Justice & Faith Cohort
A framework for liberation
SEVEN MONTHS
October 2026
through April 2027
The work of repair, resistance, and communal liberation has always been ours to do. In a time of rising authoritarianism and oppression, that call is harder to ignore. We believe the biblical tradition has more to say about liberation than most of us have been handed. The Justice & Faith Cohort is a seven-month learning community where Scripture, justice movements, and lived experience become a shared framework for how we think and how we act.
WHAT WE’LL DO TOGETHER
Learning
Each unit has curriculum connecting a theme to a book, Scripture study, and the justice movements that have come before us. We will think carefully and together about what we believe and why. Our studies will keep Scripture, theology, and lived experience in conversation with one another.
Action
Ideas that stay on paper and in conversation are just the beginning. Each unit moves towards action and practice where you live. Over seven months you will build toward sharing, in community, the action steps you are taking as your next steps of repair, resistance, and liberation.
Community
Community is anchored in opening and closing gatherings, with ongoing circles and a shared discussion board between sessions. Circles meet twice a month, virtually, with a Twin Cities in-person option. Central to this cohort experience is the practice of learning from and listening to one another.
WHAT THIS INCLUDES
14 Circles over seven months, 1st & 3rd Mondays, 5:30–8:30pm (Virtual, with in-person hybrid option in the Twin Cities)
Curriculum for each unit, moving from text to theology to action
A shared discussion board between every session to hold the conversation
A cumulative arc toward action, culminating in a presentation of what you are going to do with what you have learned
The Grounding Gathering and The Releasing Gathering, described below (travel and lodging not included)
FROM OUR COMMUNITY
"After 2 years of the Cohort, I'm trusting in our sacred text in a new way. This isn't because Steph and Lisa have given me some magical answers. Through the safety and wisdom of 40 Orchards community, I've learned to ask questions, not memorize answers or creeds, and realized that's where I can find my footing again."
Meagan G. · Cohort Zayin
WHO THIS IS FOR
This is for you if:
You are already doing justice work and need a community to be part of
You are a pastor who wants to increase the impact of justice in your congregation
You have a theology but it isn't connected to your action, or you have action but it isn't connected to your theology
You have been handed a version of Scripture that was used to harm, and you want to reclaim it for something liberating
You are ready to be changed by what you study, not just informed by it
You are feeling the tension and frustration of what is happening in the world, and are trying to figure out what to do
This is for anyone doing justice work, including leaders, organizers, chaplains, and neighbors who are looking for a framework that goes deeper. If you are just beginning to explore these questions, we have other circles for that. This cohort is for people who are ready to do something with what they find.
This is open to people from any faith background. We will be using the Christian Bible as a primary sacred text, but with a primary rooting in the Hebrew Scripture. If you are from a different tradition, we invite you to learn with us, and bring your own sacred text into the conversation as well.
DATES TO KNOW
The Grounding Gathering: Morning of October 23 to Midday October 25, 2026, Twin Cities
We begin together in Minneapolis, a city that knows what resistance looks like. We will share meals, sit in circles, and visit sites that have been important to the justice movements here. We will work to honor the histories and people of this place as we gather. *This gathering is a stay where you like weekend: camp, couch surf, or splurge. We will be together for meals, circles, and excursions.
Circles: 1st & 3rd Mondays, 5:30–8:30pm CT, October 2026 to April 2027
Virtual, with in-person hybrid option in the Twin Cities. Dates: October 5 & 19, November 2 & 16, December 7 & 21, January 4 & 18, February 1 & 15, March 1 & 15, and April 5 & 19
The Releasing Gathering: Morning of April 23 to Midday April 25, 2027, Twin Cities
We end where we started, back in the Twin Cities. This time naming, in community, what has shifted and what we are carrying back into our lives. Meals, circles, and a witness to where seven months of formation has brought us. *This gathering is a stay where you like weekend: camp, couch surf, or splurge. We will be together for meals, circles, and excursions.
YOUR GUIDES
Lisa Adams and Stephanie Spencer are the co-directors of 40 Orchards. Both are former church leaders who now live their callings bi-vocationally. Lisa is an abolitionist who serves as a prison chaplain, with an M.Div. and a B.S. in Criminal Justice. Stephanie is an executive coach specializing in the Enneagram, with an M.A. from seminary and a B.S. in Social Work. Both are involved in justice work beyond their paid roles. They have ten years of leading circles with 40 Orchards and decades of formation that started long before that. Together they create spaces for curiosity, honesty, and communal wisdom.
COST
The full cost of the Justice & Faith Cohort is $3,600, which includes a $100 non-refundable deposit upon acceptance.
Cost shouldn't decide who gets to be here. Limited scholarships are available and we can also help you make a plan. For instance:
Some participants fundraise part of their cost by inviting people in their community to invest in their formation. We can help you think through that conversation.
Some participants spread payments out over a few years, paying $50 or $100 a month.
When you apply, tell us what you need and we will do our best to make it work.
40 Orchards is a registered 501c3 nonprofit.
Your participation cost is a tax-deductible donation to the extent allowed by law.
INTERESTED?
Here are some next steps you can take:
Join us for an info night on Thursday August 13, from 7-8pm CT. This virtual conversation will give you a chance to meet other potential participants, ask your questions, and get a sneak peek of the curriculum.
Register for the info night here.
Get together with Lisa or Steph for a Zoom, coffee, or walk. We place a high value on personal connection and would love to meet with you.
Apply as soon as you are ready. Some people don’t need an info night or a coffee.They just know this is the program and this is the time. If that’s you, apply using the button below.
Applications close September 1, 2026. Notification of acceptance will come by September 15, 2026. Open nationally. Limited in size.