"All we have left is imagination, and ours is stronger than theirs."
- Walter Breuggemann

" ... vanquished peoples are not really subjects of the empire until their imagination has been taken captive... until that imagination is broken, domesticated, and reshaped in the image of the empire, the people are still free."‬
- Brian Walsh & Sylvia Keesmaat

I’ve been obsessive about ‘Close’ for three years now, and kick myself for missing them at the tiniest of local clubs this past year. With an album like ‘The Spin,’ I have a feeling that their days of playing 80-100 cap places will soon be long gone. Such a powerful band.

Listening to Zao’s The Funeral of God in the wake of our solemn Good Friday service.

‘Civics After Midnight,’ from
A Crown For Abba Moses: new and selected poems by Timothy E. G. Bartel

Imagination is a monarchy; they cannot rule where they cannot decree. Just think of Solzhenitsyn underground, his manuscripts in danger, not his mind. Trust not in princes is for poets too; to order what’s within is up to you. They’ll never rule where they cannot decree - imagination is a monarchy.

Part of education is prepping all involved for real life dynamics. In this case, that vacillating school schedule is just like whether or not democracy is still real and even moderately functional today. You just never know, y’know?

They and the poetry of the Syriac Fathers, particularly Jacob of Serug and Ephrem of Syrus, changed the whole game for me.

Ha! Figured you’d tell me, and that I’d catch hell from others who care about me about any sleep-misogynizing I was doing on the internets.

I’m teaching about praying with the Desert Fathers & Mothers tonight, and spending time with these old friends reminds me of how much I miss them when I’m away for so long, and just how good it is for my soul to sit with their Sayings and searching.

Obviously I catastrophize when I haven’t gulped down caffeine and slept enough. Goodness.

The way, my bleary-eyed, pre-coffee brain just went “Wait, is this me? Did Lindsay ever call me pastor, and did I make a shift to ex-Padre? Did I change my handle to this? Am I even on Twitter anymore? Was I sleep-tweeting misogynistic MAGA hot takes? And if so, what the crap did I eat last night?”

The long understanding of prayer & the Christian spiritual life as that “joy of feeling close to God,” as Romero described it, the joy of a true solidarity exemplified in Christ (who was freaking INCARNATE EMPATHY), and now we’re here: “the heart, in those days… small… hard, and full of meanness.

A friend just said that our civil liberties might be the only thing more fragile than the ego of a white man, and looking around, he’s not wrong.

Powerful Speeches From Trans Dems Flip 29 Republicans, Anti-Trans Bills Die In Montana Transgender Reps Zooey Zephyr and SJ Howell delivered powerful speeches on the Montana House floor on Thursday. Republicans defected en masse to join them in voting against anti-trans bills.

1. Today, powerful speeches from trans representatives in Montana SJ Howell and Zooey Zephyr flipped 29 Republicans, killing anti-trans bills.

While some Dems like Newsom abandon trans people, these reps show the power of representation.

Watch their speech.

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This is both wild and sickly unsurprising.

I’m always glad when this band gets some appreciation.

That’s what Jenn was listening to in college, along with Point of Grace. I somehow skipped almost 99% of most CCM, diving right into
90’s alt Christian weirdness like early Tooth & Nail and Blonde Vinyl!

“I used to illegally download mid-90’s emo & hardcore songs, but I’ve seen the error of my ways.”

Def holier than me, friend.

If we’re using classic equipment, we use our classic ninja training.

Lawmakers use haka to protest in New Zealand's parliament YouTube video by Associated Press

The State of the Union had me wishing that our elected officials had the willpower to protest boldly against lies and corruption, even if doing so might cost them, and in a unified, undeniable way. Honestly, it made me longingly remember this, and wish it was us.
#haka

m.youtube.com/watch?v=25AU...

I either rip MP3s directly into my laptop or download the good stuff from certain online locations that enable access to such things - and by “such things,” I do mean “albums that are largely out of print by bands that only a weird old niche of us remember, but that my kids still enjoy”.

In dark times, I celebrate the gift of so many 90’s emo & indie rock bands I’ve loved (forever) playing in one place. I NEVER thought I’d see Texas is the Reason. This is amazing, #bestfriendsforever.

A page from the book “The Age of Magical Overthinking,” with a paragraph highlighted describing Emily St. John Mandel discussing a scene from her pandemic novel “Station Eleven,” and including the quote mentioned with the picture.

“We’ve lost consensual reality, and I don’t know how we get that back.”

I know that it’s a bit of a haul, friend, but the good news is that it might not be for long. Gathering: West County is strongly being explored right now.

Give me a heads up if you’re ever over this way, and afterward, there’s a Chili’s four miles away. Guarantee that we could get a post-Gathering crew together for a brisket quesadilla.

I’m fiercely Kodama over here, but Spiritual Instinct is also great.

I’m afraid that I’ve just been caught up in the new Anxious record and in listening to frenetic bursts of Hella’s ‘Hold Your Horse Is’.

Just another day of me acknowledging that neither End Hits and The Argument are ever quite able to win the battle of ‘what Fugazi record do I want to shout along to again today?’ Give me some locals who want to start a band with me fueled by this energy.