Recent

Signs of the Times  •  21 April 2016  •  No. 69

¶ Processional. “We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon, And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.” —Joni Mitchell, “Woodstock”

Photo: Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon.

¶ Short history of Earth Day.

¶ Invocation. “Great are you, O God, and greatly to be praised. Your holy Great Smokies are the joy of all the earth. Break forth in singing, you Sierra Madres, you forests and every wild flower. For the Blessed One unveils you. Blow the trumpet on every Appalachian ridge; sound the alarm on Mount Ranier! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Great Holy Smokies”

¶ Call to worship. “I Come to the Garden Alone,” Mahalia Jackson

¶ Good news, bad news. First, the bad: There are tons of trash floating in the Pacific Ocean. The good news: 21-year-od Boyan Slat found an ingenious way to remove that trash. (1:29 video)

¶ Abolitionist and underground railroad leader Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced today. The change will likely take place in 2020 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification giving women the right to vote. —watch this USAToday 43-second video on the history of women’s image appearing on US currency

¶ Testify. Listen to this amazing Fareed Zakaria interview (6:05 video) with former astronaut and NASA Earth Sciences Director Piers Sellers on how he plans to spend his final months in light of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

¶ Confession. “The Earth is 4.6 billion years old. Let’s scale that to 46 years. We [humans] have been here for 4 hours. Our industrial revolution began 1 minute ago. In that time, we have destroyed more than 50% of the world’s forests.” —Planting Peace

¶ Words of assurance. "The devil knows your name but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin but calls you by your name." —Ricardo Sanchez (Thanks, Susan.)

Photo: Clay Chandler/Mississippi’s Governor’s Office via Associated Press

¶ The Word, previously a “sword,” is now a Glock. “A holstered gun sat on top of a Bible on Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s desk Friday [15 April] when he signed a law allowing guns in churches, which he said would help protect worshippers from potential attackers. The Church Protection Act allows places of worship to designate members to undergo firearms training so they can provide armed security for their congregations..” —Nassim Benchaabane, Washington Post

¶ Hymn of praise. “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit. / Blessed is the lamb whose blood flows. / Blessed are the sat upon, Spat upon, Ratted on, / O Lord, Why have you forsaken me? . . . / I have tended my own garden / Much too long.” —“Blessed,” Simon and Garfunkel

¶ You would have had to pay close attention to mainstream media to know that over the last week well over 1,200 people were arrested on Capitol Hill in a series of unprecedented protests against the influence of big money and corporate lobbying in politics. The events represent two overlapping initiatives: From Monday through Friday it was Democracy Spring, representing only 100 organizations. From Saturday to this Monday (18 April) it was Democracy Awakening, a broad coalition of nearly 300 organizations. Read Amy Goodman’s interview of Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP and leader of the “Moral Monday” movement.

¶ A collection of quotes on gardens. To see the entire collection, go to “Life began in a garden.”

        § And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ~Genesis 2:8-9

        § A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.  ~Gertrude Jekyll

        § Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden that its fragrance may be wafted abroad. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits. ~Song of Solomon 4:16

        § Garden as though you will live forever.  ~William Kent

¶ Musical interlude. “Song from Secret Garden,” Rolf Lovland.

        § The weeds keep multiplying in our garden, which is our mind ruled by fear. Rip them out and call them by name.  ~Sylvia Browne

        § To dwell is to garden.  ~Martin Heidegger

        § I come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I gather my myrrh with my spice, I eat my honeycomb with my honey, I drink my wine with my milk. Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love. ~Song of Solomon 5:1

        § Plants cry their gratitude for the sun in green joy. ~Astrid Alauda

        § You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming. ~Pablo Neruda

¶ Musical interlude. “Adadio,” from the Secret Garden recording, produced by Rolf Løvland.

        § For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. ~Isaiah 51:3

        § A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. ~Greek proverb

Right: Art by Ade Bethune, ©Ade Bethune Collection, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN.

