economy. —for more information, see Anup Shah, Global Issues

¶ Professing our faith. Scripture’s gravitational pull always returns to the question of idolatry. Here is one example of what that entails: “A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save” (Psalm 33:16-17). Is it any wonder that any who heed this warning risk being indicted for treason? —kls

¶ Short story. Can’t you just read the front page headline in newspapers in countries unfriendly to ours:

        “Repressive state agents arrest compassionate man in the US State of Florida for feeding starving people.” Subhead: “New wave of Western . . . capitalistic/militarized police force . . . infidel’s coercive treatment of its citizens [pick one] caught on camera.”

        What triggered this tirade?

        “When 90-year-old Florida resident Arnold Abbott said following his arrest on Sunday that police couldn’t stop him from feeding the homeless, he apparently meant it. Abbott was charged again on Wednesday night for violating a new city law in Ft. Lauderdale that essentially prevents people from feeding the homeless.

        “‘I expected it’ he said in a Sun Sentinel report. ‘At least this time they let us feed people first.’ Officers lingered in the area for about 45 minutes during which time Abbott and volunteers with the Love Thy Neighbor charity he founded handed out more than 100 plates of hot chicken stew, pasta, cheesy potatoes and fruit salad to homeless men and women.

        “If he’s found guilty of violating city ordinance laws, he faces 60 days in jail or a $500 fine.”

        Cheers for the police allowing him to finish the distribution. They did not make the city ordinance.

        Now for the lesson: Next time you read of something similarly terrific reported here from another country (particularly if its an “unfriendly”), remember the story above and ask yourself, “I wonder what really happened?” —story by Marc Weinreich, New York Daily News

¶ Hymn of intercession. “We Found Love (In a Hopeless Place),” Rihanna, performed by Choir! Choir! Choir!

¶ Preach it. “What makes Christians Christian is their willingness to look for redemption by fighting for justice even if redemption is not evident and even when justice does not readily come. The world cannot survive Christians pussyfooting around those pursuits in expectation that redemption and justice will arrive as a matter of course. Neither can anyone claiming to be Christian.” —Stanley Hauerwas & Jonathan Tran, “Sanctuary Politics: Being the Church in the Time of Trump,” Religion and Ethics

¶ When only the blues will do. “The Thrill Is Gone,” Bonnie Raitt, Gary Clark Jr., and the B.B. King Blues Band.

¶ Can’t makes this sh*t up. “Trump Sends Hate Group to Represent US at UN Women's Rights Conference" —Nika Knight, Common Dreams

¶ Call to the table. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” —Alice Walker

¶ The state of our disunion. Our Commander in Mischief’s herky-jerky behavior makes him a prime source of betting pools. Dublin-based Paddy Power Betfair has had to hire a full-time bookmaker to handle traffic from gamblers in Britain and Ireland. Currently, odds are 3-1 that Trump will be impeached this year, 25-1 that Mexico will fund the border wall, 100-1 that he will commission adding his face to Mt. Rushmore. —Kim Hjelmgaard & Jane Onyanga-Moara, msn

¶ Best one-liner. “Dance like no one is watching; email like it may one day be read aloud in a deposition.”

¶ For the beauty of the earth. This dramatic video of glacier calving (3:24 video—go into “full screen” mode for this one) at Viedma Glacier, Patagonia, Argentina, is both awesome and ominous.

¶ Altar call. “We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.” —Anaïs Nin

¶ Benediction. “There is nothing / a blessing / is better suited for / than an ending, / nothing that cries out more / for a blessing / than when a world / is falling apart.” —Jan Richardson

¶ Recessional. “The Lord Bless You and Keep You,” St. Paul Cathedral Choir.

¶ Lectionary for this Sunday. “Is there no song to be sung, no bell to be rung, no laughter from the fields at play with their yield? Would that my mouth be formed and my lips unleashed to speak a word, a true and hearty word, to all grown deaf with grief.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Sustain the weary with a word,” a litany for worship inspired by Isaiah 50:4-9a

¶ Good Friday. “Dueling Psalms,” a litany with texts contrasting Psalms 22 & 23.

¶ Easter special. On numerous occasions our congregation has done a choral reading of John 20:1-18 in a prison service on Easter morning and then in our own service Sunday evening. With just a little practice, this can be an especially animating way to hear John’s dramatic resurrection story. —see “Choral reading of John 20:1-18,” a script for eight voices

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. Turning from darkness (death) to light (life) is a major theme in Scripture. But there is also a minority report, where darkness and shadow are the place of God’s abiding Presence.
        “Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit. Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” (Psalm17:1, 8)
        “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” (Psalm 36:7)
        “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by.” (Psalm 57:1) —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Refuge in the shadow," a litany for Holy Week

¶ Just for fun. “100 years of fashion in 100 seconds.”

