Supporting Communities of Light

In 2019, Walker Center will celebrate its 149th year of hospitality, service, and mission. We do so, even as hostility, violence, oppression, and hatred permeate our screens, and our minds -- and as the struggle to balance daily life, or even just to live at all, leads to further and further isolation from each other. 

Here at Walker, we support and celebrate all the manifold ways faith communities and others resist the dehumanizing aspects of the world today -- from activism to prayer, from shouting to silence, and everything in between. In fact, we see our primary role in all of this is to facilitate the energizing, enlivening, and empowering of faith leaders and communities who are participating, or want to participate, in such resistances. This past year we have affirmed this calling, with the adoption of a renewed mission statement: We foster ecumenical and interfaith communities where people are educated and empowered to work for peace and justice.

In short, we aim to support and resource "Communities of Light" - a name we have come up with for our 2018 end-of-year campaign. It describes that experience that most of us have probably had at some point in their lives - when people gather in love and have a transformative experience together that provokes thought and awakens the heart, that directly informs action in the world.

At Walker Center, we create and support these kinds of communities, whether the communities themselves are short, medium, or long-term. In the coming days and weeks, we will be sharing stories of those whose lives and work have been impacted here. And with your support and encouragement, we aim to do more of this in 2019.

Loneliness and isolation are the precursors for hatred and injustice. Creating and supporting transformative community is, indeed, critical to sustained resistance. That's why we will continue to offer support for partnered organizations' conferences, retreats, and other programs. And in 2019, we will be providing more opportunities for interfaith leaders and communities to come together, to become more connected and better equipped for the task of tikkum olam, the "repair of the world."

​









​







Want to learn more? Here's some things you can do: 

• Check out our end-of-year "Communities of Light" letter (PDF).
• Support Walker Center's new programming and outreach efforts with an end-of-year gift!
• If you're a faith leader of any kind, take a five-minute survey to help us learn more about you. 
• Join our mailing list, and like us on Facebook, to stay up-to-date about what's happening at Walker.
• Contact us anytime - or stop by our campus for coffee or breakfast to chat with me (Josh) about any ideas or questions you might have. I'd love to connect with you.​​

---