Meet our 16th Class of Fellows
Dear friends,
At a clergy retreat I attended recently the leaders invited us to complete the sentence, "If you really knew me...". This exercise, of course, was terrifying because it involved vulnerability with strangers. I made it through, but I've been thinking a lot about that exercise these days.
If you really knew me, you would know that change has been coming at me fast: I moved houses, I was voted in as permanent Senior Minister at Community Church of Honolulu, a book which I co-authored has just been published, our staff make up at IF has shifted...The world around us is changing in ways we don't fully understand and sometimes, can't believe.
But change brings growth. At Invested Faith, we embrace conversations about how the Church is evolving. Our Fellows embody this spirit, reimagining faith and justice in powerful ways. I’m thrilled to introduce Class Sixteen of Invested Faith Fellows—please join me in celebrating their work.
We also bid farewell (for now) to a valuable and beloved team member, Anna Meyer, who has built a lasting generosity framework for IF to help us nurture and welcome supporters of our work. As Anna goes on to her next opportunity, we send her with so much love and gratitude for all she has given and continues to give to IF.
Change is never easy, but it sparks hope. May these Fellows and their stories inspire you today. Thank you for walking with us as we continue resourcing faith-rooted social entrepreneurs.
With gratitude,
P.S. My latest book, written together with my brave and brilliant colleague, Rev. Dr. Dawn Darwin Weaks, Holy Disruption: A Manifesto for the Future of Faith Communities is now available! The book is a six week study for small groups and a good read for individuals who want to learn stories of hopeful disruption, along with a theology that leads us all toward resurrection. If your church, book club, or faith group reads Holy Disruption, I'm happy to pop in via zoom for a Q&A!
Meet our 16th Class of Invested Faith Fellows!
Emmanuel Brown and Day Edwards
ChurchSpace
Detroit, Michigan
ChurchSpace is a platform unlocking America’s largest underutilized real estate network: excess church space. The platform enables churches to transform unused rooms, kitchens, gyms, and sanctuaries into high-value community infrastructure that fuels productivity, economic growth, and local impact. From licensed kitchens to storage as micro-fulfillment hubs, ChurchSpace converts the idle square footage into assets that serve communities and generate sustainable revenue.
Starlet Luczon Joao
Simply Local
Kahului, Maui, Hawai'i
Founded by Starlet Luzon Joao and her husband Clint, Simply Local is a centrally located cafe and gift shop on Maui that offers 20+ local business, artisans, and musicians the opportunity to display their crafts and merchandise, along with food items that represent the cultural heritage of the Hawaiian Islands while generating income to support and raise multigenerational families on Maui.
Amy Hall
Shalom Creatives
Madison Heights, Virginia
Shalom Creatives cultivates spaces where healing, creativity and belonging intersect. Through pop-up art studios in underserved communities and with survivors of sexual assault and religious trauma, a leadership network for women whose voices are marginalized in faith settings, and creative workshops that foster reflection, founder Amy Hall guides individuals and communities on a path toward healing and restoration.
Annalise Hume
Embodied Faith
Ewing, New Jersey
Weaving together resources from Dance Movement Therapy, neuroscience, theology, and transformative learning theories, spiritual director Annalise Hume invites people to dance with the Divine. Embodied Faith offers Spiritual Direction and facilitates movement workshops to help others recognize the movement of God in their life.
Tony Gapastione
BraveMaker
Redwood City, California
BraveMaker is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization that hosts an annual film festival each July, bringing filmmakers and storytellers from around the world to the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout the year, Bravemaker provides community-art building experiences in the form of classes, film screenings and workshops. Founded by Tony Gapastione, Bravemaker aspires to fund and produce new projects that amplify the voices of historically excluded artists, ensuring their stories are seen, heard, and celebrated. that provides community-art building experiences all year long in the form of classes, film screenings and workshops.