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks

• “Palms, Passion, Politics and Prayer,” a Palm Sunday sermon

• “Refuge in the shadow,” a collection of Scripture for Holy Week, on “darkness” and “shadow” as the place of God’s abiding presence

• “By Thy might,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 31

• “Sustain the weary with a word,” a litany for worship inspired by Isaiah 50:4-9a

 
Other features
• “Dueling Psalms,” a litany for Good Friday, with texts contrasting Psalms 22 & 23

• “Choral reading of John 20:1-18” a script for eight voices

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor, as are those portions cited as “kls.” Don’t let the “copyright” notice keep you from circulating material you find here (and elsewhere in this site). Reprint permission is hereby granted in advance for noncommercial purposes.

Your comments are always welcomed. If you have news, views, notes or quotes to add to the list above, please do. If you like what you read, pass this along to your friends. You can reach me directly at kensehested@prayerandpolitiks.org.

Signs of the Times  •  28 March 2017  •  No. 114

¶ Processional. Japanese drum line.

Above: Photo by Philip Marazzi

Themed issue
Military spending

¶ Invocation. “Down By the Riverside,” Playing for Change.

¶ Call to worship. “Can these bones live?” asks the Lord of Hosts. / “Only you know,” say our doubt-tendered lips. / “Prophesy, you raggedy-ann human!” came the reply.  / “Prophesy to the wind. Demand Heaven’s own Breath!” / Behold: comes the shaking, bone fit to bone. / Followed by sinews, knitting each to all.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’ “Dry bones,” a litany for worship inspired by Ezekiel 37:1-14

¶ Hymn of praise. ““Peace Will Come,” Tom Paxton.

¶ Here’s your Lenten meditation. Watch this video (8:37) about Noah Patton, a young man from Flint, Michigan who turned his life around and is helping to shape the future of his community.” —Dana Romanoff, The Guardian

¶ News you likely didn’t hear. “Women formed a human chain along Westminster Bridge [in London] to remember the victims of the attack on March 22.” —Jen Mills, Metro.co.uk. Photo at right by Reuters.

¶ Confession. “We do everything we can to limit civilian casualties / ‘This isn’t Sunday school’ (one politician’s actual words) / Didn’t have those children in our sights / Impossible to see, at 10,000 feet, whether Kalashnakovs are present / Smart bombs aren’t flawless / Flawed intelligence (as if a test score were at stake).” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Sorry, sorry, sorry: The political meaning of “collateral damage” repentance

¶“Believing that ‘standing armies in time of peace are inconsistent with the principles of republican governments [and] dangerous to the liberties of a free people,” the U.S. legislature disbanded the Continental Army following the Revolutionary War, except for a few dozen troops guarding munitions at West Point, New York, and Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania.” —Jesse Greenspan, History.com

¶ “The US has been continuously engaged in or mobilized for war since 1941. Using statistics compiled by the Federation of American Scientists, Gore Vidal has listed 201 overseas military operations between the end of World War II and September 11, 2001, in which the US struck the first blow. . . . It should be noted that since 1947 . . . in no instance has democratic government come about as a direct result.” —Chalmers Johnson, “Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic”

¶ After World War II, the Department of War was renamed Department of Defense.

¶ Fast forward to the present. “9/11 has taught us that terrorism against American interests ‘over there’ should be regarded just as we regard terrorism against America ‘over here.’ In this same sense, the American homeland is the planet.” —The 9/11 Commission Report (2004)

¶ Hymn of lamentation. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” Rev. Gary Davis. (Thanks Peter.)

¶ “The United States has formally declared war on only five occasions: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. Yet it has sent its armed forces abroad over 300 times ‘for other than normal peacetime purposes,’ according to a congressional report issued in 2010.” —Jesse Greenspan, History.com

¶ “Why does the US have 800 military bases around the world?” —excellent 3:59 video summary by Vox

¶ The ever-expanding network of US foreign military bases [see the graphic at right] “involves a world’s worth of new missions for the US military, which is fast becoming the ‘global cavalry’ of the twenty-first century.” —Thomas Donnelly and Vance Serchuk, American Enterprise Institute

¶ The US controls 95% of military bases outside national borders. The UK has seven; France, five; Russia, eight; South Korea, India, Chile, Turkey and Israel each have one; as now does China, building its first foreign base, in Djibouti. —see David Vine, "The United States Probably Has More Foreign Military Bases Than Any Other People, Nation, or Empire in History: And it’s doing us more harm than good,” The Nation

¶ Despite lowering US troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq, President Obama managed to spend more money on the Pentagon that George W. Bush did in his eight years in office. —William Hartung, huffingtonpost

¶ One key reason for maintaining high levels of military spending is because of what former Pentagon analyst Franklin Spinney calls “political engineering,” where states vie to get and keep bases and military supply manufacturing, creating economic incentive to ignore efficient planning.

