By Ken Sehested, We are free to act boldly because we are safe. We are safe because we are at rest. We are at rest because we have been forgiven. We are forgiven because we have come to know that the Spirit meets us in our weakness, not our strength. And in the strength of […]
By Ken Sehested A meditation on Ordinary Time on the church’s liturgical calendar “He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars.”—William Blake When people of faith speak of God, and how the love of God leads to the flourishing of souls and soil alike, such language appears on the surface […]
By Ken Sehested Pictured below is my Dad’s “Heart Shield” Bible, a copy of the New Testament on to which a metal plate front cover has been attached. The engraved cover, now smudged by corrosion, reads “May this keep you safe from harm.” It was sold by the Know Your Bible Sales Company of Cincinnati, […]
By Ken Sehested (photo right with grandchildren), curator of prayerandpolitiks.org Some years ago, writing in the days leading up to Easter, I realized important though tragic anniversaries arrived in the days immediately following that Sunday. “Even before our resurrection flowers have wilted, we will be confronted again with the presence of evil. Since Easter falls […]
By Ken Sehested (right with grandchildren), whose fluency tends toward poetic expression, in response to our 2019 question, “What is your definition of radical discipleship?” “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you: yet do it in gentleness and reverence.” —1 […]
By Ken Sehested It was a time of great turmoil in the land. The Spirit of God bypassed all the famous leaders and came to me with a dream. And I saw the Ruler of All Creation sitting on a throne, high and lofty, with majesty filling the sky as far as the eye could […]
By Ken Sehested The Resurrection is the Beloved’s own Armistice, intimate seal on ancient covenant, when the rain’s own bow arches in the flood’s aftermath as divine reminder, animus receding by act of divine contrition: Never again. Never again.* No longer will Heaven respond with drowning contempt over earth’s profaning habit. Divine remorse calls out […]
By Ken & Nancy Hastings Sehested We thank you, God, for water. By it you give life to plants, Animals, and all humankind. We thank you that in the beginning your Spirit of creation moved over the face of the waters.
By Ken Sehested To my friends who question the value of voting, or have ethical qualms about choosing between the lesser of two evils: Vote, or don’t. Its significance will always lie somewhere between essential and useless. None of us is allowed to assess any action as ultimate—but that’s no license for skepticism or despondence. […]
By Ken Sehested, the curator of prayerandpolitiks.org, an online journal at the intersection of spiritual formation and prophetic action Last week I wrote a quick note to my friend Kyle, who gets as excited about baptism as I do, to share the news. “We’re baptizing seven of our youth group this coming Sunday. Is it OK […]
