2018 Spirituality Conference
A Day with Becca Stevens:
Exploring Creative and Relevant Ways of Practicing Justice, Healing, and Love
Saturday, November 3, 2018
9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
We will spend the day in intentional acts that promote the healing and justice corollaries of love. This includes storytelling, creating healing oils and participating in a justice tea ceremony. The hope for the day is that all the participants receive practical tools to carry back to their own communities and feel inspired to go out to love the world.
10 a.m. Loving Boldly
In our introductory session we will explore the new frontiers of creating spaces and time for the bold work of healing and justice in our lives
11:15 a.m. Loving the Body
In our second session we will talk about the body and create healing oils. We will discuss the link between economic justice and spiritual well-being.
12:15 p.m. Lunch
1 p.m. Loving the World
In our third session we will talk about loving the world and cultivating a palate for justice. We will engage in a simple justice tea ceremony with moringa from Mexico blended with green tea from Africa. We will talk about moving past fear, cynicism, or numbness to engage the world in hope.
2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. Q&A
3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Book signing
We are excited to have the Rev. Becca Stevens, whose life and work illustrate the healing power of love and of story, as the speaker for our 10th annual Spirituality Conference.
Becca Stevens is an author, speaker, priest, social entrepreneur, and founder and president of Thistle Farms. After experiencing the death of her father and subsequent child abuse when she was five , Becca longed to open a sanctuary for survivors offering a loving community. In 1997, five women who had experienced trafficking, violence, and addiction were welcomed home. Twenty years later, the organization continues to welcome women with free residences that provide housing, medical care, therapy, and education for two years. Residents and graduates earn income through one of four social enterprises. Thistle Farms' global market helps employ more than 1,800 women worldwide, and the national network has more than 40 sister communities.Becca has been featured in The New York Times, on ABC World News and NPR, and was recently named a 2016 CNN Hero and a White House "Champion of Change," among other honors.
Becca is a prolific writer, and we believe that her books can inform our spiritual practices as well as our work for justice. For example, in Hither and Yon: A Travel Guide for the Spiritual Journey, she describes a mysterious place of communion with God. It is the destination to which we are headed and the circuitous path itself. For the trip, there are some things we should pack and some things we should leave behind. We are already on the journey. This book is written to encourage all of us to keep walking. Sanctuary: Unexpected Places where God Found Me is a meditation on the everyday places of life where God can be found. Readers will find comfort and inspiration in the various places and spaces described. This book features poetry as well as meditations.
This day-long conference will include lectures, discussion, question & answer, and book signing.
The cost is $65/person and includes lunch (group rate is $60/person for groups of 5 or more; week-of registration is $70/person).
Contact Jeannie Mahood to buy week-of-event tickets.
Hotels and Restaurants
For a partial list of hotels and restaurants near the Cathedral of St. Philip, click here.
Donations
To make a donation for this and future spirituality conferences, click here. Proceed with options and select "Spiritual Formation" from the list.
Feel free to contact Jeannie Mahood, 404-365-1034.
2017 Spirituality Conference
Featuring the Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor
2016 Spirituality Conference
Featuring the Rev. Dr. John Philip Newell