 ¶ “Worldwide, the military runs more than 170 golf courses.” —Dave Gilson, Mother Jones

¶ “Rarely does anyone ask if we need hundreds of bases overseas or if, at an estimated annual cost of perhaps $156 billion or more, the United States can afford them.” —David Vine, The United States Probably Has More Foreign Military Bases Than Any Other People, Nation, or Empire in History: And it’s doing us more harm than good,” The Nation

¶ At the end of World War II Lockheed President Robert Gross was terrified by the war’s end. In a 1947 letter to a friend he said “As long as I live I will never forget those short, appalling weeks” of the postwar period. . . . “We had one underlying element of comfort during the war. We knew we’d get paid for anything we built.  Now we are almost entirely on our own.” —quoted in William Hartung, huffingtonpost

¶ As of 2011 “the US had publicly acknowledged Status of Force Agreements [legal arrangements allowing the US to station troops] with 93 countries, also some are so embarrassing to the host nation that they are kept secret . . .  [T]he true number of existing SOFA’s remains publicly unknown.” —Chalmers Johnson, “Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic”

¶ Words of assurance. “Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast; / God’s mercy shall deliver us from the conqueror’s crushing grasp. / This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound, / Till the spear and rod can be quelled by God who is turning the world around.” — Gary Daigle, Rory Cooney & Theresa Donohoo, “Canticle of the Turning”

¶ “[A]lthough it’s required to by law, the Department of Defense has never had an audit, something every American person, every company and every other government agency is subject to. The result is an astounding $10 trillion in taxpayer money that has gone unaccounted for since 1996.” —Thomas Hedges, The Guardian

¶ “The Pentagon employs 3 million people, 800,000 more than Walmart,” the world’s wealthiest company. —Dave Gilson, Mother Jones

¶ “In 2015, according to Special Operations Command spokesman Ken McGraw, US Special Operations forces deployed to a record-shattering 147 countries—75% of the nations on the planet. On any day of the year, in fact, America’s most elite troops can be found in 70 to 90 nations.” —Nick Turse, TomDispatch

¶ Short story. Harry Emerson Fosdick, among the great preachers in US history, volunteered to serve as a military chaplain in World War I. The brutality so devastated him that he began a spiritual journey toward pacifism, first publicly announced in his sermon, “Unknown Soldier,” on Armistice Day 1933. He also authored the majestic hymn, “God of Grace and God of Glory” (see below).

¶ Hymn of resolution. “Cure thy children's warring madness; / bend our pride to your control; / shame our wanton, selfish gladness, / rich in things and poor in soul.” —Kate Campbell performs Harry Emerson Fosdick’s “God of Grace and God of Glory”

¶ Until President Obama curtailed the practice in May 2015, many local police departments around the nation were given surplus military equipment. In 2011 alone the price tag was more than $500 million. —Robert Johnson, Business Insider

¶ “The Department of Defense uses 4,600,000,000 US gallons of fuel annually, an average of 12,600,000 gallons per day.” —Wikipedia

¶ Hymn of intercession. “Lay Down Your Arms,” written by Doron Levinson, a wounded Israeli veteran. The Hebrew words are drawn from Isaiah 2:4 “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall no longer raise up arms against nation, neither shall they teach their children war anymore."

¶ Preach it. Reflecting on the meaning of the Holocaust, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “We have failed to offer sacrifices on the altar of peace; now we must offer sacrifices on the altar of war. . . . In our everyday life we worshipped force, despised compassion, and obeyed no law but our unappeasable appetite.” —“The Meaning of This War [World War II]”

¶ The military’s new F-35 fighter jet’s original 2001 development cost was $233 billion. That figure is now $1 trillion. —Jaason Slotkin, NPR

¶ Can’t makes this sh*t up. The US Secret Service requested $60 million in additional funding for the next year to protect the Trump family, including protecting Trump’s sons as they travel the world promoting Trump properties. —Drew Harwell & Amy Brittain, Washington Post

¶ Call to the table. “We want to bathe in the blood of the dragon and drink from the blood of the Lamb at the same time. But the truth is that we have to choose.” —Dorothee Sölle

¶ “70% of the value of the federal government’s $1.8 trillion in property, land and equipment belongs to the Pentagon.” —Dave Gilson, Mother Jones

¶ The reason many US army helicopters are named after native-American tribes is because the first US Air Force bases were located on native reserves. —helis.com

¶ The state of our disunion. “We may think [our foreign military] bases have made us safer. In reality, they’ve helped lock us inside a permanently militarized society that has made all of us—everyone on this planet—less secure, damaging lives at home and abroad.   —David Vine, "The United States Probably Has More Foreign Military Bases Than Any Other People, Nation, or Empire in History: And it’s doing us more harm than good,” The Nation

¶ Best one-liner. “When America is no longer a threat to the world, the world will no longer threaten us.” —Harry Browne

¶ The famous prayer reportedly said by Captain Jack Hays of the Texas Rangers during the Mexican-American War, shortly before leading his troops into battle at Palo Alto:
      "O, Lord, we are about to join battle with a vastly superior number of the enemy, and, Heavenly Father, we would mightily like for you to be on our side and help us. But if You can't do it, for Christ's sake don't go over to the Mexicans, but just lay low and keep in the dark, and You will see one of the dangest fights you've ever seen. Charge!"

