Dean Powery Offers Three Life Lessons Drawn from the Spirituals
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Chapel Dean Luke Powery writing in the Chronicle
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Chapel Dean Luke Powery writing in the Chronicle
In his latest Chronicle column, Chapel Dean Luke Powery writes about "the unknown black bards" who sang and passed on the spirituals.
"They are sages of the Spirit," Dean Powery writes. "Their songs, the Spirituals, are musical memorabilia created on the anvil of misery in the crucible of inhumane slavery."
In reflecting on the Spirituals, he finds three broad lessons for life today: the inevitability of human suffering, the necessity of community, and the possibility of hope.
"I urge you to listen to these unknown bards because in hearing them, you are hearing the wisdom of the Holy," he says. "These marginalized can minister to us. These unlettered folk can be our professors today."