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PTS100_CCL_WDMK_K_L copy

Center for Contemplative Leadership

Prayer as Resistance 2.1:

Hope from Dark Places: Suffering, Wisdom and Community

REGISTER

April 27, 2024

Overview

Contemplative prayer fuels action in the world, and when it is fully rooted in God, leads to a deeper concern for social justice. Come and be empowered to consider a variety of ways in which our justice work might be anchored in the depths of God’s love for us and for our world. We will especially explore streams of contemplative wisdom that flow from places of suffering, and how this wisdom might illuminate the larger body of Christ.

All are welcome to attend this conference (2.1) in person or online. (In-person spots are limited, so be sure to register early to secure your spot! The early bird deadline is April 17, 2024. Please note that group spiritual direction offerings will be available again this year (limited spots; first come, first served). Click button below to learn more.

Learn More

Click here for the CCL launch press release and click here for a recap of last year’s beautiful conference.

A Word of Welcome from the House Next Door

Leadership

CONFERENCE PRESIDERS

Bo Karen Lee

Conference Convener

Rev. adwoa Wilson

Plenary Speaker

Juliet Liu

Workshop Leader

WORKSHOP LEADERS

Carmelle Beaugelin
The Rev. Katrina E. Jenkins
Nina Laubach
Andrew Prevot
Julian Davis Reid
Aizaiah G. Yong

WORSHIP LEADERS

Mirjam Gabler
Andy Hall
Rev. Karen Hernández-Granzen
Veronica Toyomi Ota
Emily “Z” Zinsitz

SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS (Facilitators of Contemplative Listening Circles)

Mary Ellen Azada
Melissa Berkey-Gerard
Ruth Giraldo-Mangual
Angela Hooks
David Kim
Rev. Eunhyey Lok
Julia Mckeon
Leonard McMahon
Erica McMurtry
caz Pearson
Gabrielle Woods
Ruth Workman
Alex Zubak

Schedule

All times are Eastern Time

Saturday, April 27

9:00 a.m.• Registration
9:30 a.m.• Opening Worship
10:00 a.m. • adwoa's Plenary Presentation (Framing of the Day)
“The Sufferer’s Wisdom: Hope from the Dark Places”
10:45 a.m. • Roundtable Discussion (adwoa Wilson, Juliet Liu, Bo Karen Lee, Caz Tod Pearson)
“Suffering, Wisdom and Community”
12:00 p.m.• Lunch
1:15 p.m.SESSION 1
In-Person Options
  • Chapel: The chapel will be available in-person and virtually for participants who would like to spend time in quiet contemplation, prayer, and/or reflection.
  • Workshop: Carmelle Beaugelin Caldwell, Artful Collaboration in a Polarized World
  • Workshop: Katrina Jenkins, Praying With Your Feet – Understanding the Healing Power of the Labyrinth
  • CLC: led by facilitators Mary Ellen Azada, Melissa Berkey-Gerard, Ruth Giraldo-Mangual, Gabrielle Woods, Alex Zubak
Virtual Options
  • Workshop: Andrew Prevot, Prayer as Resistance to Slavery
  • Workshop: Julian Reid, Notes of Rest
  • CLC: led by facilitators Angela Hooks, Erica McMurtry, Ruth Workman
  • Chapel: The chapel will be available in-person and virtually for participants who would like to spend time in quiet contemplation, prayer, and/or reflection.
2:40 p.m.SESSION II
In-Person Options
  • Workshop (Hybrid): Juliet Liu, Renewed Imagination for Divine Encounter: Navigating Spiritual Impasse with Visio Divina
  • Workshop (Hybrid): Nina Laubach, Yoga and Stillness: Digest, Rest, and Refresh
  • CLC: led by facilitators Melissa Berkey-Gerard, David Kim, Julie McKeon, Caz Pearson, Alex Zubak
Virtual Options
  • Workshop (Hybrid): Juliet Liu, Renewed Imagination for Divine Encounter: Navigating Spiritual Impasse with Visio Divina
  • Workshop (Hybrid): Nina Laubach, Yoga and Stillness: Digest, Rest, and Refresh
  • Workshop: Aizaiah Yong, Ruptures, Repair and Re-creation
  • CLC: led by facilitators Eunhyey Lok, Leonard McMahon, Ruth Workman
4:00 p.m.  • Closing Session w/ adwoa Wilson
5:00 p.m.  • End/Dismissal

Workshops

Participants can choose from a variety of workshops with options for creative expression, mindful movement, and theological reflection.