¶ For the beauty of the earth. “Finalists of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards." (Thanks Patti.)

¶ This George W. Bush-era policy assertion is still operative (though in recent months a few federal judges have pushed back). “The Commander in Chief’s pursuit of national security cannot be constrained by any laws passed by Congress, even when he [sic] is acting against US citizens.” —Massimo Calabresi, “Wartime Power Play,” Time

¶ Altar call. “Study War,” Moby.

¶ Benediction. “May you grow up to be righteous / May you grow up to be true / May you always know the truth / And see the lights surrounding you.” —Joan Baez’s rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young”

¶ Recessional. “There will be a jubilee / Oh my lord oh my lord / There will be a jubilee / When the children all go free / Yeah they'll lay down their swords / They'll study war no more / There'll be a great big jubilee.” —The Devil Makes Three, “There’ll Be a Jubilee”

¶ Lectionary for this Sunday. “With haggard hearts each voice imparts this plea for constancy. / Draw near, dispel confounding fear, with Heaven’s clemency.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Draw Near,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 130

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “[In the Matthew 21 text for today,] Jesus was engaging in some dramatic liturgy and risky political theatre. Liturgy and politics are always connected. Liturgy is the symbolic expression of our highest hopes for the future. It’s how we communicate about what the future should look like. Politics is the mechanism we humans use to decide how to live together, of who gets what, when, where and how. What the future should look like, and how the present is actually shaped, are irrevocably linked in our faith.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Palms, Passion, Politics and Prayer,” A Palm Sunday sermon

¶ Just for fun. Playtime: the window washer and the cat.

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks

• “Palms, Passion, Politics and Prayer,” a Palm Sunday sermon

• “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” a poem on the political meaning of “collateral damage” repentance

 
Other features

• “Dry bones,” a litany for worship inspired by Ezekiel 37:1-14

• “Amnesty,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 130

• “Health Care as a fundamental human right,” a short essay

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor, as are those portions cited as “kls.” Don’t let the “copyright” notice keep you from circulating material you find here (and elsewhere in this site). Reprint permission is hereby granted in advance for noncommercial purposes.

Your comments are always welcomed. If you have news, views, notes or quotes to add to the list above, please do. If you like what you read, pass this along to your friends. You can reach me directly at kensehested@prayerandpolitiks.org.

Signs of the Times  •  21 March 2017  •  No. 113

¶ Processional. “Cavatina,” guitar solo by Ana Vidovic.

Photo by Gus Ravenwheel

Feature issue
Health Care

¶ Invocation. “Lord, dear Lord I've loved, God almighty / God of love, please look down and see my people through.” —Mahalia Jackson, “Come Sunday”

¶ Good news. “By 1995, [Bon Secours Hospital, in West Baltimore] had bought 31 of the 67 vacant properties, including an unused school. With this expanded neighborhood presence, it made three public commitments: It would renovate the homes as affordable housing; do something with the school that would help families; and stop making unilateral decisions about its activities in the area. Bon Secours, without realizing it, had adopted a strategy that in the following decades would boost the economies of many areas hit by disinvestment, poverty, and unemployment.” —Cecilia Garza & Araz Hachadourian, Yes! Magazine

¶ Call to worship. “Kyrie Eleison,” Divna Ljubojević .

Right: These twinned poplars, photographed in 1950, are related to a Cherokee peace treaty. See the story below. Photo: Citizen-Times.

¶ The work of historical recovery. “In 1737, Caldwell County [North Carolina] historian Nancy Alexander recounts, ‘the Cherokees had become more and more incensed and indignant that the Catawba Indians were openly welcoming the white [migrants] . . . into this area. The Catawba sent one of its most fearless warriors to declare war on the Cherokees.’ A ravaging battle between the peoples took place north of Lenoir, followed by a peace treaty. ‘As a token of their decision,’ Alexander continues, ‘they erected a mound of stones . . . and tied two young poplar trees together.’” —Rob Neufeld, Asheville Citizen-Times

¶ Hymn of praise. “We take what you offer, / we will live by your word / We will love one another / and be fed by you, God.” —Wild Goose Worship Group, “We Will Take What You Offer”

¶ “If you listen to many Republicans in Washington, the Affordable Care Act’s insurance markets are in a ‘death spiral,’ ‘imploding,’ ‘collapsing’ or ‘will fall of their own weight.’ That’s part of the rationale behind the new House proposal to reshape the health care system. But the new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office contradict this long-held talking point. According to the budget office, the Obamacare markets will remain stable over the long run, if there are no significant changes.” —Reed Abelson & Margot Sanger-Katz, New York Times