        § The earth laughs in flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

        § I think this is what hooks one to gardening: it is the closest one can come to being present at creation. ~Phyllis Theroux

        § They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. ~Jeremiah 31:12

        § Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. ~Douglas William Jerrold

¶ Musical interlude. “Hymn to Hope,” from the Secret Garden recording, produced by Rolf Løvland.

        § I have been fed from fields I did not till. I have crossed bridges I did not build. I have sat in the shade of trees I did not plant. I have received knowledge I did not research. ~Henlee Barnette

Left: Rooftop garden at Metro Baptist Church in New York City, which began in 2011. “While we are proud of the amount we inexpensively grow,” said co-pastor Rev. Tiffany Triplett,  “we want to be invited into the conversation on food security.”

        § It is forbidden to live in a town with no greenery. ~ Jerusalem Talmud, Kiddushin 4:12

        § Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! ~Sitting Bull

        § Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts. ~author unknown

        § When the soil disappears, the soul disappears. ~Terri Guillemets

        § Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart. ~Russell Page

        § Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~author unknown

¶ Musical interlude. “Prayer,” from the Secret Garden recording, produced by Rolf Løvland.

        § They shall again live beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom like the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon. ~Hosea 14:7

        § I cultivate my garden, and my garden cultivates me. ~Robert Brault

Right: Ricardo Levins Morales, ©RLM Art Studio

        § [The kingdom of God] is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. ~Luke 13:19

        § In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels. ~Dodinsky

        § Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. ~May Sarton

        § Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelves kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. ~Revelation 22:1-3a

¶ Origins of “the war on drugs,” from John Erlichman, former policy adviser for President Richard Nixon. “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.” —Dan Baum, “Legalize It All: How to win the war on drugs”

Left: Meinrad Craighead

¶ Preach it. “God’s liberation from Egyptian slavery comes in the form of a promised new garden. ‘For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land,’ says the book of Deuteronomy, ‘a land with flowing stream . . . a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees . . . a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing. . . . You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God. . . . ‘ (8:7-10). The biblical vision of salvation is rooted in fertile land, bountiful harvest, enduring security. The welfare of the soul and the soil—human and humus alike, adam and adama together—are everywhere intertwined.” —Ken Sehested

¶ Call to the table. When my thirst got great enough / to ask, a stream welled up inside; / some jade wave buoyed me forward / and I found myself upright / in the instant, with a garden / inside my own ribs aflourish. / There, the arbor leafs. / The vines push out plump grapes. / You are loved, someone / said, take that / and eat it. ~Mary Karr

¶ Altar call. “Praying for peace is a little like praying for a weedless garden.” —John Stoner

¶ This audio story is worth your time (6:55). “A young Israeli grew up on stories of the Holocaust, determined to enter Israel's army and not let Jews be victims again. But his encounter with a small Palestinian girl would change his outlook.” —National Public Radio

¶ Benediction. “Garden Song” (“Inch by Inch”), Pete Seeger.

¶ Recessional. “Who lived here / He must have been a gardener that cared a lot / Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop / And we are so amazed, we're crippled and we're dazed / A gardener like that one no one can replace.” —“Empty Garden” (song for John Lennon), Elton John

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. To what end do we long for God’s graciousness? (See Psalm 67:2.)

¶ Just for fun. “Homegrown Tomatoes,” Guy Clark.

¶ More fun. “Jesus and Tomatoes (coming soon)," Kate Campbell.

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks:

• “Life began in a garden: A collection of quotes about gardens”

• “Bearing Courage: Rooted in Hope: Address to the 2016 Alliance of Baptists”

• “Holy Great Smokies," A call to worship recalling the mountain sites of covenant and confrontation in Scripture”

Earth Day resources:

• “Realm of earth, rule of Heaven: Bodified faith and environmental activism”

• “All People That On Earth Do Dwell,” old hymn, new lyrics

• “Heaven’s Delight and Earth’s Repose,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 145

• “Satisfy the earth,” a litany for worship on Earth Day

• “The earth is satisfied,” a litany for worship on Earth Day

• “The earth is the Lord’s," a collection of biblical texts which reveal the non-human parts of creation responding to God’s presence, promise and purpose

• “The earth is the Lord’s,” a litany for use in worship on Earth Day

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor. 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 klsehested@gmail.com.

