Category Archives: Friends

01 February 2026

Black History Month.
Walking. Arroyo. La Cueva Neighborhood. Stretching.
Let America Be America Again – by Langston Hughes – James Earl Jones
Rise Up – Andra Day
You Don’t Have to Ride Jim Crow! – Bayard Rustin
Fight for Your Mind – Ben Harper
AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM – Beyoncé
That’s the Way God Planned It – Billy Preston
If I Could Help Somebody – The Blind Boys of Alabama
Hands Up – Blood Orange
History Repeats – Brittany Howard
Young, Gifted and Black – Aretha Franklin
This Is America – Childish Gambino
Black America Again – Common, feat. Stevie Wonder
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye
Woke Up This Morning – Fannie Lou Hamer
Wade In the Water – The Fisk Jubilee Singers
Everytime I Feel the Spirit -The Florida A&M University Concert Choir
Ain’t No New Thing – Gil Scott-Heron
Deep River – The Howard University Chamber Choir
Sloganize, Patronize, Realize, Revolutionize (Black Lives Matters) – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra & Wynton Marsalis
People Gotta Be Free – Keb’ Mo’
Keep Your Hand On the Plow – Mahalia Jackson
Blood Done Sign My Name – Mary D Williams
Eyes on the Prize – Mavis Staples
Strange Fruit – Nina Simone
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child – Odetta
Go Down, Moses – Paul Robeson
We March – Prince
Oh Freedom – The Princely Players
We Rise – Rhiannon Giddens
Precious Lord – Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Beautiful Struggle – Talib Kweli
You’re Not Alone – Our Native Daughters
Step By Step – Sweet Honey In The Rock
A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke
God Bless the Child – Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra
I Know Where I’ve Been – Queen Latifah
Grandma’s Hands -Bill Withers
Respect – Otis Redding
What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
We Are Each Others Angels – African Children’s Choir
I’ve Got Dreams To Remember – Angélique Kidjo
What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Lift Every Voice and Sing – The Boys Choir of Harlem

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Filed under Albuquerque, Antiracism, Current Events, Friends, Music, playlist

22 January 2026

Lucy baptism. So Jung Kim birthday.
For Lucy.
For So Jung.
For us all.
Ementha-Papaguneray (Turtle Song) – Emily Wurramara
Carnival of the Animals: IV. Tortoises – Isata Kanneh-Mason, Braimah Kanneh-Mason, Ayla Sahin, Timothy Ridout, Sheku Kanneh-Mason & Toby Hughes
Turtle Island – Jay Red Eagle
Turtle Island – Native American Music Consort
Sea Turtle – Hermanito
Flying with the Turtles – Laurent Perez Del Mar
Turtle – PARK JUNG EUN
A Turtle’s Heart – Mili Mag Mell
Keep Me In Your Heart – Jorge Calderon
Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna! – First Plymouth Congregational Church, Tom Trenney & Jeremy Bankson
For all the Saints – St Paul’s Cathedral Choir & Malcolm Archer
What A Wonderful World – Eva Cassidy
Coat of Many Colors -Dolly Parton
God With Us – The Many
If I Had a Dinosaur – Raffi
Wheels on the Bus – Gracie’s Corner
Hippopotamus – David Polansky
Circle of Life – Carmen Twillie & Lebo M
Let It Go – Idina Menzel Frozen
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing – JJ Heller
Child of Blessing Child of Promise – John Keys
What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong –

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Filed under Albuquerque, Family, Friends, Music, New Mexico, playlist

Credo del Inmigrante (The Immigrant’s Creed)

With profound thanks to the author, mi hermano he Rev. José Luis Casal.

December 18 is International Migrants Day. This seems an appropriate day to reflect upon Credo del Inmigrante (The Immigrant’s Creed) by the Rev. José Luis Casal.

“Credo del Inmigrante,” José Luis Casal

Creo en Dios Todopoderoso, quien guió a su pueblo durante el éxodo y en el exilio, el Dios de José en Egipto y de Daniel en Babilonia, el Dios de los extranjeros y los inmigrantes.

