Struggling to confront a worsening homicide rate, the mayor asked pastors and citizens Friday to don burlap sacks and ashes Friday in an Old Testament-style sign of biblical repentance.

Mayor Larry Langford said his "sackcloth and ashes" rally at Boutwell Auditorium was inspired by the Book of Jonah, where residents of the ancient city of Ninevah wore rough fabric and ashes as a sign of turning away from sin. . . ."This city needs to humble itself," said Langford, a professing Christian.

I am a pretty conservative, evangelical Christian (and a pastor). Thanks for your words on the "sackcloth and ashes" stunt by Birmingham's mayor.

Repentance might be appropriate for a community-wide spiritual response to the community's injustice and oppression, but not for a crime wave. The people who repent are supposed to abase themselves. Are the burlap sacks for the thugs? And who in our culture even understands the imagery of sackcloth and ashes? And even if there was wholesale revival in Birmingham, why is it the Mayor and not the religious leaders calling for this? . . . The problem isn't that Birmingham isn't humble enough. The problem is that it's got thugs on the streets that it's not controlling."

As I said, I'm an evangelical Christian, and I find this embarrassing, stupid, and pointless.

Two private charities controlled by Larry Langford collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from businessmen and companies he approved for government work as Fairfield mayor and Jefferson County Commission president, records show. . . . Langford's financial arrangements with bankers, lobbyists and others who received government business with his help have come under scrutiny from federal investigators. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers began digging in 2004 into bond deals, many championed by Langford, that since have led the county to the brink of bankruptcy.

SEC investigators asked Langford last year about charitable contributions he solicited from county vendors, including those involved in the bond deals.