Kenneth Swanson

Ken is an Episcopal priest and before retiring in 2019, was in parish ministry for over forty-five years, serving churches in California, Scotland, New York, Tennessee and Georgia. He has three degrees, a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary; and a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He is the author of numerous articles on the history of religion, theology, spirituality and social ethics as well as three books, one of which "Uncommon Prayer, Approaching Intimacy with God" is in its sixth edition. He published "Into the Wilderness", Understanding the True Nature of Sin" in 2023. His newest book "Enter the Kingdom, Embracing Christian Virtue" came out in June of 2024. He has led the board of many organizations, including the Amistad Mission in Bolivia and the Metropolitan Nashville Human Relations Commission. In retirement, he chaired both the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing and the Commission on Ministry for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. He is on the faculty of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Ken has led dozens of conferences and retreats on Christian spiritual formation. In the age of COVID his teaching on ZOOM has had participants from over 40 states and several countries. Ken is married to Darlene and has three children and two grandchildren. Ken and Darlene love to travel, and have been on five continents and in over forty countries over the past few years. They have also led several pilgrimages.