We are Contenders for Shalom

In the summer of 2015, many Anglican justice and mercy practitioners were faithfully serving and doing the mending work of the gospel. At the same time, their work was often fragmented from other practitioners as well as the life of local parishes.

A handful of North American Anglican clergy and laypeople set out to build a community for practitioners in the province. The hope was for the practitioners to feel seen, supported, equipped, and invited into the shaping of the ACNA.

The fall was spent raising up a fleet of prayer intercessors who would ground the initiative in listening to God’s voice and heart.

The first gathering was by invitation only, "for those who [were] seasoned and have scars in this work, but still love Jesus and have hope for his bride, the church.”

In February 2016, sixty adventurous practitioners showed up in Austin, Texas, most not knowing what they were flying across the country to attend. The participants were moved to quickly find a sense of kinship, through the Holy Spirit’s grace binding each other in love. The common thread among the participants was that they wanted to be grounded in contemplative practices while engaged in advocacy for under-resourced communities.

The intention was for the gathering to be a hybrid of retreat and conference, making space for introductions and connections, holding a sacred space for lament, and building rapport through the sharing of ideas. The time was punctuated with the solidarity of contrast between a “poverty lunch” and a dinner feast.

M25i grew out of seeking to bridge connections between justice and mercy practitioners and the Anglican parishes of North America. We continue to gather once a year in the same spirit as we did that first February (2016), and have also recently grown our mission to serve other learners, priests, parishes, and all those who are interested in contending for Shalom.