Carmelle Beaugelin Caldwell

Title: Artful Collaboration in a Polarized World

Time Slot: Workshop #1, 1:15 p.m.

Format: In-Person Only

Description: In a world where we are constantly saturated by polarizing tensions, how may we co-create with others in a contemplative and mindful way? We will explore this question through a practice of contemplation, collaboration, and sacred art-making called CreatioDivina. CreatioDivina, hosted by BeauFolio Studio, brings together the sacred practice of lectio divina alongside artmaking that invites participants into a five-movement journey from the artists’ studio, to the art gallery, culminating at the artists’ round table. No previous art experience or skill is required. All materials will be provided.

Katrina Jenkins

Title: Praying With Your Feet: Understanding the Healing Power of the Labyrinth

Time Slot: Workshop #1, 1:15 p.m.

Format: In-Person Only

Description: “The labyrinth is a spiritual tool meant to awaken us to the deep rhythm that unites us to ourselves and the light that calls from within. In surrendering to the winding path, the soul finds healing and wholeness.”  Lauren Artress. Join Rev. Katrina Jenkins for an interactive workshop on how t0 use the labyrinth as a spiritual and meditative tool.  During this workshop you will have the opportunity to walk a beautiful outdoor labyrinth on the property of House Next Door, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (indoors in case of rain).

Andrew Prevot

Title: Prayer as Resistance to Slavery

Time Slot: Workshop #1, 1:15 p.m.

Format: Virtual

Description: This workshop begins with the stories of several Black persons and communities who have turned to prayer as a form of resistance to slavery. It invites participants to reflect on the power of these acts of spiritual resistance and how they counteract political, economic, social, and psychological oppression. It includes an opportunity to pray with these ancestors for healing and liberation in our world today. This workshop will be experiential and dialogical.

Julian Reid

Title: Notes of Rest

Time Slot: Workshop #1, 1:15 p.m.

Format: Virtual

Description: Notes of Rest® is a Spirit-led ministry that invites the weary to receive Jesus’ new life by practicing God’s gifts of rest played in the Bible and Black music. This workshop interweaves the theological themes (“notes”) of Salvation, Sabbath, Sleep, Stillness & Sanctuary with the playing and history of Black American music. Listening for the harmony between these different notes helps us receive from the writers of the biblical texts and the creators of Black music wisdom to resist the restless evil of this present age. Notes of Rest encourages participants to listen for the Holy Spirit’s leading, share in the journey with one another, and embrace God, neighbor, and self more fully. As Jesus’ restful New Creation emerges out of this restless world, Notes of Rest® provides hospitable space to discern our participation in it.

Juliet Liu

Title: Renewed Imagination for Divine Encounter: Navigating Spiritual Impasse with Visio Divina

Time Slot: Workshop #2, 2:40 p.m.

Format: In-Person & Virtual

Description: In this workshop, we will explore the transformative practice of Visio Divina, a contemplative approach to engaging with sacred images. Drawing from the rich tradition of Christian spirituality, Visio Divina invites us to encounter the divine through visual contemplation. As Constance Fitzgerald elucidates in her writings on impasse, moments of spiritual deadlock challenge us to transcend familiar frameworks and images to seek deeper, more nuanced understandings of the divine. Through Visio Divina, we will navigate these impasses by opening ourselves to the mystery and beauty of sacred art, allowing new images to evoke fresh insights and new imagination. Together, we will journey towards a renewed and matured spirituality, grounded not in rigid dogma but in the fluidity of contemplative encounter.

Nina Laubach

Title: Yoga and Stillness: Digest, Rest, and Refresh

Time Slot: Workshop #2, 2:40 p.m.

Format: In-Person & Virtual

Description: Join Nina Laubach for a mid-afternoon respite of movement and rest. This 70-minute workshop brings together yoga, meditation, and reflection and invites you to digest and integrate the conference. The space will offer traditional yoga poses, breath practice, mindfulness, and time for reflection. Nina will offer tools you can use beyond the mat on your own contemplative journeys, to continue the practice of being present in your daily life. Nina is a 500-Hr certified yoga teacher through Alignment Yoga and believes cultivating an attentive heart is central to prayer and the contemplative path.

