Practices Search Results
On July 20, 2012, a few minutes into the midnight screening of the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, a gunman entered the theater, set off tear gas grenades, and then shot into the crowd, using several firearms and many rounds of ammunition. Twelve people were killed and 58 were injured. The shooter was apprehended in the theater's parking lot.
As people around the world reacted to this tragedy, questions emerged again about gun violence in America (each year more than 30,000 Americans die from guns) and the even deeper question of why bad things happen to good people. It is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, when we find ourselves grappling with the unthinkable.
After 9/11, Maggie Oman Shannon, leader of the S&P e-course on Ways to Pray from Around the World and editor of the collection Prayers for Healing, reflected upon these questions and responded in prayer. She offers a version of that prayer now after the Aurora shootings.
Edvard Munch, the artist who painted "The Scream" in 1893, could not have imagined that his most famous work of art would fetch $119.9 million at Sotheby's in 2012. Although this is an interesting news story, we are more taken with Munch's confession that the idea for the painting came to him while on a walk at sunset with friends. He wandered behind them "shiverring with fear" and then "I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature." In these perilous times we are assaulted by many different screams that demand our attention and spiritual action.
The United States Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a signature piece of legislation for the Obama Administration. Many are grateful for the positive changes in the nation's health care system this act has allowed. Others would still prefer a "single payer" program providing universal health care for everyone; they note that 26 million Americans remain uninsured under ACA.
A Libyan woman, who gave her name as Eman al-Obeidy, burst into a restaurant in Tripoli where Western journalists were eating on March 26 to tell them that she had been taken from her hometown, confined, beaten, and raped by 15 men from Muammar el-Qaddafi's militia. Although some of the journalists tried to interview and protect her, she was quickly restrained and taken away.
This is not an isolated incident. In all wars, some soldiers see women as objects for their own use and use rape as a way to exercise power and vent their rage.
Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing demonstration in New York City to protest economic and social injustices. Participants have moved into a park in lower Manhattan near Wall Street and have marched through the city; on October 1, 700 protesters were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge. The protests have spread to other cities, including Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Denver, and many smaller communities. On October 1, the NYC General Assembly issued a "Declaration of the Occupation of New York City," stating:
"As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
"As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known."
"We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power. Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone. To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal. Join us and make your voices heard!"
We are grateful that we can derive such pleasure from nostalgic trips down memory lane.
Research: Feeling nostalgic is often seen as a sign of depression, but a growing body of research suggests that it actually wards off loneliness and anxiety. (The New York Times)
Help us, O Holy One, to harvest our finest memories that lift our spirits and bring joy to our hearts.
May 23, 2011: Over 116 people and counting were killed when a devastating tornado struck Joplin, Missouri. Pictures convey the terrible destructiveness of this natural disaster.
Graduation is in the news — announced in grade school, high school, college, graduate school, and community newspapers. For families and friends, it's time to congratulate our loved ones. For graduates, it marks a major transition and a new beginning. It is a perfect time for prayers.
April, 2011. The U.S. South has felt the brunt of a catastrophic series of tornadoes which have taken the lives of 300 people and counting. Meteorologists have reported over 900 tornadoes since the beginning of the month. Pictures indicate the widespread destruction caused by this severe weather.
Creator God, we have learned that 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China.
Observation: Beijing is filled with people wearing masks over their nose and mouth to protect against the dirty air. Commentators have referred to this pollution as an "airpocalypse" and many long-term health problems have been traced to it. (onearth.org)
Protector of Gaia, let all countries live with love and respect for the environment, including the air that surrounds us and fills our lungs with the breath of life. Help us find ways to prevent air pollution.