 

Signs of the Times  •  14 April 2016  •  No. 68

¶ Processional. “Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna, Osanna in excelsis” (“Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna, hosanna in the highest”) —“The Ground,” by Ola Gjeilo, performed by the Heritage Concert Choir at Western Washington University

Photo: gardenloversclub.com

¶ Invocation. “For the Beauty of the Earth,” Mormon Tabernacle Choir

¶ Call to worship. “Creation is not simply the props and drops, / the costumes and orchestra, / the catwalks and footlights / on the stage of salvation’s drama. / Rather, creation is an active part / in history’s narration. / Without the cosmos, / Salvation’s story / cannot be comprehended.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Earth’s habitus: A meditation on creation"

¶ This is big. “The participants of a first-of-its-kind Vatican conference have bluntly rejected the Catholic church's long-held teachings on just war theory, saying they have too often been used to justify violent conflicts and the global church must reconsider Jesus' teachings on nonviolence.” —Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter

¶ Bono a witness for nonviolence in the Senate. “Never one for holding back on an opinion, Bono has come up with a new way of destroying Islamic State—not with bombs, but with belly laughs. The U2 singer said sending comedians such as Amy Schumer and Sacha Baron Cohen would be an effective alternative to airstrikes. Bono was speaking in front of a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday 12 April, during a wide-ranging discussion on the Middle East and the refugee crisis.” —The Guardian

¶ Why U2’s Bono is #14 on Fortune magazine’s “World’s Greatest Leaders.” A video (2:55) and article by Ellen McGert. (Thanks Kevin.)

Photo: Hubble Telescope captures earth in a cradle of clouds

¶ “Can There Be a Nonviolent Response to Terrorism?” Eight practices, in this brief video (6:18) by George Lakey. (Thanks Pat.)

¶ More than Belgium’s grief. It’s important to remember that the horrific terrorism attacks in Brussels (32 dead, 200 injured) follow deadly attacks in March in eight other cities rarely mentioned: Bamako, Mali (1 dead); Istanbul, Turkey (5 dead, 36 injured); Maiduguri, Nigeria (24 dead, 18 injured); Peshawar, Pakistan (15 dead, 30 injured); Ankara, Turkey (37 dead, 125 injured); Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast (18 dead, 33 injured); Shabqadar, Pakistan (10 dead, 30 injured); Lahore, Pakistan (69 dead, 341 injured).

¶ Globally, more Muslims die at the hands of ISIS than do Westerners. —Rose Troup Buchanan, Independent

¶ Get schooled. 12 minutes on the successes of nonviolent struggle in overcoming repression and injustice, by Erica Chenowith.

¶ Best one-liner humor. “It is only when a mosquito lands on your testicles that you realize there is always a way to solve problems without using violence.” (Thanks Bruce.)

¶ China one step closer to change. “A judge in the central city of Changsha ruled Wednesday against a gay couple in China's first same-sex marriage case. Sun Wenlin, 27, brought the case against his local civil affairs bureau because it refused to grant a marriage license last summer to him and his partner, Hu Mingliang, 37. Hundreds cheered for the couple outside as they entered the court. Authorities allowed about 100 people to go inside.” Despite the defeat, some observers see this case as a step forward. —Hannah Gardner, USAToday

¶ Recommended reading: “Where to Pee: Predators, Posers, and Public Policy,” commentary on North Carolina House Bill 2 (the "bathroom bill"), by Stan Dotson.

¶ Then there’s this: better news among the bad. “Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an anti-discrimination order on Wednesday protecting the rights of gay and transgender people, aligning his state on the liberal side of a political divide playing out across the U.S. South. The Democrat’s executive order also protects state employees against discrimination based on other criteria including race, religion, disability or age. It bans state agencies from discrimination, while offering an exemption for churches and religious organizations.” —Reuters

¶ A tool for prompting Earth Day commitments. Consider using in your congregation “Covenant-making on Earth Day: A sample pledge statement to encourage concrete practices to sustain the earth.”