If possible, BYO mat and wear comfortable clothing.

Aizaiah Yong

Title: Ruptures, Repair and Re-creation

Time Slot: Workshop #2, 2:40 p.m.

Format: Virtual

Description: In this workshop you are invited to explore connections between suffering and wisdom in a workshop titled ‘Ruptures and Re-Creation.’ Through storytelling, visio divina contemplative practice, and group dialogue– participants will consider how liminal moments of rupture may be connected to opportunities for recreation and renewal. Participants will be invited to reflect on their own lived experiences of struggle and transformation, as we collectively discern how to co-create worlds anew.

Registration

Pricing 
$47/$57 for virtual early bird/standard attendees
$85/$95 for in-person early bird/standard attendees
Free for PTS students (except for lunch)*
$16 add-on for lunch (you are welcome to bring your own bag lunch if you prefer)
*PTS Students please contact Alexandra Zubak at Alexandra.Zubak@ptsem.edu for free registration code. 

Early bird deadline: April 17
Standard registration closes: April 24
Virtual registration closes: April 26 at 5:00PM

All are welcome to attend this conference (2.1) in person or online. In-person spots are limited, so be sure to register early to secure your spot!

Please reach out to Tammy at tamara.hemingway@ptsem.edu for scholarships.

REGISTER

Resources

These three articles will provide the framework for this year’s discussion. If you’re able to read any of them in advance, your experience might be all the richer when we gather:

Travel & Lodging

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

To make your travel arrangements easier, we have reserved rooms at the two Hilton affiliated hotels below.

Hampton Inn in Princeton, NJ Near Princeton University

4385 US 1, South Princeton, NJ 08540 (5.8 miles from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church)

To make an online reservation under the CCL Room Block, click Contemplative Leadership Room Block Link

To make a phone reservation under the CCL Room Block, call 800-774-1500
and request Contemplative Leader Block Code: CLR

  • This code is valid for reservations made for 4/25, 4/26, and/or 4/27
  • Rooms must be reserved by midnight on 4/5/24

Hilton Garden Inn Princeton Lawrenceville Hotel

1300 Lenox Drive, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (8.1 miles from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church)

To make an online reservation under the CCL Room Block, click PTS ICLR Block Booking Link

To make a phone reservation under the CCL Room Block, call: 609-895-9200 and request Block Code: PTS CLR

  • There is no charge for additional guests, but all names must appear on the reservation.
  • This code is valid for reservations made for 4/26 and/or 4/27
  • Rooms must be reserved by midnight on 3/29/24

PARKING

If you will be driving to the event, there will be 50 spots available on site. If you have reduced mobility and require special parking accommodations, please email Tamara Hemingway at tamara.hemingway@ptsem.edu and we will reserve an on-site spot for you. We will also have overflow parking in the Windsor Business Park located at: 186 Princeton Hightstown Rd, West Windsor Township, NJ 08550. There will be a free shuttle service from the business park to the event location.

Standard Parking

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
177 Princeton Hightstown Rd
Princeton Junction, NJ 08550

Overflow Parking

West Windsor Business Park
186 Princeton Hightstown Rd
West Windsor Township, NJ 08550

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Co-Sponsors

Betsy Stockton Center for Black Church Studies
Center for Asian American Christianity (CAAC)
Center for Barth Studies
Center for Engaged Compassion
EcoTheo Collective
Farminary
Goldenwood NYC
Gonzaga University Leadership Program
Hispanic Theological Initiative
House Next Door
Institute for Youth Ministry (IYM)
Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Development
Overseas Ministries Studies Center (OMSC)
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Spirited Renewal
Spirituality Institute for Research and Education
The Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality
Women of Wonder (WOW!)
The World Community for Christian Meditation – USA

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P.O. Box 821
64 Mercer Street
Princeton, NJ 08542-0803
609.921.8300

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The Center for Contemplative Leadership

Supporting leaders inside and outside of the church through contemplative practices ancient and modern, by offering training and resources for cultivating vision, resilience, and joy. We believe in the robust integration of deep spiritual roots with the wider work of liberative justice in the world, and lovingly create/nurture communities of trust and active listening for the Spirit together.

