On Earth Peace welcomes Sawyer Stefanatos as Gender and LGBTQ Justice Organizer intern and Sean Rizvic as MoR (Ministry of Reconciliation) Community Organizer.

Sawyer will connect with our community of practices for Gender Justice and LGBTQ Justice facilitating opportunities for continued learning and dialogue.  They are finishing their BS in Religious Studies and Peace Studies with a certificate of Queer Advocacy at Manchester University.

Sean will connect with our MoR community of practitioners to continue our conflict transformation work.  He is a recent graduate of Manchester University with a degree in Peace Studies, Philosophy, and Math. He is currently living in New York City.

Some 90 people had a dry and beautiful week at Inspiration Hills Camp and Retreat Center in northern Ohio, July 8-14 this summer. We gathered in this “swing state” to consider how God is calling the church and our country to become a Beloved Community, rather than a divided camp of political and theological combatants.  Each day we focused one of the key attributes of a beloved community, namely: a community that is Grounded in God, who loves all people, all creation; is Insistently Inclusive, Courageously Christian, follows Jesus’ way of being Consistently Compassionate, Prophetically Progressive, Oddly Organized, and Clearly Committed.  Through stories and music and community interaction, we opened ourselves to the holy so that our life and work and struggles could move in time with the Spirit of Life to help us become God’s Beloved Community.

Photo Credit: Arnold Platou