By Ric Hudgens
When it comes to apathy
it’s not the whether but the where,
not the if but the when,
not the can but the must.
It’s the antonym of focus,
the essence of overlooking,
purposefully not seeing
what demands recognition. Continue reading “The Opposite of Apathy”
By Ken Sehested
“For Jesus, there are
no countries to be conquered,
no ideologies to be imposed,
no people to be dominated.
There are only children,
women and men to be loved.”
—Henri Nouwen
Yes. This. Of course. No doubt about it.
I stake everything on this claim. Continue reading “Joy’s ascendance, This stuff could get you in trouble”
By Ken Sehested (right)
A brief meditation for the living of these days
We must be prepared.
Things are likely to get worse
before they get better. We
must listen to the news,
from a variety of sources.
But we must not draw our
bearings from that news.
Ours is a larger horizon. Continue reading “We Must Be Prepared”
By Lydia Wylie-Kellermann
While I waited for my kids to fall asleep, I looked through their bookshelf nurtured by the stories and creativity that rests beside them. There, untouched, were the biographies, the history, the celebrations of protest. These ones always seemed to be neglected when the choices were made with options of talking mice, farting dogs, or gigantic excavators.
I want these stories read and loved. I want them to become part of the fabric of their ancestral history….a movement ancestry. To learn these stories by heart. I want movement history learned as a way to help these boys navigate the scary world they are growing up in. I needed to figure out how to honor the stories and bring the out with gifted anticipation. I needed to create ritual and tradition around them. Continue reading “Gifts on the Shelf: An invitation to a children project”
A new poster from artist John August Swanson developed from his 1979 serigraph of the same name. There are quotes from Leonard Bernstein, Pope Paul VI, and Pope Francis. Click on John’s website here to order (only $15).
By Karen Georgia Thompson, writer, poet, theologian, global citizen, Child of the Universe, daughter of the Ancestors
i remember the first time
as if it were yesterday
eight months pregnant
a walking watermelon
slowly moving
through the heat of a southern summer
framed by carolina blue skies
on the stale humid air it came:
“look at that nig***” Continue reading “living numb”
By Ric Hudgens, 6/28/18
When my life
feels weighted with care,
tossed between headlines,
I know one truth,
maybe two,
that inform my situation. Continue reading “Solstice of Dread”
Next week marks the 50th anniversary of the volatile period of civil unrest in Paris during May 1968, punctuated by demonstrations and massive general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories across France. The unrest began with a series of student occupation protests against capitalism, consumerism, American imperialism and traditional institutions, values and order. These are some “graffitis, curses and inscriptions of May 1968” from a [free] little book called Boredom Weeps published May 1, 2018 by Black Ink and Interference Archive.
Hijack life then rewrite its user’s manual.
Talk to your neighbors.
Patriotism rhymes with Fascism. Continue reading “Graffitis, Curses and Inscriptions”
By Ric Hudgens, for Daniel Berrigan, on his birthday
Daniel Berrigan once gave the commencement address at Xavier High School on West 16th Street in New York.
The story goes he walked to the podium declared “Know where you stand and stand there.” Then he sat down.
Maybe
you don’t know
therefore
find out. Continue reading “Know Where You Stand”
Radical Discipleship 