¶ “The 100 Most Beautiful and Breathtaking Places in the World in Pictures.”

¶ Important longer read, if you want to get a rudimentary handle on the science. “Global warming is, in the end, not about the noisy political battles here on the planet’s surface. It actually happens in constant, silent interactions in the atmosphere, where the molecular structure of certain gases traps heat that would otherwise radiate back out to space. If you get the chemistry wrong, it doesn’t matter how many landmark climate agreements you sign or how many speeches you give. And it appears the United States may have gotten the chemistry wrong. Really wrong.” —Bill McKibben, “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry”

¶ “If the environment were a bank, it would have been saved by now.” —US Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders

¶ Hymn of praise (old hymn, new lyrics). “All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to our God with cheerful voice / Let Resurrection joy foretell, Life in the Spirit’s breath rejoice.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s new lyrics to “All People That On Earth Do Dwell”

¶ Robin Hood in Reverse: Climate Change Takes from Poor, Gives to Rich. “A new study finds that climate change is triggering a massive reallocation of resources to the world's wealthiest countries.” —Nika Knight, Common Dreams

¶ Anticipating Easter’s promise: And the desert shall bloom. Watch this video (1:01) of a “super bloom” of wildflowers in Death Valley.

¶ More beauty of the earth. 14 second still-shots of owls in flight.

¶ “Meet the Jeans-Wearing, Nature-Loving Nuns Who Helped Stop a Kentucky Pipeline.” —Laura Michele Diener, Yes! Magazine

¶ The earth is moving. 45 seconds of photos showing plants erupting against the odds.  —Wonders of the World

¶ Protect and serve: When police protect us all. (0:38 video. Thanks Mike.)

¶ Good news. “Payday lenders have been having a tough time in Garland, Texas. Their storefronts have closed, their gaudy signs spray-painted over in black. In recent months, about a third have left the city of 230,000, situated 18 miles northeast of Dallas. Nobody could be more delighted at their demise than Keith Stewart, senior pastor of Springcreek, Garland’s largest church.” —James Addis, Christianity Today (Thanks Mike.)

¶ Confession and assurance. “There are times when life is cruel beyond imagination and beyond explanation. At such times, we simply wrap our arms around the still-breathing bodies of those we cherish. And we pray, and we sing, and we speak tenderly through the tears, chanting aloud or silently the promise that one day, all tears will be dried; one day, all mourning will pass away; one day, all crying will cease; one day, death itself shall come undone" (Revelation 21:4). —from “Blessings, benedictions & charges,” In the Land of the Willing, by Ken Sehested

¶ My, my. “Coal giant Peabody Energy Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday, signaling what climate advocates hope is a death knell for dirty energy. "Peabody Energy's bankruptcy is a harbinger of the end of the fossil fuel era," said Jenny Marienau, divestment campaign manager with the climate advocacy group 350.org. —Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

¶ “And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County / Down by the Green River where Paradise lay / Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking / Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away.” —John Prine, Paradise (joined on this version by Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown and Kris Kristofferson

¶ Remembering Phil Ochs, who died 40 years ago this week, by suicide, after struggles with alcoholism and mental illness. Still a folk icon in some circles, he wrote a number of bitingly satirical songs like “I Ain’t Marching Anymore,” “When I’m Gone,” and “The Cannons of Christianity,” a scathing indictment of bad faith. (“Missionaries will travel on crusades / The word is given, the heathen souls are saved / Conversions to our morality / Sigh the cannons of christianity.”) For a tribute to Ochs, see Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, “Martini Judaism: For those who want to be shaken and stirred.”