Creo en Jesucristo, el galileo desplazado, que nació lejos de su hogar y de su gente, que tuvo que huir de su país con sus padres porque su vida corría peligro, y cuando regresó del exilio, tuvo que sufrir la opresión del tirano Poncio Pilato, servidor de un imperio extranjero; que fue perseguido, injuriado y finalmente torturado; fue acusado y condenado a muerte en un juicio injusto. Sin embargo, al tercer día ese Jesús despreciado resucitó de la muerte, no como extranjero sino para ofrecernos la ciudadanía de los cielos.

Creo en el Espíritu Santo, el Inmigrante eterno del Reino de Dios entre nosotros, quien habla todas las lenguas, habita en todos los países y reúne a todas las razas.

Creo en la Iglesia como un hogar seguro para todo extranjero y creyente, donde hablamos un mismo idioma y tenemos el mismo propósito.

Creo que la Comunión de los Santos comienza cuando aceptamos la Diversidad de los Santos.

Creo en el perdón que nos hace a todos iguales, y en la reconciliación que nos identifica mucho más que la raza, el idioma o la nacionalidad.

Creo que Dios en la Resurrección nos reúne a todos como un solo pueblo en el que todos somos distintos, pero iguales al mismo tiempo.

Creo en la Vida Eterna más allá de este mundo, en la cual nadie será inmigrante, sino todos ciudadanos del Reino de Dios que no tendrá fin.

Amén

The Immigrant’s Creed – José Luis Casal

I believe in almighty God, who guided his people in exile and in exodus, the God of Joseph in Egypt and of Daniel in Babylon, the God of foreigners and immigrants.

I believe in Jesus Christ a displaced Galilean, who was born away from his people and his home, who fled his country with his parents when his life was in danger, and returning to his own country suffered the oppression of the tyrant Pontius Pilate, the servant of a foreign power. He was persecuted, beaten, and finally tortured, accused and condemned to death unjustly. But on the third day, this scorned Jesus rose from the dead, not as a foreigner but to offer us citizenship in heaven.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God’s kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.

I believe that the church is the secure home for the foreigner and for all believers who constitute it, who speaks the same language and have the same purpose.

I believe that the communion of saints begins when we accept the diversity of the saints.

I believe in the forgiveness of sin, which makes us all equal, and in reconciliation, which identifies us more than does race, language or nationality.

I believe that in the resurrection, God will unite us as one people in which all are distinct, and all are alike at the same time.

Beyond this world, I believe in life eternal in which no one will be an immigrant, but all will be citizens of God’s Kingdom which will never end. Amen.

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Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Friends, Human Rights, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

A prayer to find home

On this day
and every day,
may each heart,
may every heart,
find some place,
find some people,
to call home.
Amen.

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Filed under Current Events, Family, Friends, Prayer

A prayer for nurses

Creative, Holy God,

in whom we live and move and have our being,

we ask for healing for those who are ill.

Bless the professionals who

participate with you in healing.

Particularly we pray for nurses.

We rejoice in the gifts the Holy Spirit

bestows upon those who engage in nursing work.

We give thanks for the care they provide.

We are grateful for their professionalism.

compassion and commitment.

For their willingness to work

long hours in strenuous conditions,

we stand in awe.

For the ways in which nurses

enter into the lives of your children

at difficult, painful moments,

we give you praise.

Bless nurses who have touched our lives

and nurses we have never met.

Grant wisdom, grant courage, grant strength,

grant all that is needed for the living of their days

and the fulfillment of their calling.
We pray in the name of Jesus,

who healed people of sickness of body and spirit.

Amen.

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A prayer for Louisville

You may or may not know, that I lived in Louisville for 14 years, Tricia for 7 years. When I said I lived in Louisville, people in other places would respond, “There’s a horse race, right?” or maybe “Kentucky Derby!”. Some thought of bourbon. But the largest employer in Louisville is the UPS Worldport with about 25,000 people directly employed and many others employed in other places because of its presence.

