But we should be grateful, I guess, that the officers in Rochester only used pepper spray. Less than two months ago police looking for one man in Columbus, Ohio, shot another man four times before ascertaining whether he was even armed. Andre Hill was walking toward the officer holding a cell phone to his ear. The officer has been charged with murder.
The stories do not seem to stop. As a society we really need to address the questions they raise in a systemic way.
Prayer for the Day
Christmas is just a memory and we are well into the new year,
Your promise of hope is still among us; yet we despair.
The wind is cold and chills not only our bones but our hearts,
But you keep tugging at us, pointing to the Christmas hope.
Forgive us, O God, and erase the habits of our uncaring.
Release us from the cold into a spring time of love
In the name of him who opens our hearts,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
The men and women who have every reason to despair, but don’t, may have the most to teach us, not only about how to hold true to our beliefs, but about how such a life can bring about seemingly impossible social change.
- Paul Rogat Loeb, from his book, The Impossible Will Take a Little While
Make a commitment to serve the needs of the ‘least of these’ and give voice to the voiceless.
- Artika Tyner, Law professor
We grope like the blind along a wall, groping like those who have no eyes;
We stumble at noon as in the twilight, among th e vigorous as though we were dead.
We all growl like bears; like doves we moan mournfully
We wait for justice, but there is none, for salvation but it is far from us.
Isaiah 59: 10-12