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Group Spiritual Direction Offerings (aka, Contemplative Listening Circles)

We encourage you to ponder prayerfully the listening circle offerings before signing up, so that you can listen for the Spirit’s invitation in your life.

Group Spiritual Direction (or “Contemplative Listening Circles”) is a sacred space for sharing your story with others in God’s presence, while also listening with tenderness to others’ stories in a small group of 3-4 people. 

All of the listening circle offerings are included in the registration fee, and take place during the two workshop slots in the afternoon. Please feel free to take advantage of these special gifts, as you are led by the Spirit and your deeper desire.

All Are Welcome in this Place.

The House Next Door offers a safe space and a place of grace for all who are seeking healing, wholeness, and transformation.

We do this by:

  • creating a welcoming environment that nurtures spiritual growth and emotional well-being.
  • providing spiritual direction, therapy, retreats, and workshops that deepen spiritual and mental wellness.


Dear Beloved Community,

On behalf of the House Next Door and Prince of Peace, it is our joy to welcome you to this sacred space.

The mission of the House Next Door is to provide a safe space and a place of grace for all to dwell in the heart of God.

We pray that this will be your experience at the CCL Conference.

Grace and peace,
Dale
Pastor Dale C. Selover
Director, The House Next Door 

To read more about the House Next Door, please visit our website.

Bo Karen Lee

Associate Professor of Spiritual Theology & Christian Formation | Princeton Theological Seminary

Bo Karen Lee, ThM ’99, PhD ’07, is associate professor of spiritual theology and Christian formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She earned her BA in religious studies from Yale University, her MDiv from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, and her ThM and PhD from Princeton Seminary. She furthered her studies in the returning scholars program at the University of Chicago, received training as a spiritual director from Oasis Ministries, and was a Mullin fellow with the Institute of Advanced Catholic Studies. Her book, Sacrifice and Delight in the Mystical Theologies of Anna Maria van Schurman and Madame Jeanne Guyon, argues that surrender of self to God can lead to the deepest joy in God. She has recently completed a volume, The Soul of Higher Education, which explores contemplative pedagogies and research strategies. A recipient of the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, she gave a series of international lectures that included the topic, “The Face of the Other: An Ethic of Delight.” She is a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women, and the American Academy of Religion; she recently served on the Governing Board of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality, and is on the editorial board of the journal, Spirtus, as well as on the steering committee of the Christian Theology and Bible Group of the Society of Biblical Literature. Before joining Princeton faculty, she taught in the Theology Department at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, where she developed courses with a vibrant service-learning component for students to work at shelters for women recovering from drug addiction and sex trafficking. She now enjoys teaching classes on prayer for the Spirituality and Mission Program at Princeton Seminary, in addition to taking students on retreats and hosting meditative walks along nature trails. For more information, visit her profile here.

Rev. adwoa Wilson

The Reverend adwoa Wilson, ObJN is an Episcopal priest and an Oblate of the Order of Julian of Norwich (an episcopal contemplative Order). Her previous experience is in the fields of psychology and education. Her work includes parish ministry, developing inter-congregational discipleship opportunities across the state of Vermont, and serving as a spiritual chaplain and house coach for two intentional communities of young people. Amongst other things, she is shaped by the privilege of a higher education, spiritual friendships, contemplative practice as well as the ongoing formative role of systemic and internalized racism, class polarity, and intergenerational trauma. Her ministry interests have historically involved worship, prayer, adult formation, and retreat facilitation. However, exploring contemplative practice as a path to individual union with God, Wilson’s convictions have been significantly shifted by acknowledging the impact of being a woman of color leading in the heavily White Episcopal church and of generational narratives of trauma of spiritual and community growth. Wilson believes that contemplative identity among those who suffer personal and systemic trauma is necessary for transformative social justice and spiritual growth for the whole people of God.

Juliet Liu

Juliet Liu has served as pastor at Life on the Vine since 2014. Prior to pastoring Life on the Vine Church, Juliet pastored as a college campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, served as the Director of Worship Arts at Northshore Chinese Christian Church in Deerfield, Illinois, and ministered as Director of Chapel at Trinity International University. A graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M. Div, 2005), Juliet will complete a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Direction and Formation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 2025. Juliet currently serves as Chair of the Board of Missio Alliance and offers spiritual direction in individual and group settings. As a second-generation Vietnamese Chinese American, she enjoys speaking and writing about spirituality that is both contemplative, justice-centered, and de-Westernized.