¶ State of our disunion. “I want the meanest, toughest, son-of-a-you-know-what I can find in that role [as US president].” —Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, and an outspoken promoter of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. For more background see Bob Allen, Baptist News Global

¶ Want more background on “The Panama Papers”? See “Mossack Fonseca: inside the firm that helps the super-rich hide their money.” —Luke Harding, The Guardian

¶ “For the first time in nearly a decade, the Bible made the list of the American Library Association’s 10 most frequently challenged books last year. The 2015 list was released Monday (April 11) as part of the ALA’s 2016 State of America’s Libraries report. It includes books that have drawn formal, written complaints from the public because of their content or appropriateness, according to the ALA.” —Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service

¶ Take this visual trip (3:09) from one meter all the way out to 10 billion light years, back again, then down to one femtometer. (That’s really, really small.) Then think, God is in it all. —The Science World

¶ Preach it. “In every age, the Holy Spirit graces the Church with the wisdom to respond to the challenges of its time. In response to what is a global epidemic of violence, which Pope Francis has labeled a ‘world war in installments’, we are being called to invoke, pray over, teach and take decisive action. With our communities and organizations, we look forward to continue collaborating with the Holy See and the global Church to advance Gospel nonviolence. —read the document approved at this week’s Vatican conference re-examining the church’s “just war” teaching

¶ Fascinating. Underwater artwork is helping rebuild our oceans’ coral reefs: video (1:48. Thanks Marti.)

¶ A matter of perspective. At a recent meeting of the Native Peoples Council (NPC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, “Native American leaders considered several proposals on the future of this continent's large, unauthorized European population. The elders ultimately decided to extend a pathway to citizenship for those without criminal backgrounds." —Beta Minds (Thanks Betsy.)

¶ Call to the table. “(Do we) find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground / Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down / Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground / Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down.” —“Find the Cost of Freedom,” Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (Thanks Randy.)

¶ Altar call. “Every blade of grass has its angel that whispers grow, grow.” —The Talmud

¶ Benediction. “The Peace of the Earth,” Wild Goose Worship Group

¶ Recessional. “Earth Day,” Immediate Music-Believe. (3:19)

¶ Just for fun. Ever wondered what joy looks like in a giraffe? (0:29 video. Thanks Jeanie.)

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “Let the room be filled with laud and laughter, oh people of Mercy. / Fill the air with music and merriment, with the sound of delight annulling the wail of indigence. / Praise your Maker, you wind and wave. Sun and moon and Bethlehem’s star, shout in exultation!” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s “Acclaim the One whose breath is your bounty,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 148

Above: Artwork by Meinrad Craighead]

#  #  #

Earth Day resources:

• “Realm of earth, rule of Heaven: Bodified faith and environmental activism”

• “Heaven’s Delight and Earth’s Repose,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 145

• “Satisfy the earth,” a litany for worship on Earth Day

• “The earth is satisfied,” a litany for worship on Earth Day

• “The earth is the Lord’s: A collection of biblical texts which reveal the non-human parts of creation responding to God’s presence, promise and purpose”

• “The earth is the Lord’s,” a litany for use in worship on Earth Day

ALSO featured this week on prayer&politiks:

• A new batch of annotated book reviews in “What are you reading and why”

• A Cuban pastor’s response to President Obama’s visit

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor. 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 klsehested@gmail.com.

 

Signs of the Times  •  9 April 2016  •  No. 67

Abbreviated issue

This edition of “Signs of the Times” is abbreviated to clear space for hiking in Utah, with some of our kiddos, pictured at right, in Dead Horse Point Park: Rich, Jonathan, Jessica, Sydney and (behind) Nancy and Ken.

¶ Processional. Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens and friends sing at a College Park Baptist Church, Greensboro, NC, rally against HB2, a draconian piece of North Carolina legislation aimed primarily at gay and transgendered persons but also threatens, in the guise of “religious liberty,” discrimination against others (including, of all things, the rights of NC cities to establish minimum wage laws). (3:17. Thanks Jane)

¶ Call to worship. “Psalm 23,” Bobby McFerrin, The 23rd Psalm (a stunning rendition, with feminine pronouns).

¶ Invocation. “Oh may Your Favor be restored, to creatures great and small. / Restore to us the confidence of bountiful enthrall. / And haste the day when righteousness and peace embrace, caress. / When Rizpah’s vigil, bold and brave, heals all the earth’s distress.” —continuing reading Ken Sehested's new lyrics to “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need"

¶ Extraordinary news (that won’t likely make your news feeds). Next week, 11-13 April, the Vatican is hosting the first-ever conference on “Nonviolence and Just Peace: Contributing to the Catholic Understanding of and Commitment to Nonviolence,” co-sponsored by the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace and Pax Christi International. Read more.

