Our work depends upon you. Folks who long for a just world. Folks who understand that spirituality and religion should be forces for liberation, not oppression.
And so we're asking you: will you join us in working for liberation? Please read on and consider making a donation of any size today.
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It is easy to get overwhelmed by the problems facing us today. The triplets of evil Martin Luther King Jr. warned us about (Racism, Materialism, and Militarism) plague us still. Police brutality. Mass Incarceration. Increased poverty. ICE raids. Violence against trans folx. These aren't simply political problems, they're spiritual problems.
Yet, frustratingly, instead of following Jesus' example, Christian churches are more likely to feed into the oppression and hatred they should be fighting against.
We need prophetic voices now, more than ever.
That is why the Center for Prophetic Imagination exists. To cultivate prophetic witness.
But we can't do this without your support.
With the support of donors like you, our work weaves together three commitments:
▷ Rooting our offerings in contemplative formation.
▷ Cultivating prophetic witness through creative political action.
▷ Nurturing emerging leaders through experimental education.
Fleshed out, that means the following programmatic offerings:
▶ Our ongoing Deep Roots Podcast.
▶ Regular Nurturing Prophetic Imagination retreats.
▶ Occassional workshops, webinars, and courses exploring the intersections between social justice, spirituality, and creativity.
▶ Our upcoming 2018 conference.
▶ Our year-long Prophetic Immersion program.
▶ Ongoing practices in Liturgical Direct Action.
* * * MORE INFO FOR THE DETAIL ORIENTED * * *
We're about a year and a half into things and doing well. Our current onoing projects are doing workshops, retreats, and week-long intensives that help people connect contemplative and prophetic action. We are also in the midst of planning a series of Liturgical Direct Actions (public direct actions with ritual or spiritual elements in them). And we're continuing to create new content through our Deep Roots Podcast, social media presence, and through video content.
Our biggest projects are ahead of us:
Next month we launch a crowdfunding campaign for a documentary project called "Christofascism." It tells the story of how the radical spiritual movement of Jesus has become warped into one of the most powerful animating forces for oppression and violence in our world today.
In September we're hosting a conference coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Walter Brueggemann's landmark book The Prophetic Imagination. The conference asks: "What is the prophetic vocation today?" Drawing upon the deep spiritual roots of resistance, and embracing the divine pathos of lament, how do we raise a hopeful prophetic voice that challenges empire? It is going to a sizable conference with 5 keynotes, 21 breakout sessions, and an anticipated gathering of 300 folks.
At that conference we're going to re-launch Prophetic Immersion as a series of courses for a graduate-level Certificate Program in Prophetic Spirituality. As yet, it is unaccredited; we're very early in the process of exploring partnerships with seminaries.
* * * WE CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU * * *
We're doing important work at the Center for Prophetic Imagination. And we're doing it with two .5 staff (Mark and Zed) and one .25 staff (Leslie).
Reaching our goal of $10,000 will not only help cover our expenses for the rest of 2018, but will allow us to enter into 2019 boldly!
Will you join us in our work of pursuing social justice rooted in spiritual depth?
Any gift of $10/month or more (or a one time donation of $120 or more) will entitle you to be a voting member of the Center for Prophetic Imagination.
All members will:
- receive a 10% discount on all training and events we offer (workshops, conferences, retreats, and more)
- have access to any fee-based web content for free.
- be invited to nominate/approve board members, approve our annual budget, and ratify any amendments to our bylaws.
- feel warm feels for helping us do important work in the world.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our work, and how you can help us do our work.
In Sacred Subversion,
Mark Van Steenwyk