Carmelle Beaugelin

Carmelle Beaugelin Caldwell is a Haitian-American multidisciplinary artist and organizational creativity consultant based in Princeton, New Jersey. Carmelle’s abstract and expressionist art draws influence from Afro-Latin Caribbean art styles and sacred themes. After earning a Master of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary, Carmelle founded BeauFolio Studio, a creative art house producing original art and hosting collaborative workshops with the mission to “create creators” at the intersection of sacred art, human-centered design, and restorative equity. Carmelle currently serves in leadership as the Associate Director of the Missing Voices Project at the Center For Religion And Culture at Flagler College (Saint Augustine, Florida) and on the Board of Artworks Trenton, a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation and visual art center that promotes artistic diversity, learning, and appreciation of the arts in Trenton, New Jersey.

The Rev. Katrina E. Jenkins

The Rev. Katrina E. Jenkins serves as the Assistant Dean for Faith and Spirituality Initiatives at Rutgers University. For the past 23 years, she has been a college chaplain and previously served at colleges in Florida, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Rev. Jenkins earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Communication from Syracuse University. She earned her Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School. Rev. Jenkins is ordained through The American Baptist Churches, USA. Additionally, Rev. Jenkins is a certified mediator, spiritual director, and labyrinth facilitator. In 2009, she received her labyrinth facilitator certification. Since that time, she has conducted workshops on both domestic and international platforms. Throughout her career, Rev. Jenkins has served on several committees and boards. She has also presented at workshops and appeared on podcasts, addressing crucial topics such as race and interfaith matters. In recent years, her notable work garnered the attention of the Orlando Sentinel, leading to her authoring opinion pieces on the importance of having tough discussions about the difference between diversity and equity. Rev. Jenkins is also proud of editing a book on the spiritual life of the late singer Prince. In2021, she was named one of the Most Influential people by Winter Park Magazine for her outstanding work in interfaith and social justice.

Nina Laubach

Nina Laubach is in the MDiv program at Princeton Theological Seminary with a Concentration in Theology, Ecology, and Faith Formation. Her current Seminary journey brings together, often in creative ways, the experiences from her previous career paths as a structural engineer, yoga teacher, and assistant school chaplain. Nina studied contemplative dialogue with a Benedictine oblate for four years and her other interests include interfaith spaces, and how the Gospel is preached and expressed in public life. Nina is pursuing clinical chaplaincy certification, and continues to advocate for diverse leadership in the Catholic Church.

Andrew Prevot

Andrew Prevot is a Black Catholic theologian specializing in spirituality and social justice. He holds a Masters and PhD in Theology from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelors in Philosophy from Colorado College. After teaching at Boston College for ten years, here located to DC last summer to start a position as the Amaturo Chairin Catholic Studies at Georgetown University, where he is Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. He is the author of Thinking Prayer: Theology and Spirituality amid the Crises of Modernity (2015); Theology and Race: Black and Womanist Traditions in the United States (2018); and The Mysticism of Ordinary Life: Theology, Philosophy, and Feminism (2023), along with over thirty essays and articles. He is also the co-editor of Anti-Blackness and Christian Ethics (2017)

Julian Davis Reid

Julian Davis Reid (M.Div., Candler School of Theology) is a child of God, the husband of Carmen and father of Lydia, a son and brother, and a Black artist-theologian of Chicago who uses words and music to invite us into the restful lives we were created to live. A musician, speaker, and writer, Julian is the founder of the ministry Notes of Rest®, which invites the weary into the rest of God practiced in the Bible and Black music. Julian has released numerous records, including with his own ensemble Circle of Trust and the jazz electronic fusion group The JuJu Exchange. His most recent releases are Candid under his own name and JazzRx with The JuJu Exchange. Julian has performed at the Montreal Jazz Fest, The Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Hall, Lollapalooza, and the Berlin Jazz Fest. He has worked or performed with Jennifer Hudson, Chance the Rapper, Tank and the Bangas, Andrew Bird, Jamila Woods, Derrick Hodge, Isaiah Collier, and Abiodun Oyewole from The Last Poets. An award-winning writer, Julian has written chapters on Notes of Rest in forthcoming books from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Duke Divinity School, and Princeton Theological Seminary, respectively. He writes about faith, music, Blackness, and rest on his Substack “Julian’s Note.” Julian also consults with the boutique consultancy Fearless Dialogues. His work has been covered in The New York Times, Forbes, Sojourners, Billboard, and Downbeat.