¶ When Easter’s shout is choked by the hangman’s noose. In 1945, the Western church celebrated Easter on 1 April. Eight days later, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a leader in the “Confessing Church” movement opposing Hitler’s reign of terror, was hanged. (Right: Bonhoeffer portrait by David Levine.)

¶ “We must acknowledge the essential defect in the just war tradition, which is the assumption that violence can somehow achieve justice. And we must with equal courage acknowledge the essential defect in pacifism, which is the assumption that justice can somehow be achieved simply by opposing violence.” —Ivan J. Kauffman, “If War is Wrong, What is Right? The New Paradigm,” in Just Policing, Not War: An Alternative response to world violence

¶ Hymn of praise. “Hallelujah,” Leonard Cohen, performed here by Rob Landes (multiple violin parts) and Aubrey Pitcher (piano).

¶ Confession. To live a “forgiven” life is not simply to live in a happy consciousness of having been absolved. Forgiveness is precisely the deep and abiding sense of what relation—with God or with other human beings—can and should be; and so it is itself a stimulus, an irritant, necessarily provoking protest at impoverished versions of social and personal relations. —Rowan Williams, former Anglican Archbishop of Cantebury

¶ Words of assurance. Post-Easter poem on hope—Wendell Berry reads his poem. (5:30. Thanks Dennis.)

¶ A Cuban pastor responds to President Obama's visit. Shortly after President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Cuba, Rev. Eduardo Gonzalez, pastor of Iglesia Enmanuel in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, wrote a letter to his congregation’s “partner,” Northminster Church in Monroe, Louisiana, and copied others here in the US who have visited. Here is the text, along with a brief response of my own. (Read Eduardo’s letter.)

¶ Musicians have long known this intuitively; but having neuroscientists document it, and NPR report, makes it legit. “When Choirs Sing, Many Hearts Beat.” —Anna Haensch

¶ This is stunning. Sand art by Sandy Tales (4:58), this one depicting Good Friday and Easter. (She has a series of such.) (Thanks Sharon)

¶ The recent terror attack in Lahore, Pakistan, almost certainly was aimed at the city’s Christian population, many of whom were celebrating Easter in a city park at the time of the explosion. If you are curious about Pakistan’s Christian population, the BBC has produced a concise profile: “Who Are Pakistan’s Christians?” (Thanks Dennis)

¶ Preach it. “The resurrection isn’t an argument. It’s the Christian word for defiance. . . . It is who we are—our word for how we go on in the face of overwhelming odds.” —Giles Fraser, The Guardian

¶ Call to the table. “We cannot say that in the process of revolution someone liberates someone else, nor yet that someone liberates him or herself, but rather that people in communion liberate each other.” —Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

¶ Altar call. “[The Eucharist] only makes sense as the beginning of the gathering of semi-penitent former participants in the violence of the world, who, on a day-to-day basis, are learning to live in a way which does not require sacrifice.” —James Alison, Faith Beyond Resentment: Fragments Catholic and Gay

Left. Art ©Julie Lonneman

¶ Benediction. “Hallelujah,” with lyrics drawn from Psalm 23, by Ken Sehested, performed by Ken Medema.

¶ Recessional. “Sing Me Back Home,” Merle Haggard, R.I.P. (Thanks Tim)

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “The One on the Throne will pitch his tent there for them: no more hunger, no more thirst, no more scorching heat. The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them, will lead them to spring waters of Life. And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes." —Revelation 7:15b-17

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks:

• New lyrics to “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need”

• A new batch of annotated book reviews in “What are you reading and why”

• A Cuban pastor’s response to President Obama’s visit.

• New lyrics to the Leonard Cohen song, “Hallelujah,” drawn from Psalm 23.  9 (Listen to the Ken Medema's performance.)

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor. 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 klsehested@gmail.com.