¶ “Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in March 2010, health care stocks have risen more than 133%, better than the Standard & Poor 500’s 103% gain.” —Adam Shell, USAToday

¶ The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the new health care plan’s cost/benefit ratio predicts that in the next decade the number of people without insurance will nearly double, from 28 million from 52 million. The “good” news, for Republicans, is that wealthy families will receive a $600 billion tax cut, courtesy of higher coverage for the elderly and low-income households. —for more, see “Trading Health Care for the Poor for Tax Cuts for the Rich,” New York Times editorial

¶ “This Is Not a Healthcare Bill. It’s a tax cut.” —Charles P. Pierce, CommonDreams

¶ Ezra Klein (among my favorite commentators) on the Republican healthcare plan. (5:17 video.)

¶ “According to the latest report of the O.E.C.D. (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [composed of 35 of the wealthiest democratic nations] the United States as a whole does not actually outshine other countries in the quality of care. . . . Overall, Americans spend far money on health care than citizens of any other country, by a very wide margin.” —Anu Partanen, “The Fake Freedom of American Health Care,” New York Times

¶ Confession. “There is nothing / a blessing / is better suited for / than an ending, / nothing that cries out more / for a blessing / than when a world / is falling apart.” —Jan Richardson

¶ This is one of the implications of amerika-first thinking: The Obama Administration’s “Affordable Care Act” is being replaced by Trump’s “American Health Care Act.” In other words, “America” replaces “Affordable.”

¶ New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof targets Rep. Paul Ryan’s health care plan in this bit of satire using a Jesus story backdrop.
        “Upon the healing of the woman afflicted with years of bleeding, St. Paul of Ryan says to Jesus: ‘But teacher, is that wise? When you cure her, she learns dependency. Then the poor won’t take care of themselves, knowing that you’ll always bail them out! You must teach them personal responsibility!’” (Thanks Susan.)

¶ Hymn of intercession. “Lift Us Up: A Song for America,” by Peter Yarrow, performed by Bethany Yarrow & friends. (Click the “show more” button for the lyrics.)

¶ “Americans are still struggling with their health, and rank last against citizens of 10 other wealthy countries when it comes to emotional distress, struggling to pay for care and skipping doctor visits, a new report finds. The latest report from the Commonwealth Fund shows not much has changed in 15 years or longer. Americans still pay far more for medical care than people in other rich Western nations but have little to show for all that spending.” —Maggie Fox, NBC News

¶ Prayer of petition. “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,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 130

¶ For every three doctors in the US there are two staffers handling paperwork. —Sarah Kliff, “8 facts that explain what’s wrong with American health care,” Vox

¶ This past week the highly respected Consumer Report gave an “F” to the American Health Care Act based on five key criteria, saying the legislation does not ensure broad coverage, does not provide meaningful access to healthcare, is not easy to navigate, does not address underlying reasons for high costs, and does not set basic consumer protections. —see Deirdre Fulton, CommonDreams

¶ Hymn of lamentation. “There's no light in the tunnel, no irons in the fire / Come on up to the house / And you're singin' lead soprano in the junk man's choir / Come on up to the house / Don't life seem nasty, brutish and short / Come on up to the house / Well the seas are stormy you can't find no port / Come on up to the house.” —Sarah Jarosz, “Come On Up To The House”

¶ “The Affordable Care Act never really solved the healthcare crisis. It treated healthcare as a commodity allocated through market forces rather than as a public good and failed to address the profiteering at the core of our healthcare system, forcing it to use a series of confusing and convoluted mechanisms to expand health insurance coverage and regulate health insurance providers.” —Mark Dudzic, “Six Ways Trumpcare Makes Healthcare Worse (and One Way to Make It Better),” CommonDreams

¶ See Josh Marshall’s Twitter spoof of Paul Ryan’s reaction to the Congressional Budget Office’s “scoring” of the Republican health care plan. (3 second video)

¶ Words of assurance. “If you, O God, should keep track of all our failures, / none of us would make the grade. / But your hands heap pardon on all the penitent. / Forgiveness is your middle name.  / Mercy is your mandate; pardon, your provision.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Amnesty,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 130

¶ In a 1961 recording for the American Medical Association, Ronald Reagan claimed Medicare legislation would lead to the death of capitalism and a socialist dictatorship. (Listen to his 10:06 speech.)

¶ When only the blues will do. Fredrik Strand Halland, 12 year-old Norwegian, plays Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood.”

¶ By the numbers. The Congressional Budget Office says that in time the Republican health care plan will lower average premiums but that “has little to do with increased choice and competition. It depends, rather, on penalizing older patients and rewarding younger ones. According to the CBO report, the bill would make health insurance so unaffordable for many older Americans that they would simply leave the market and join the ranks of the uninsured.” —Margot Sanger-Katz, New York Times

¶ Offertory. “Once Upon a Time in the West,” performed by the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra with Katica Illényi on the Theremin, an electronic musical instrument.