Aizaiah G. Yong (he/him)

Aizaiah G. Yong is an ordained Pentecostal Christian minister, practical theologian, and healing companion who has served in religious and higher education leadership for over 15 years devoting his energy to change work in solidarity with QTBIPOC communities. He can be found engaging and embracing intercultural and interreligious communities, facilitating spiritual retreats, and or working collaboratively with others at the intersections of spiritual, cultural, and relational transformation.

Mirjam Gabler

Mirjam Gabler is currently studying at Princeton Theological Seminary as an exchange student and is in her fifth year of studying Theology back in Germany, where she is pursuing ordination in the German Lutheran Church. She has a background in education and communications and has worked for several non-profits and churches in those fields. Mirjam has also been a part of leading worship in different churches and denominations and is hoping to use her heart for worship, community, and ecumenism wherever her vocation will lead her.

Andy Hall

Andy Hall is a third-year student at Princeton Theological Seminary who is pursuing a dual Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Christian Education and Formation. Before seminary, Andy earned his BA and JD from the University of Arizona, and worked as a lawyer for six years, primarily in the area of immigration. He was the co-founder of Southern Arizona Against Slavery, an anti-trafficking nonprofit. He is also a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He and his wife Chelsea have two kids: Isaiah (7) and Amos (4).

Rev. Karen Hernández-Granzen

Rev. Karen Hernández-Granzen has passionately served as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Trenton, New Jersey, for over twenty-eight years. She helped create together with Westminster and Nassau Presbyterian Churches the Trenton Microloan Collaborative, an initiative serving returning citizens/formerly incarcerated. As a former member of the City of Trenton’s Latino Advisory Council, she has been seeking to improve the quality of their public school education. As a former commissioner of the City of Princeton’s Civil Rights Commission, she sort to ensure that issues negatively impacting residents were addressed. In 2017, she was chosen as the inaugural Community Partner-in-Residence of the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, at Princeton University, to strengthen the intersection of the wider campus and community. Her other community engagements include serving as co-chair of United Mercer Interfaith Organization, chaplain of the Bethany House of Hospitality: An Intentional Young Adult Community, and as aboard member of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund. She contributed chapters to the following books: Intercultural Ministry: Hope in a Changing World, about Westminster’s radical transformation into an intercultural worshiping community, and Faith of Our Mothers, Living Still, about her ordination journey to become a Minister of Word and Sacrament (or Teaching Elder). She was a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) delegate to the Jubilee World Council of Churches in 1998, in Zimbabwe, and in2018 the PCUSA awarded her the Women of Faith Award. She is married to the Rev. Dr. Michael Granzen, and the mother of Mikaella and Olivia.

Veronica Toyomi Ota

Veronica Toyomi Ota is a senior MDiv student originally from Pasadena, CA. Veronica is passionate about the intersections of ecology and theology and hopes to pursue ministry work related to environmental sustainability as an expression of spirituality and faith. Music has always been a big part of Veronica’s life, and she is grateful for the opportunity to help lead worship at this CCL conference.

Emily “Z” Zinsitz

Emily “Z” Zinsitz (they/them) is a fourth-year MDiv/MACEF student at Princeton Theological Seminary. Originally from Houston, Texas, they left a career in technology to study yoga in Rishikesh, then to live in an intentional community in Durham, North Carolina while discerning a call to ministry. They are still in the process of discerning where that call will lead them after seminary, but they know that social justice and contemplative practice will be at the heart of whatever they do next.

Mary Ellen Azada

Mary Ellen Azada is an ordained PC(USA) pastor for nearly 30 years. She has served as Associate Pastor at PC(USA) churches, as well as a church planter of an Evangelical Covenant Church in Hawaii. In addition to her work as a pastor, Rev. Azada served as an Executive Director for the Call Discernment office at Fuller Theological Seminary. In her retirement, she is serving as a spiritual director. For her, spiritual direction is a sacred space where we are invited to listen for God, and to the deepest parts of ourself. In this listening, we listen for greater wisdom and to encounter the Holy.

