Introducing Our Guest Practitioners for “The Contemplative Practitioner”

Dear Fellow Practitioner,

We all struggle with the demands of formation, justice, and mission in our local contexts. What if, as we spend the Lenten season examining our internal and external practices, we could learn from leaders who have wrestled with these realities and have managed to create space for contemplation, discernment, and seeking God in the midst of a culturally-demanding, chaotic world that seems to have endless leadership needs? Profound transformation takes place when we listen to, learn from, and dialogue with seasoned practitioners who have been there, made mistakes, and have come through the other side with hard-fought wisdom grounded in reality.

Our brand-new, six-week cohort, The Contemplative Practitioner: An Integrated Pathway of Formation, Justice, & Mission, intentionally centers these fellow practitioners and guides, creating a brave space for honest, real-life dialogue with these influential leaders and mobilizers.

Together, we will learn from:

Jared Patrick Boyd on formation and missional monastic rhythms. Jared is a pastor, spiritual director, and founder of the Order of the Common Life, a missional monastic order for the 21st Century. He pastored The Abbey, a contemplative Vineyard church in Columbus, Ohio. Jared is the author of Finding Freedom in Constraint: Reimagining Spiritual Disciplines as a Communal Way of Life (2023) and Imaginative Prayer: A Yearlong Guide for Your Child’s Spiritual Formation (2017).

Michelle Ferrigno Warren on justice and faith-rooted activism. Michelle has worked in Christian community development for three decades and is the President of Virago Strategies. She is the author of Join the Resistance: Step Into the Good Work of Kingdom Justice (2022) and The Power of Proximity: Moving Beyond Awareness to Action (2017).

Eun Strawser on mission and culturally-healthy missional presence. Eun is the co-vocational lead pastor of Ma Ke Alo o (which means “Presence” in Hawaiian), a church with missional communities multiplying across Honolulu, Hawaii. She is also a community physician and the co-founder of The Iwa Collaborative. Eun is the author of Centering Discipleship: A Pathway for Multiplying Spectators Into Mature Disciples (2023).

Lisa Rodriguez-Watson is the National Director of Missio Alliance and a pastor at Christ City Church. A proud Cuban-American, Lisa writes, speaks, and leads at the intersection of formation, justice, and mission. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and three kids.

Emma Cotterill, the Team Leader for The Leaders Collective, one of the three pillars of the Movement Leaders Collective (and a seasoned human rights lawyer in Sweden!), will serve as your guides throughout this learning cohort.

Join us beginning on Tuesday, February 13th (2pm EST) for this six-week Lenten learning community that guides us through examination of our internal and external practices around formation, justice, and mission.

Your voice is needed.

Expectant,
Missio Alliance