¶ Preach it. “Some basic level of health care ought to be considered a fundamental human right, along with free speech, the right to vote, and all other recognized provisions for what it means to pursue ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ The US is the only industrialized country in the world that lacks universal health care. We won’t get there until our nation’s commitment to ‘the common defense’ and ‘general welfare’ provisions of The Declaration of Independence include health care as an inalienable right.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Health Care as a fundamental human right”

¶ Can’t makes this sh*t up. J. Michael Pearson, CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, explains his company’s practice of buying up drug patents and jacking the price—56 such drugs raised an average of 66% in 2016:
         “My primary responsibility is to Valeant shareholders. We can do anything we want to do. We will continue to make acquisitions, we will continue to move forward.” —“Valeant CEO J. Michael Pearson Speaks One-on-One with Meg Tirrell Today on CNBC,” 28 May 2014

¶ Call to the table. “My real charge to people is look around and see who’s missing. And try to invite that person.” —journalist Michel Martin

¶ The state of our disunion. Poor people “just don’t want health care and aren’t going to take care of themselves,” said Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) during congressional debate over replacing the Affordable Care Act. And in comments on a CNN interview, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said “Americans have choices, and they’ve got to make a choice. And so maybe rather than getting that new iPhone . . . maybe they should invest in their own health care.” —Kristine Phillips, Washington Post

¶ For the beauty of the earth. Stunning Aurora Borealis from filmed from space by NASA.

¶ Make room in your schedule for 15 minutes of hopeful exhortation from Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and director of the Equal Justice Initiative.

¶ Altar call. “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” —Audrey Lorde

¶ Benediction. “Turn down your gaze upon the earth / Where is the One who never sleeps? / We call on One who guards you now / Your spirit safe in holy keep.” — Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, “God Is Holding Your Life” (Thanks Brian.)

¶ Recessional. “Psalm of Life,” Annie Moses Band.

¶ Lectionary for this Sunday. “Now goodness rests upon my head, / to follow all my days, no dread / but mercy comes running to embrace me / With love’s refrain I shall obtain, / a dwelling place in God’s new Reign / And fallow fields in chorus yield hallelujah!” —continue reading “Hallelujah,”  a litany for worship, adapting Psalm 23; listen to Ken Medema’s musical rendition, using the tune written by Leonard Cohen

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “Can these bones live?” asks the Lord of Hosts. / “Only you know,” say our doubt-tendered lips. / “Prophesy, you raggedy-ann human!” came the reply.  / “Prophesy to the wind. Demand Heaven’s own Breath!” / Behold: comes the shaking, bone fit to bone. / Followed by sinews, knitting each to all.  / “Say to these graves, / ‘Your death grip has ended! / Your rancor, exhausted; / your redemption sure purchased.’” —continue reading Ken Sehested’ “Dry bones,” a litany for worship inspired by Ezekiel 37:1-14

¶ Just for fun. “Impeachara.” Feeling depressed. . . ? You may be suffering from TIAD, “Trump-induced Anxiety Disorder.” (Thanks Mike.)

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Featured this week on prayer&politiks

• “Dry bones,” a litany for worship inspired by Ezekiel 37:1-14

• “Draw near,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 130

• “Amnesty,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 130

• “Health Care as a fundamental human right,” a short essay

Right: Ricardo Levins Morales, ©RLM Art Studio

Other features

• “Hallelujah,”  a litany for worship, adapting Psalm 23; listen to Ken Medema’s musical rendition, using the tune written by Leonard Cohen

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor, as are those portions cited as “kls.” Don’t let the “copyright” notice keep you from circulating material you find here (and elsewhere in this site). Reprint permission is hereby granted in advance for noncommercial purposes.

Your comments are always welcomed. If you have news, views, notes or quotes to add to the list above, please do. If you like what you read, pass this along to your friends. You can reach me directly at kensehested@prayerandpolitiks.org.

Signs of the Times  •  14 March 2017  •  No. 112

¶ Processional. “Feast of St. Brigid of Kildare,” O’hAnleigh.

Above: The first bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) have been sited in the Texas hill country.

