Psalm 25:1-11 (NIV)

¹ In you, LORD my God,
I put my trust.
² I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³ No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.

⁴ Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
⁶ Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, LORD, are good.

⁸ Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
¹⁰ All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
¹¹ For the sake of your name, LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

Reflection:

In this Psalm, David is facing a crises situation from both external (enemy’s threats) and internal (own sins) sources, and he immediately turns to God for help and places his trust in Him.  David also calls upon God to remember His great mercy and love, “from of old”, and the emphasis here is not upon God’s love as being ancient but as enduring.  God’s mercy is not simply based on feelings, but on His everlasting covenant of love for His people and David trusts in this fact.

Our God is indeed gracious and merciful as He helps and guides the humble in His ways.  One expression of becoming humble is learning to place our sole trust in God, and not ourselves, and desiring to live according to His ways.

Responding to the message:

No matter the situation or crises in life, if we humble ourselves and place our trust in God, He will come and guide us in His ways.  Let’s spend time in prayer today humbly coming before the Lord and declaring our trust in Him.

In an editorial in Chevy Chase Patch, Mary Rivkin, associate professor of education, argues the importance of environmental justice, community health and childhood development to the decision-making process that is determining the future of the Capital Crescent Trail.

“Planners take many variables into account, but the variable of economic development should not dominate the decision-making as it has in the case of the Purple Line. I suggest that other variables—environmental justice, community health and childhood development—now take precedence,” Rivkin writes.

She urges developers to follow the model of “Highline Park in New York City, where a repurposed railway right-of-way has become a linear urban park so notable it has attracted both development and philanthropic funds.”

Her piece, “Re-envision the Trail—Plan Bigger” appeared on the website on November 9.

Carrie Evans, adjunct faculty member in Gender and Women’s Studies, was named the Executive Director of Equality Maryland.  Equality Maryland is Maryland’s largest LGBT civil rights group.

“We wanted the next Executive Director to have intelligence, compassion, a record of leadership on LGBT issues, and most importantly, an understanding of the unique needs of Maryland. We are confident that we have found that leader in Carrie Evans,” the organization’s board of directors wrote in an e-mail to supporters.

Evans appointment was covered in the Washington Blade in a November 9 story entitled “Equality Md. names new exec director.”

““This is an organization that is like a dear friend to me … and the stakes are high, marriage is on the table, as well as the gender identity bill. We have a whole new board of tremendously accomplished people and I can hit the ground running — it’s full speed ahead,” Evans told the publication.

Her appointment was also mentioned in November 10 Washington Post blog post, “Md. bishops: Same-sex marriage erodes religious freedom.”

The exhibition Where Do We Migrate To?, organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, will tour in spring 2012 to the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons The New School for Design. Opening on February 2, the exhibition will remain on view through April 15.

Artists Space in New York will host a launch for a book that accompanies the exhibition, also entitled Where Do We Migrate To?, on December 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. Svetlana Boym, an artist whose work is featured in the exhibition and who contributed an essay to the book, will speak.

Curated by Niels Van Tomme, Director of Arts and Media at Provisions Learning Project in Washington, D.C., Where Do We Migrate To? explores contemporary issues of migration as well as experiences of displacement and exile. Situating the contemporary individual in a world of advanced globalization, the artworks address how a multiplicity of migratory encounters demand an increasingly complex understanding of the human condition. As such, the exhibition allows multiple perspectives about its subject matter to unfold simultaneously, opening up a range of political, psychological, poetic, and pragmatic manifestations of the contemporary migrant experience. The exhibition was originally on view at UMBC from March 17 to May 7, 2011.

Image: Xaviera Simmons, (detail) Superunknown (Alive In The), 2010, C-prints mounted on Sintra, dimensions variable/size of installation variable, first produced for Greater New York 2010 MoMA/PS.1.

The Baltimore Sun quoted UMBC’s Donald Norris, chair of public policy, today in its ongoing coverage of the Sen. Ulysses Currie corruption case. “The evidence does suggest that what he did, if not criminal, is unethical,” Norris said. When asked about the Senate’s possible censure of Currie, however, he noted, “Currie is very well-liked by his colleagues, and that may mitigate the penalty.” For more, read “Common Cause calls for Currie censure.”

Yesterday, Norris reflected in the Sun on the election of Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to her first full term. “Will she have signature achievements? I’m not sure,” said Norris. “The bottom line is going to be the quality of her stewardship of the city of Baltimore.”

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