As my friend the Rev. Gradye Parsons, former Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), says, “this is a city family tragedy.”

Please continue to pray for Louisville and its people.
Gracious God,
we pray for your beloved children
killed or injured in the plane crash in Louisville.
We pray for those who work
at UPS, at the Muhammed Ali airport,
at the businesses where the crash occurred
and the fire raged.
We pray for the people of
the city and the metro area
impacted by the crash –
because they heard or felt the explosion,
because they saw, live or in images,
the fireball and the smoke cloud;
because they had to shelter in place;
because they worried about
family and friends who were near the crash;
because they are community and
what affects one of your beloved children
affects all of your beloved children.
Bring peace and comfort to grieving families and friends.
Grant strength to first responders
who experienced up close the crash’s horror.
Guide those who continue to work at the crash site.
Work healing in the injured In body, mind, or spirit.
Lead medical personnel who provided, and continue to provide,
to join in your healing care.
May your Holy Spirit surround the greater Louisville community
with Your light and love in this moment of sorrow.
We pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

inspired by a prayer from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

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Filed under Current Events, Friends, Louisville, Prayer

So Jung, you are remembered

Before her death in January of this year, my friend the Rev. Dr. So Jung Kim, who served the PC(USA) as the associate for theology in the Office of Theology and Worship, said to me in very low moment, “No one will remember me.”

I told her she was wrong.

On Sunday, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, where my son Eric serves as transitional pastor, will include So Jung among the saints they name. I am grateful.

If your congregation is naming saints, I am sure you have many individuals to remember. I give thanks for each one of them.

And if you are so inclined, please include the Rev. Dr. So Jung Kim and help demonstrate that we do remember her.

For the Rev. Dr. So Jung Kim and all the saints – thanks be to God!

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Filed under Family, Friends, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Worship

On the Feast of San Augustinito at the Pueblo of Isleta, September 3, 2025

The drums beat,
the people continue.

The rattles shake,
the people continue.

The bells jingle,
the people continue.

The dancers move,
the people continue.

The singers chant,
the people continue.

Out of the past,
the people continue.

In the present,
the people continue.

Into the future,
the people continue.

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Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Friends, Human Rights, Music, New Mexico, Prayer

A prayer to keep on going

Gracious God,
As we live,
help us keep on going.
As we pursue our life goals,
whatever those goals may be,
help us keep on going.
When our progress slows or stalls,
help us keep on going.
When disappointments arise,
help us keep on going.
When we need to change our plans,
help us keep on going.
When life happens and brings change,
help us keep on going.
When challenges appear,
help us keep on going.
When directions become unanticipated
and our way is unforeseen,
help us keep on going.
In all times and every circumstance,
help us keep on going.
And when we can’t,
grant us the grace and strength
to be gentle with ourselves,
take the rest we need,
and try again.
We pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

inspired by the Rev. Jerrod Lowry

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28 July 2025

Peru Independence Day
Siempre Te Amaré – Lucha Reyes Serie Regresa: Lucha Reyes, La Morena de Oro del Perú Worldwide 0 9
La Flor de la Canela – Eva Ayllón Chabuca Granda Worldwide 0 7
Sol – Zen Zen (Edición Limitada) Rock y Alternativo 0 4
Cariñito – Bareto Sodoma y Gamarra Música tropical 0 5
Impresiones del Viaje – Ensemble Pachamama Music of the Andes Worldwide 1 5
Traditiones Andinas – Inkuyo
Libertad – Laguna Pai
apocalipsis – Isabela Merced
Calendario – Daniela Legarda & EMIL
Con Mi Amiga – Daniela Darcourt
Sana Sana – Alejandro Y Maria Laura S
Himno Nacional del Peru – The One World Ensemble

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Filed under Albuquerque, Friends, Music, New Mexico, playlist