¶ Invocation.
   “I should like a great lake of finest ale for all the people.
    I should like a table of the choicest foods for the family of heaven.
    Let the ale be made from the fruits of faith, and the food be for giving love.
    I should welcome the poor to my feast, for they are God’s children.
    I should welcome the sick to my feast, for they are God’s joy.
    Let the poor sit with Sophia at the highest place and the sick dance with the angels.
    Bless the poor, bless the sick, bless our human race.
    Bless our food, bless our drink, all homes,
    O God, embrace.”
    —St. Brigid (Brigit) of Kildare (aka “Mary of the Gael,” 453-524), a patron saint of Ireland and (among others) of children with abusive fathers

Right: “Brigid dancing monk” icon by Marcy Hall

¶ “Like community activists and nurturers, Brigit wove the fragile threads of life into webs of community. She invented a shriek alarm for vulnerable women traveling alone, she secured women’s property rights when a judge threatened to abolish them, and she freed a slave-trafficked woman. Above all, her generous nature ensured that the neart, or life force, was kept moving for the benefit of all and was not stagnated by greed.” —Mary Condren, Irish Times

¶ Best story you probably didn’t hear about. How Valerie Fambrough, mother of two who “had never protested anything in her life,” stood down Klan fever in a small North Georgia town. —Stephanie McCrummen, “In Georgia, reaction to KKK banner is a sign of the times” (a long but engrossing story)

¶ Call to worship. "Anagehya, women of all the Nations, you are the strength, you are the force, you are the healing of the Nations," performed by Joan Henry, Earthsinger with remarks on the nature of traditional songs. (Thanks Karen.)

¶ The 2017 International Women’s Day public profile is dominated by corporate logos of companies like BP, Western Union, and Pepsico. This is a long ways from the first “Women’s Day” demonstration, organized by the Socialist Party in New York in February 1909, which prompted labor strikes and a march in New York City by female factory workers demanding the right to unionize, better wages, and improved working conditions. —Lucy Hadley, Sojourners

¶ Another hidden figure. The sculpted portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which appears on 10-cent coins, was done by Selma Burke (photo at left), African American sculptor and educator who founded two art schools. —Black Then.com

¶ Hymn of praise. “We are One Woman, / Your courage keeps me strong. / We are One Woman, / You sing, I sing along. / We are One Woman, / Your dreams are mine. / And we shall shine. / We shall shine.” —international cast of artists, “One Woman,” for the UN International Women’s Day (lyrics below video)

¶ The Bible and misogyny. “Within the Judeo-Christian world, resistance to gender equity has deep roots in Scripture and church history. While it is true that alternative texts and traditions can be identified in these sources, it is still imperative that we openly confront and address the elemental texts and pretexts authorizing overt and covert patterns of domination. What follows is a brief summary of such texts.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “The sinister side of Judeo-Christian Scripture and tradition regarding women”

¶ Confession. “It was field day on the prison yard. A couple hundred inmates were competing in basketball and volleyball games and relay races. The cooler of fruit punch ran out, but they had a water fountain on the side of the building. But Montel was in a wheelchair and couldn’t reach the fountain. He wheeled over to the staff tent and asked for a cup of water from the staff cooler. Several staff said no. Then he turned to me, the chaplain, and asked for water. I said no.” —continue reading Nancy Hastings Sehested’s “Caught in the mess, caught in the mercy”

¶ A 31 March 1776 letter Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams, who later became the second U.S. president. [Her spelling intact.]
            “I long to hear that you have declared an independancy—and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation. That your Sex are Naturally Tyrannical is a Truth so thoroughly established as to admit of no dispute, but such of you as wish to be happy willingly give up the harsh title of Master for the more tender and endearing one of Friend.” —access the entire text at PBS, "American Experience"

¶ Hymn of intercession. “How many times / Have I stood / By the river / And could not see / To the other side / Hoping like Moses / The clouds / Would be lifted / Stretch out my hand / The waters divide / Lay back the darkness / Let in the light / Take all the wrongs / Make them all right / And if I could / Lay down these blues / For good.” —Kate Campbell, “Lay Back the Darkness” (Thanks Mike.)

¶ Words of assurance.
    "And then all that has divided us will merge
    And then compassion will be wedded to power
    And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind
    And then both men and women will be gentle
    And then both women and men will be strong
    And then no person will be subject to another's will. . .
    And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many
    And then all will share in the Earth's abundance
    And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old
    And then all will nourish the young. . .
    And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth. . . ."
   —untitled poem from "The Dinner Party" by Judy Chicago

¶ Highly recommended. The quote at right is excerpted from Rebecca Solnit, “Silence and powerlessness go hand in hand—women’s voices must be heard,” The Guardian

¶ Here’s your Lenten testimony for the week. Sikh-American civil rights advocate Valarie Kaur's plea to her country in the time of trumphoolery. (5:59 video. Thanks Bernie.)

¶ “It is much easier to sing the lyrics of Hamilton than to accept the cold, hard facts. In Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures (1791), the treasury secretary was quite clear that the classes to be exploited as factory workers were women and children, even children of a ‘tender age,’ as he coldly put it.” — historian Nancy Isenberg, author of White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, in an interview with Karin Kamp

¶ When only the blues will do. “Baghdad Blues,” Beverly “Guitar” Watkins.

