Ken Sehested
Invocation. “Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder (traditional chain gang song),” One Voice Mixed Chorus in remembrance of Bayard Rustin, the least-known-most-important civil rights leader.
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Read more ›It is important to live life from the inside out, not the other way around. That is to say, live your own life, not simply imitating your heroes or other noble imagine. — Parker Palmer
Ken Sehested
Invocation. “Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder (traditional chain gang song),” One Voice Mixed Chorus in remembrance of Bayard Rustin, the least-known-most-important civil rights leader.
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Read more ›Ken Sehested
Invocation. “Give Me a Clean Heart.” —James Cleveland & the Southern California Community Choir
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Read more ›Introduction: On the proximity of the International Women’s Day (8 March 2024) and the cusp of Ramadan (10 March 2024 sundown, a month-long ascetically devotional observance commemorating the initial revelation to the Prophet Muhammad in 610 CE, later named the Noble Qur’an)
Little is known about the 8th century CE Islamic poet and mystic often named simply as Rabia of Basri (a city/region in what is now southern Iraq). But her stature as one of the first saints in Islam is unquestioned, especially among Muslims who identify with the more mystical tradition of Sufism. The quote below which addresses (without naming) Allah (the Arabic word for God) as “eternal beauty” is a striking feature of mystical traditions of all sorts:
“If I adore You out of fear of hell, burn me in hell. / If I adore You out of desire for paradise, lock me out of paradise. / But if I adore You alone, do not deny to me Your eternal beauty.”
Read more ›Ken Sehested
Invocation. “Psalm 51,” Choir of St. Simon the Leper, Republic of Georgia (sung in Aramaic)
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Read more ›Invocation. "The First Noel," Leslie Odom Jr. ft. PS22 Chorus
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Implausibly, and over the decades, my consistent experience is that when I dare venture into war zones and places of serious social conflict, I find people you would think should just give in, give out, give over their futures to those with greedy hearts and malevolent hands.
Read more ›Ken Sehested
Circle of Mercy, 26 November 2023
Invocation. “Not Dark Yet,” Bob Dylan
I’ve selected a number of texts that use the word “world” or “flesh.” If you are able, please stand for this reading of Scripture.
Read more ›Ken Sehested
Invocation. “Tango,” featuring jazz songstress Dianne Reeves. When the Spirit transcends human language, and faith, hope, and love join in a brawl with all who would foreclose history’s predicted demise.
Read more ›Invocation. “Give Thanks,” Abyssinian Baptist Church choir, New York City.
The cultivation of gratitude and the practice of thanksgiving
From a 2018 article
The topic of gratitude has become a marketing trend in publishing over the past decade—confirmed, most recently, in Diana Butler Bass’ best-selling Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, not to mention a score of books written by and for the “positive psychology” school of authors and readers.
Read more ›Ken Sehested
Invocation. “The Beatitudes, “Glenstal Abbey, Ireland
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Read more ›Invocation. “Psalm 51,” Choir of St. Simon the Leper, Republic of Georgia (sung in Aramaic)
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Among the most important practices in the life of faith is lifting up and celebrating hopeful stories—however small or localized—where flourishing life pushes back the boundaries of grief’s shadow. This work is particularly important in the context of erupting racial-ethnic-religious hostilities.
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