We gather and equip gifted grassroots leaders from diverse backgrounds, giving ample space for those of us who are marginalized misfits and overlooked one-offs. From such delightfully quirky stock we are formed as missional communities profoundly centered and mutually supported in our commitment to serve among those most vulnerable in society.

We see from below. We do theology from below, reading the Bible with the excluded and damned. We practice spirituality from below, together learning to see and celebrate good news in hard places. We share a spirituality of imperfection that delights in the Spirit’s dance among awkwardness and disarray.

Cities are our classroom, parish, and playground. We recognize the global, urban and postmodern forces that shape the cityscapes in which we live and serve. We eagerly lean into the challenges and opportunities we see emerging in our urbanizing world. Our particular calling is to corners of our cities marked by poverty and violence – and neglected possibilities.

We are contemplative activists, and active contemplatives. All of our work is an attentive act of prayer, whether in the bustle of street life or in the quiet inner room of the soul. “Lord, teach us to pray.”

We recognize our own pain and the pain of others as the primary gateway of transformation. We are wounded healers; we recognize that if we do not transform our experience of pain we will transmit it. The way of the cross demands disorientation and loss on the way to renewal and life, both for individuals and communities.

We embrace asset-based approaches to personal growth and social change. We begin with God’s exuberant Yes rather than the world’s dismal No. We are continually amazed by the overlooked and neglected vitality to be tapped in unlikely contexts, and seek to employ emerging tools for unleashing such energy.

We are blessed to be peacemakers, seeking a true center that holds in a fractured, unjust, and violent world. We are committed to unmasking and unplugging from the mechanisms of violence (physical, spiritual, emotional) within ourselves, as well as in those people and places we serve. We explore and model real-world alternatives to violence – “beloved communities” of justice and embrace.

We follow the tradition of St. Francis who said, “Preach the Word always, and only when necessary use words.” Our commitment to the preached word is grounded in our deep trust that true words transform the world when spoken, acted, or even held silently in love. The world, especially the most vulnerable among us, is hungry for daring, holy and humble speech that bears witness to the reality of God’s mercy and grace.

We enjoy lyrical and poetic language as we seek the Word of God among us, retell stories of grace, and express good news. We listen for the music among us and around us. Our taste is more jazz than classical – informal, communal, conversational, coming in and from the margins to influence the center.

Amid the monumental challenges of our contexts, our worst mistake is taking ourselves too seriously. Humor is a staple of our life. We take every opportunity to celebrate. We risk; we fail; we laugh together with God at our fumblings. Wonder and curiosity take us around the next bend of our journey, and joy will carry us home.