Melissa Berkey-Gerard

Melissa Berkey-Gerard seeker of the Spirit in all places– in nature, collaborating in community, struggling for justice, slowing down to walk at the pace of a toddler. She seeks to create space for others to listen deeply to what matters most to them, and to live from that place. She has extensive work with traumatized individuals and communities, and desire to help others find what heals them, what re-connects them, what energizes them. 

For over 20 years, Melissa has worked for justice, including in Philadelphia, and New York City, in Palestine and Iraqi Kurdistan, seeking out the intersection of spirituality and justice. For 5 years, she served as the Psychosocial Care Coordinator for Community Peacemaker Teams, creating space, practices and structures to uphold peacemakers. She co-founded, along with incarcerated women and women living on the outside, an Associate’s Degree program at a prison in New York City, and taught undergraduate students as a professor at the Oregon Extension of Eastern University.  Alongside her spiritual direction practice, she offers workshops, retreats, and facilitation for both faith communities and nonprofits. Melissa is a graduate of Eastern University (BA) and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv), and she received her spiritual direction certification through Kairos School of Spiritual Formation. She has extensive experience and training in trauma-responsive care and behavioral health. Melissa has also served as Interim Pastor at two congregations. While she calls home a Mennonite congregation in Philadelphia, she works with people of all faith backgrounds, and those not identified with a particular faith, in spiritual direction, retreats and workshops. She approaches her work from an anti-racist, undoing oppressions lens. Melissa is also a parent and a partner, a yoga practitioner and a city gardener.

Ruth Giraldo-Mangual

Ruth Giraldo-Mangual is an alumna of Princeton Theological Seminary. Ruth graduated with a Master of Divinity, with a certificate in Theology, Women, and Gender, and a certificate in Spiritual Direction from Oasis Ministries. During Ruth’s seminary journey, she was selected for the highly sought fellowship with Sacred Sector through the Center for Public Justice. Ruth also served as a Field Education Intern at a multicultural church in Plainfield.

Before Seminary, Ruth was an Assistant Property Manager for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Adjunct Professor at Monroe College and Suffolk Community College, and Executive Pastry Chef in NYC. Ruth utilized her knowledge of Pastry Arts when she worked for a non-profit organization as an Economic Empowerment Manager and Safe home Coordinator; she served women survivors of Labor and Sex Trafficking. Ruth has a passion for empowering women who are victims of domestic violence. She believes women and girls have the right to know they are loved, embraced, seen, and not forgotten.

Ruth’s ministry experience began in Brooklyn, NY, where she held multiple positions in a multicultural church. She served as a Sunday School teacher, Worship Team Leader, Youth Counselor, and Elder. She has worked in various other churches and departments, including Outreach ministries, Intercessory prayer, and mentoring teenage girls.

Minister Ruth is the owner and Executive chef of Azuca Patisserie. At Azuca Patisserie, their mission is to “Feed both the body and soul.” Providing an opportunity for wholistic transformation while feeding the 5,000 and MORE. Ruth is a mother, wife, and advocate for building beloved communities which embrace respect, diversity, truth, and justice for all of God’s creation.

Angela Hooks

As an ordained Baptist minister, professional writer, adjunct lecturer, and workshop leader, Angela Hooks created Heartbeat Formation, LLC, a spiritual direction practice shaped with the unconditional love of God as the motivation. As a spiritual director, Dr. Hooks helps others notice the rhythms and movements of God’s healing, joy, and grace in their lives. Rev. Dr. Hooks knows that the Holy Spirit is the Ultimate guide in her life and in her practice. Angela is an independent, interdisciplinary scholar writing about Christian Spirituality and diary and autobiographical life writing.

David Kim

David Kim is a second-year MDiv student at Princeton Theological Seminary. David is interested in early Christian history, theology, and contemplative practices. David is currently active at the Aquinas Institute.

Rev. Eunhyey Lok

Rev. Eunhyey Lok is a spiritual director and licensed marriage and family therapist. She believes that most people just need a safe space to explore what’s at the root of their struggles, and to begin experiencing the relief and transformation they desire to see in themselves and their relationships. She loves helping people delve deeper into what God has for them. Eunhyey specializes in working with leaders in Christian ministry as well as cross-cultural and international NGO workers. Eunhyey graduated from Fuller’s MS MFT program, and has an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, as well as a Master of International Studies degree from Ewha Womans University. She is also an ordained pastor, is married and has one son.  Currently, she enjoys casual hikes around Los Angeles, reading YA fiction (especially by Asian American authors) and streaming SciFi and British period dramas.