¶ By the numbers. Key indicators of gender inequality in 2017. Gender discriminatory laws still exist in 155 countries. Men make 23% more than women for the same work. Women undertake 75% of informal employment, low-paid and unprotected by labor laws or social convention. Women spend 2.5 times more hours in unpaid work such as child care and household responsibilities. Women take home one-tenth of global income while accounting for two-thirds of working hours. At the current pace of change, it will take 170 years to achieve economic equality between men and women. —UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri, “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”

Above: Photo by Brett Jorgensen, Shutterstockcom

¶ Offertory. “The Soundmaker,” sizzling acoustic guitar performance by Rodrigo y Gabriela. (Thanks Tom.)

¶ Preach it. “When Pharaoh’s daughter goes to bathe in the Nile, she hears the cries of the infant, is filled with compassion, and seizes the moment to act. Some verses later, when Moses is already grown and God reveals God’s self to Moses, God uses the same words: ‘I heard the cries of my people.” So what we have here is not imitatio Dei. Here we have a story where God imitates us, a woman, no less, and an Egyptian daughter of a tyrant.” —Rabbi Naamah Kelman, “The holy work of dialogue,” Changing the Present, Dreaming the Future: A Critical Movement in Interreligious Dialogue, Hans Ucko, ed.

¶ Can’t makes this sh*t up. “A Canadian federal judge [Justice Robin Camp of the Alberta Federal Court] who asked an alleged rape victim in court why she couldn’t ‘just keep your knees together’ resigned Thursday, after a judicial panel released a scathing report calling for him to be removed from office.” —Derek Hawkins, Washington Post

¶ Call to the table. “Eat This Bread,” performed by the London Fox Taizé Choir.

Right: Ricardo Levins Morales, ©RLM Art Studio

¶ The state of our disunion. Lack of affordable child care is the greatest barrier to women's economic sustainability. “The problem of expensive care is endemic in the U.S.; the study found that the cost of center-based infant care exceeds 7% of family income—the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' cutoff for affordability—in 49 states and the District of Columbia. But there is one exception: Louisiana. —Claire Zillman, Fortune (Thanks Beth.)

¶ Best one-liner. “She who laughs, lasts.” —author unknown

¶ For the beauty of the earth. Watch this rare footage of a swimming Feather Star (crinoid, aka sea lily; 0:36 video).

¶ Altar call. “But no one knows me no one ever will / if I don’t say something, if I just lie still / Would I be that monster, scare them all away / If I let them hear what I have to say / Let it out Let it out / Let it out now / There’ll be someone who understands.” —1,300-voice choir sing an anti-Trump protest song with MILCK in Toronto, “(I Can’t Keep) Quiet”

¶ “To call woman the weaker sex is libel: It is man's injustice to women. If by strength is meant brute strength, then indeed is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is with women.” —Mahatma Gandhi

¶ Benediction. “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. / I'm not cute or built to suit or fashion-model size. / I say, ‘It's in the reach of my arms, / The span of my hips, / The stride to my steps, / The curl of my lips. . . . / It's in the arch of my back, / The sun of my smile, / The ride of my breast, / The grace of my style.’” —Ruthie Foster, “Phenomenal Woman”

¶ Recessional. “You gotta sing all the time / you gotta find yourself a little song / and sing it all day long.” —Sarah Lee Guthrie, “You Gotta Sing”

Left: “Hagar of Egypt” painting ©Dina Cormick in her “Heroic Women” series

¶ Lectionary for this Sunday. “Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation. The former is a transforming initiative we can take on our own. Forgiving frees us from the toxic grasp of vengeance. It is our imitatio Christi (imitation of Christ), who acted while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “There is a new creation: The Apostle Paul’s vision of the ministry of reconciliation”

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “Now goodness rests upon my head, / to follow all my days, no dread / but mercy comes running to embrace me / With love’s refrain I shall obtain, / a dwelling place in God’s new Reign / And fallow fields in chorus yield hallelujah!” —continue reading “Hallelujah,” a litany for worship, adapting Psalm 23; listen to Ken Medema’s musical rendition, using Leonard Cohen's tune

¶ Just for fun. “The amazing rice fields of Japan” (5:31 video) shows rice farmers’ artistry in one region of Japan, using different species of rice plants to “paint” pictures. (Thanks Dan.)

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks

• “Caught in the mess, caught in mercy,” a maximum security story by Nancy Hastings Sehested

• “The sinister side of Judeo-Christian Scripture and tradition regarding women,” a summary of texts

• “There is a new creation: The Apostle Paul’s vision of the ministry of reconciliation”

• “Hallelujah,” a litany for worship, adapting Psalm 23; listen to Ken Medema’s musical rendition, using Leonard Cohen's tune

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor, as are those portions cited as “kls.” Don’t let the “copyright” notice keep you from circulating material you find here (and elsewhere in this site). Reprint permission is hereby granted in advance for noncommercial purposes.

Your comments are always welcomed. If you have news, views, notes or quotes to add to the list above, please do. If you like what you read, pass this along to your friends. You can reach me directly at kensehested@prayerandpolitiks.org.