Agape Choir Brings New Thought to the World’s Stage

By Susana Wolds

New Thought News Service

On Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m., the Agape International Choir will deliver its soul-filled lyrics and powerful harmonies at the Parliament of the World's Religions Sacred Music Festival.

It will be no ordinary performance. The choir will represent the entire New Thought Movement when it shares its musical stylings alongside musical ambassadors of the world's religious traditions.

The Parliament, to be held in Melbourne, Australia, marks an extraordinary moment for New Thought. It is the first time that 10 major New Thought organizations have united as a delegation to represent the movement as a whole.                                                     
At the most significant interfaith gathering of our time, the Agape Choir will get feet stomping and hands clapping, sharing the spiritual principles of New Thought with the world through rhythm.

Two soul-stirring choir performances will precede the Sacred Music Festival. On Dec. 2, the choir will appear as part of the New Thought Delegation Pre-Conference. And on Dec. 5 at 4:30 p.m., Parliament attendees will be treated to a 45-minute set of Agape love and sound.

The choir is the singing heartbeat of the Agape International Spiritual Center, a trans-denominational church in Los Angeles.

Led by Founder and Spiritual Director Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith, Agape is “committed to individual transformation and to being a beneficial presence on the planet.”

The New Thought-Ancient Wisdom teachings espoused by Agape are echoed in songs often co-written by Beckwith and his wife, the Agape Choir's musical director, Dr. Rickie Byars Beckwith.

Rev. Greta Sesheta, a choir member for 19 years, says the group’s songs are, in essence, spiritual principles given tune and tempo. She quotes Michael Beckwith as saying “to sing is to pray twice.”

With a roster of nearly 200, the choir’s makeup is as diverse as the metropolis it calls home.

“Nobody that has auditioned has ever been turned away,” says Sesheta. The choir’s inclusive nature mirrors the New Thought principles of universality, honoring all paths to God and encouraging one's individuality in manifesting his or her highest good.

High-profile events and international venues such as the Parliament appearances are comfortable territory for the choir, which has been a traveling ensemble since the beginning. Singers from Agape have traveled to South Africa and appeared at the United Nations, the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver and President Barack Obama's Inaugural Ball.

Many may recall watching the choir sing backup vocals for hit recording artists Will.I.Am and John Legend at the Democratic Convention. As the television cameras panned the scene, broadcasting their performance around the world, the choir reflected the vibrant and diverse crowd before them.

What makes the group so unique? What puts them in such high demand for public appearance?

According to Sesheta, “nothing separates the listener from the core of their music.” The choir’s music has grown out of the collective experiences of people from all walks of life, so that it embodies universal principles of Truth.

“The Agape Choir carries the evolutionary gene of spiritual music as New Thought carries the evolutionary gene of religious theology,” says Dr. Barbara Fields, executive director of the Association for Global New Thought.
                                                           Above, Rickie Byars Beckwith leads a rehearsal by New Thought delegates and 20 choir members before the Sunday performance at the Parliament. She invited the delegates to share the stage with choir members as a way to expand community. The Agape Choir members paid their own way to participate in the Parliament.