Julia Mckeon

Julia has walked alongside many who have encountered grief, trauma and hardship in her work as a spiritual director, hospital chaplain and Episcopal priest. She received a certificate in spiritual direction through the Stillpoint Center with additional specialty training in group spiritual direction, enneagram, dreamwork and grief counseling. She is familiar with many modalities and forms of prayer and contemplative practices. Her Masters in Divinity degree is from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley. She lives in the Princeton area.

Leonard McMahon

Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care, Spirituality, and Political Theology | Pacific School of Religion

Leonard McMahon is a doctoral candidate in theology at the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley, with work in spirituality, theology, and politics. Leonard holds an MA in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara and an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School. His interest is in political theology and improving civic engagement. Through his consultancy, Common Ground Dialogue, he works to bring diverse citizens into deeper conversation for the sake of our democracy. For more information about his work, visit Common Ground Dialogue.  For more information on his faculty work, please visit his profile at the Pacific School of Religion website.

Erica McMurtry

Director | Gerholz Center for Christian Counseling

Minister Erica McMurtry is a native of Chicago, Illinois and relocated to Michigan in 2019 to serve as the Director of the Gerholz Center for Christian Counseling, a ministry of the First Presbyterian Church of Flint. Minister Erica has always had a passion to serve the church and its community.  Her volunteer efforts ranged from working in the church’s food pantry to going door to door in the community in attempts to survey the residents’ needs and provide them with resources.  Her love for God and love for serving people, fueled her desire to bridge the gap between her two worlds.  As a result, she went back to school to receive a dual degree – a Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work from Princeton Theological Seminary and Rutgers University, respectively.  She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and also a Spiritual Director, in which she received her training from Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Development.  Minister Erica aspires to help people live their life more abundantly (John 10:10) by providing holistic services. She enjoys being a conduit by which God can transform lives. In her spare time, Minister Erica enjoys watching movies and traveling with her husband Robert. 

Caz Pearson

Caz lives and works in Kensington, Philadelphia as the director of The Simple Way, a small organization supporting neighbors as they build a neighborhood they can be proud of. She trained as a Spiritual Director at Kairos School for Spiritual Direction and has offered individual Spiritual Direction since 2011. She learned the practice of Group Spiritual Direction with Shalem Institute in 2016 and continues to facilitate groups. Caz works at the intersection of faith and justice, integrating contemplation and action, and hopes to assist individuals and groups in finding ways to do the same.

Gabrielle Woods

Gabrielle Woods is a graduate of Rutgers University and an alum of Princeton Theological Seminary where she earned her MDiv and her Masters of Christian Education and Formation. Currently she is pursuing an MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU where she is exploring the intersection between faith and the arts. As a product of the Pentecostal tradition, she believes the Holy Spirit is active in both our individual lives as Christians and in our pursuit of God’s justice in a broken and divided world. 

Ruth Workman

Ruth Workman has certificates in Spiritual Direction and as a supervisor of Spiritual Directors.  She earned an M.Ed. from Rutgers University and an M.A. in Holistic Spirituality and Spiritual Direction from Chestnut Hill College.  Ruth offers individual direction and group spiritual direction on Zoom or by phone.  Ruth has trained spiritual directors through Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Formation where she served as the lead teacher for Deepening Year in Spiritual Direction, a year-long program for training spiritual directors who want to grow In the art of spiritual direction.  She also taught Spiritual Direction at Princeton Theological Seminary as an adjunct professor..  She served Presbyterian Congregations as a Director of Christian Education for 20 years.  Ruth retired as Pastoral Care Associate at Langhorne Presbyterian Church, where she was acting head of staff prior to the January 2008 arrival of a new called pastor.  She and her husband have two adult sons and eight grandchildren.

Alex Zubak

Alex Zubak has spent much of her career working in video production producing educational, children’s and branded content. Alex most recently worked as the Director of Prayer at Oaks Church Brooklyn in New York City. She has called Brooklyn home for the past decade and is now studying for her MDiv Princeton Theological Seminary. Alex is passionate about interfaith dialogue, embodied faith and giving a voice to artists in the church. She aims to foster environments of hospitality with messy tables.