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** Awakenings 2025 is coming!
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Awakenings 2025: Wholeness and Beauty in the Life of the Church ([link removed]) is our biennial national gathering designed to inspire and equip Christian leaders to embody wholeness and beauty as a missional witness. Within humanity lies a deep yearning for restoration, and this event seeks to address that longing by exploring the church's role in today's world.
Through practical workshops, engaging storytelling, and interactive discussions, participants will gain valuable insights and tools to bring transformative change to their communities.
Plenary Speakers include the Rev. Dr. Willie James Jennings, Makoto & Haeijin Shim Fujimura, and Rev. Enid M. Almanzar.
Your voice is needed to shape our gathering; therefore, Missio Alliance is opening a Request for Proposals to lead an Awakenings 2025 Workshop. Information for submission can be found here ([link removed]) . Proposals are due November 1st.
Join us March 6th-8th, 2025 in the DC area, as we hold this brave space for crucial conversations around mission, beauty, and wholeness. Be part of a movement that reflects God's vision of restoration and renewal. Together, let's awaken the church to its fullest potential!
Learn more and register now! ([link removed])
** Forge America Partnership
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Missio Alliance is pleased to have Forge America ([link removed]) as new content partners. Forge America is a network of practitioners cultivating practitioners who join in the everyday mission of God. In the coming months, articles from missional practitioners within the Forge network will be featured in our Writing Collectives. We look forward to sharing their thoughtful, leading-edge missional perspectives with you.
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Two brand-new books, Confronting Sexism in the Church ([link removed]) , by Heather Matthews, and Faithful Politics ([link removed]) , by Featured Writer Miranda Zapor Cruz, launched in August in our Missio Alliance & IVP Book Series ([link removed]) . Both authors wrote powerful articles connected to the content of their books:
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Every Woman Has a Story (of Sexism) ([link removed]) | Heather Matthews
"Women in the church who experience sexism are created in God’s image with inherent dignity and for a meaningful contribution in this world, and yet they consistently hear, experience, and absorb that they are inferior, less valuable, and even dangerous in the church. These stories are defining moments for women that often steal their identity, joy, and purpose." Read More ([link removed])
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My Country Isn’t The Kingdom ([link removed]) | Miranda Zapor Cruz
"No country is now, has ever been, or will ever become the Kingdom of God. And that is good news! It is not the Christian’s job to turn the country into the Kingdom, but rather to bear witness to the Kingdom while residing in the country." Read More ([link removed])
Browse all our articles! ([link removed])
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October is Pastor Appreciation month. Maybe the best gift to give your pastor (or yourself if you’re a pastor) is the opportunity to participate in Why Stay.
The Why Stay Retreat is designed as a safe, reflective space where pastors can rest, recharge, and wrestle with the deep questions of ministry in a supportive environment. It’s a chance for them to find new energy, clarity, and peace as they continue their journey in leadership.
By supporting your pastor’s participation in this retreat, you’re giving them the gift of renewal—an invaluable investment in their well-being and longevity in ministry. It’s a gesture that goes beyond words of appreciation, showing your pastor that you see their struggles, honor their dedication, and care deeply about their spiritual and emotional health.
Head here ([link removed]) for more information and register soon. We keep this retreat limited to just 10 people, and spaces are filling up quickly!
Register Today! ([link removed])
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As missional practitioners we desire to embody a holistic witness in the places we live, work and play. We long for a fulfilling whole-life faith that makes sense to us and to the world.
Join us and our partners at the Movement Leaders Collective, beginning in October for an online learning community that guides us through an examination of our internal and external practices around formation, justice, and mission. We will seek to create a pathway towards an integrated, whole-life faith and embodied witness.
Learn More! ([link removed])
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Cultivating an imagination for holistic witness in local settings is an important aspect of our work. We believe that a great place to start is at the table. Together with our local host partners, cities across the country will be hosting conversations about wholeness and beauty in the life of the church. Join us in Philly, Denver, and Chicago during the week of September 23rd, 2024.
Learn More! ([link removed])
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** Webinar: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Environmental Injustice
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Join us for another powerful, thought-provoking webinar. Pastor and author, David Swanson will unpack concepts from his new book Plundered: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Environmental Injustice. Together with host Lisa Rodriguez-Watson this webinar will spark an imagination for:
* Understanding how racial and environmental injustice share the common roots of greed in the forms of extraction and exploitation.
* Connecting a vision of our human caretaking vocation with the manifestations of systemic racism and environmental destruction.
* Inspiring local congregations/communities to see their critical role in nurturing ecological and racial harmony in their particular places.
* Exploring how congregations and leaders can take steps of repair in moving towards justice.
A free recording will be sent to all who register.
Register Today! ([link removed])
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This is the perfect time to join the Leadership Network. Awakenings 2025 Early Bird registration just opened, giving our entire Missio family the opportunity to register at the lowest general audience rate. However, our Leadership Network members receive an even lower exclusive rate. You can be part of this growing network for $10 per month. Check out the other great features of being part of our Leadership Network and join today.
Join Today! ([link removed])
** On Embracing Liminality and Making Wise Choices
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“Despite the American myth, I cannot be or do whatever I desire – a truism, to be sure, but a truism we often defy. Our created natures make us like organisms in an ecosystem: there are some roles and relationships in which we thrive and others in which we wither and die.” (Parker Palmer, Let My Life Speak)
All across the Northern Hemisphere, as the calendar turns the page from a (seemingly) endless summer to September’s new beginnings, we are faced with a familiar choice: How do I make a life that is meaningful, God-centered, and prioritizes the things that I am to give my energy and attention to as autumn’s liminal space grows ever closer? If you are anything like me, your calendar is already too full, inboxes overflowing, requests for your presence coming from every direction.
The delightful Quaker writer Parker Palmer suggests a wisdom that is worth heeding as the school year ramps up to full speed. Our natures are created to thrive in certain ecosystems. What would it look like to give yourself permission to embrace your natural limits in this season – be they familial (You have young kids!), work related (You do this job!), or embodied (You need rest and can’t do it all!)?
Perhaps embracing liminality allows you to make the wise choices God is confident you are created to make.
- Chris Kamalski, Editorial Director
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