August News: Meet our latest class of Fellows
Dear Invested Faith friends,
I spent the beginning of August at the Chautauqua Institution in NY where I had the opportunity to reconnect with long time friends and meet so many new ones! I went to talk about the importance of telling stories that matter, and telling story after story of Invested Faith Fellows and their incredible work was tremendously exciting to me. This month’s email comes to you with yet another brand new class of Invested Faith Fellows, our 12th class! It’s almost unbelievable to think about where we started and now where we are, with 57 Fellows in 22 states doing the most amazing work.
Also, you won't want to miss the Lady Preacher Podcast with Invested Faith Fellow Dr. Kit Evans-Ford. Many thanks to our friend Rev. Kelsey Beebe of the Lady Preacher Podcast and Faith in Motion for featuring several of our Fellows on her podcast. Keep your ears open for more Fellows' stories on the podcast.
I’ll leave these tremendous stories to speak for themselves; evidence that something as fragile and wonderful as an idea can change the world. Thanks for believing along with me and making it possible for these Fellows’ ideas to come to life.
With gratitude and excitement,
P.S. Did you know that you can make monthly gifts to Invested Faith? Clink here for more information.
Meet our 12th Class of Fellows!
Invested Faith welcomes our 12th class of Fellows - five amazing people who are changing their communities. We now have awarded 57 Fellowships, with Fellows working in 22 states and Washington, DC on projects addressing environmental and racial justice, mental health, domestic and sexual violence, hunger and food access, student homelessness, and so much more.
Marcy Bursac
The Forgotten Adoption Option
St. Louis, Missouri
The Forgotten Adoption Option is dedicated to advocating for 113,000 children in the U.S. foster care system that are available for adoption Through a faith-rooted approach, the non-profit provide mentorship and resources, empowering families to overcome obstacles and successfully navigate the adoption journey to become a forever family for a child or sibling group. Founder Marcy Bursac’s mission is to help children be adopted before they age out of the foster care system.
Erna Kim Hackett
Liberated Together
Richmond, California
Liberated Together creates community for Women of Color, Queer WOC, and non-binary folks who follow Jesus to explore liberated and embodied theology, decolonized approaches to social justice, and radical solidarities across ethnic lines. Founder Erna Hackett offers learning cohorts, spiritual direction and coaching; along with spiritual direction training centered on POC.
Tamice Spencer-Helms
Sub:Culture Inc
Richmond, Virginia
Sub:Culture Inc. is a Black led nonprofit striving to remove barriers to holistic well-being, social flourishing and academic success for Black university students. Founded by Tamice Spence-Helms, the Sub:Culture program offers a comprehensive and transformative experience for Black students designed to foster their personal and professional growth, along with financial support to offset unexpected costs that often cause students to drop out.
Stephen Cue Jn-Marie
The Hip Hop Smoothie Shop
Los Angeles, California
The Hip-Hop Smoothie Shop, a worker-owned co-op and social enterprise, provides living wage employment and employee ownership to residents of Skid Row in LA as well as providing nutritious food in a food desert. Stephen Cue Jn-Marie, a former Virgin Records rapper now known as Pastor Cue, founded the Hip Hop Smoothie Shop as a part of Creating Justice LA, a non-profit that advances justice through creative expression.
Josh Richardson
Brugsmansia Ministries
St. Louis, Missouri
Brugmansia Ministries’ mission is to address climate change and climate migration through building physical, relational, and spiritual infrastructure within faith communities. Using climate projections and current physical and social data, founder Josh Richardson helps communities identify current vulnerabilities and needs as well as potential future challenges and to proactively prepare for climate driven environmental disasters or other climate change events.
Try out a new podcast!
Don't miss this interview with Invested Faith Fellow Dr. Kit Evans-Ford on the Lady Preacher Podcast. Dr. Kit Evans-Ford talks about transforming pain into purpose and finding healing and hope through helping others. You can find the Lady Preacher podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
“What helps us heal is figuring out how to help other people. We’ve been through this crap, so how do we turn what’s happened to us and use it as energy and fuel to help others.”
Dr. Kit Evans-Ford
