More information on the content of this program will be made available soon.
Innovating Beloved Communities
This public webinar is part of a series of trainings accompanying EDS's ongoing Innovating Beloved Communities Cohort - an ongoing, year-long learning experience for innovators creating God’s new thing for the sake of love, led by the Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers '04. This cohort is convening, equipping, and catalyzing a circle faithful innovators advancing God’s dream of just, compassionate, multicultural, beloved community. The public is invited to witness and participate in this learning experience alongside our cohort leaders.
Trainers
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The Very Rev. Daniel Vélez-Rivera
The Very Rev. Daniel Vélez-Rivera is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Virginia and has served as Vicar of St. Gabriel's ~ San Gabriel in Leesburg since September 2012. The congregation's mission is to "encounter God, build meaningful relationships, and make a difference in the world." Fr. Daniel and the members of St. Gabriel's live into this mission as they help build the kingdom of God in, around, and beyond their local community.
Fr. Daniel believes every faith community plays a vital role in the public health and social fabric of its neighbors. He works to strengthen community interconnectedness by engaging parishioners, local residents, human and social services partners, and other faith communities in relevant justice ministries. He affirms that communities are fortified when people come together to improve one another's lives through essential services and shared commitment.
Because St. Gabriel's ~ San Gabriel does not have a physical building, the congregation is called to look outward and be present wherever people are. This outward-facing posture makes the church's presence and programs more accessible to the broader community. One example is the congregation's commitment to community education: Educating with Love – Educando con Amor is a free technology and arts after-school and summer camp program serving K–12 students in Loudoun County, where most instructors and volunteers are high school students.
He and his husband live in Reston, VA. In his free time, he enjoys golf (or, as he jokes, "having golf play with him"), Bikram yoga, movies, walking, and tending community gardens. He holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering and master's degrees in Divinity and Social Work, and has served in ordained ministry for twenty years.
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The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers ’04
The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers is one of The Episcopal Church’s leading thinkers around 21st-century ministry and mission. The author of several books, she was canon to former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and serves as Priest-in-Charge of St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco.
Spellers previously served as chaplain to the Episcopal House of Bishops, directed evangelism and reconciliation at General Theological Seminary, and led church vitality efforts in the Diocese of Long Island. Her professional ministry began in 2005 at St. Paul's Cathedral-Boston, where she founded The Crossing, a ground-breaking church that weaves Episcopal tradition together with voices from the margins. Before that, she was an award-winning religion journalist.
Spellers earned master’s degrees from both Harvard Divinity School and Episcopal Divinity School. She received an honorary doctorate from the General Theological Seminary. A native of Kentucky, she is passionate about helping people to fall in love with God and get free.