Daniel Velez-Rivera, with his friend and lay colleague Ema Rosero-Nordalm, created Abuelas, Madres y Más (Grandmothers, Mothers and More) and Rut y Noemí: Mentoras y Compañeras (Ruth and Naomi: Mentors and Companions) in Salem, Massachusetts, as a ministry for multigenerational Hispanic/Latina women who are raising children. Utilizing popular storytelling traditions, facilitators and participants create curricula that help women reflect theologically on their lives, grow spiritually, become empowered, test their leadership, and serve as companions to women and others in their wider community. After early successes, more women’s and men’s groups have been started, and Daniel and Ema have traveled to share their work with others in the US and abroad.
Read more about Daniel's work here.
Rima Vesely-Flad continues to study towards a Ph.D. in Christian Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She is the founder of the Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment and educates communities of faith about the criminal justice system, engaging them in advocating for people with criminal convictions, and assist congregations in developing prison and reentry ministries. Rima has also been teaching a course in criminal justice policy at Sarah Lawrence College.
Devon Anderson has been leading people to eradicate poverty through commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This organizing project trains lay teams in congregations to invite their members to pledge .7% of their incomes and then collectively decide how to spend those funds on initiatives that fulfill the MDGs. At the core of this project is “public narrative,” a leadership practice that equips people to speak articulately and persuasively about who they are and what they are called to do. In May 2009, Devon became the Executive Director of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation and she will continue to be based in Minneapolis.