In this follow-up work to his earlier In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public, Kenneth L. Sehested sustains his evocative poetic imagination and capacity "e;for finding the right text at the right time,"e; as Walter Brueggemann notes in his foreword. Sehested, an award-winning author and activist as well as a poet, pastor, and sometime stonemason, knows that serious thinking about Jesus is transacted on the road and then translated in liturgy to provoke the kind of praise that rankles the world (as it is) with a foretaste of what it might be. Most of the pieces in this work have been used first in worship in his own Circle of Mercy Congregation. "e;This book is a great gift,"e; Brueggemann writes, and "e;it issues in a calling that befits the coming rule of God."e;Or, as Sehested writes in his meditation on John the Baptizer, "e;There's no getting right with God. There's only getting soaked."e;

It is common today to hear the claim that we are engaged in "e;a clash of cultures."e; The first step in addressing conflict is for all parties to listen to each other. That is the goal of this publication: to allow Christians, Muslims and Jews to listen to each other's scripture and tradition, particularly to hear what each has to say about seeking justice, pursuing peace and working for reconciliation. "e;The pious of all nations shall have a place in the world to come."e;Sanhedrin 105a/Babylonian Talmud"e;I bring heaven and earth to witness that the Holy Spirit dwells upon a non-Jew as well as upon a Jew, upon a woman as well as upon a man, upon a maidservant as well as a manservant. All depends on the deeds of a particular individual."e;Tanna de Vei Eliyahu"e;You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?"e;The Apostle Peter, Acts 10:28-29

"e;If required to summarize my deepest conviction in a single sentence, it would be something like this: I believe that God is more taken with the agony of the earth than with the ecstasy of heaven."e;So begins the preface to In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public by Kenneth L. Sehested. What follows from that conviction is a collection of prayers and poems, most of which are "e;inspired by"e; one or more particular biblical texts and many of which were originally written for use in Sehested's own congregation. Sehested's lifelong work as a justice and peace organizer informs his "e;poetic eloquence,"e; which, in the words of one reviewer, produces reflections on Scripture that create "e;a flash of insight, a bolt of courage, a stretch of imagination, a surprising peek into the heart of God"e; and "e;cries out against second-hand convictions."e;In the Land of the Living (Ps 27:13) represents a significant addition to that tradition of spirituality which takes seriously both the pain of the world and the claim of a God at work disarming both the heart and the nations. Indeed, "e;These prayers are jumper cables from the pew to the world."e;

In this follow-up work to his earlier In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public, Kenneth L. Sehested sustains his evocative poetic imagination and capacity "e;for finding the right text at the right time,"e; as Walter Brueggemann notes in his foreword. Sehested, an award-winning author and activist as well as a poet, pastor, and sometime stonemason, knows that serious thinking about Jesus is transacted on the road and then translated in liturgy to provoke the kind of praise that rankles the world (as it is) with a foretaste of what it might be. Most of the pieces in this work have been used first in worship in his own Circle of Mercy Congregation. "e;This book is a great gift,"e; Brueggemann writes, and "e;it issues in a calling that befits the coming rule of God."e;Or, as Sehested writes in his meditation on John the Baptizer, "e;There's no getting right with God. There's only getting soaked."e;

It is common today to hear the claim that we are engaged in "e;a clash of cultures."e; The first step in addressing conflict is for all parties to listen to each other. That is the goal of this publication: to allow Christians, Muslims and Jews to listen to each other's scripture and tradition, particularly to hear what each has to say about seeking justice, pursuing peace and working for reconciliation. "e;The pious of all nations shall have a place in the world to come."e;Sanhedrin 105a/Babylonian Talmud"e;I bring heaven and earth to witness that the Holy Spirit dwells upon a non-Jew as well as upon a Jew, upon a woman as well as upon a man, upon a maidservant as well as a manservant. All depends on the deeds of a particular individual."e;Tanna de Vei Eliyahu"e;You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?"e;The Apostle Peter, Acts 10:28-29

"e;If required to summarize my deepest conviction in a single sentence, it would be something like this: I believe that God is more taken with the agony of the earth than with the ecstasy of heaven."e;So begins the preface to In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public by Kenneth L. Sehested. What follows from that conviction is a collection of prayers and poems, most of which are "e;inspired by"e; one or more particular biblical texts and many of which were originally written for use in Sehested's own congregation. Sehested's lifelong work as a justice and peace organizer informs his "e;poetic eloquence,"e; which, in the words of one reviewer, produces reflections on Scripture that create "e;a flash of insight, a bolt of courage, a stretch of imagination, a surprising peek into the heart of God"e; and "e;cries out against second-hand convictions."e;In the Land of the Living (Ps 27:13) represents a significant addition to that tradition of spirituality which takes seriously both the pain of the world and the claim of a God at work disarming both the heart and the nations. Indeed, "e;These prayers are jumper cables from the pew to the world."e;