Justice & Faith Cohort
A framework for liberation
SEVEN MONTHS
October 2026
through April 2027
In a time of rising authoritarianism and oppression, the work of repair, resistance, and communal liberation is not optional. It cannot be done alone. And it cannot be done without a framework rooted in the text. The Justice & Faith Cohort is a seven-month learning community where Scripture, justice movements, and lived experience become a plumb line for how we think and how we act.
WHAT WE’LL DO TOGETHER
Aligned.
Each unit is built around a Hebrew word for justice, paired with a book, robust curriculum, and the history of justice movements. We think carefully and together about what we believe and why. Scripture, theology, and lived witness in conversation with one another.
Moved.
Ideas that stay on paper and in conversation aren’t enough. Each unit moves towards action and practice where you live. Over seven months you will build toward naming, in community, what you are going to do with what you have learned.
Held.
Formation Circles meet twice a month, virtually, with a Twin Cities in-person option. Sacred circles anchor both the Grounding and Releasing Gatherings, and a shared discussion board holds the conversation between sessions. We will learn from the perspectives of one another.
WHAT THIS INCLUDES
14 Formation Circles over seven months, 1st & 3rd Mondays, 5:30–8:30pm (Virtual, with in-person hybrid option in the Twin Cities)
A book and robust 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, both included in cost (travel and lodging not included)
The perspectives of participants gathered from across the country
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
Leaders, organizers, chaplains, pastors, and anyone doing justice work who needs a framework that goes deeper, biblically and theologically. And those who feel lost in this moment and are looking for something solid to stand on. All are welcome here.
HOW WE BEGIN AND END
⤵
The Grounding Gathering: October 23-25, 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 the memorials of George Floyd, Alex Pretti, and Renee Good. The ground we study on is not abstract.
⤴
The Releasing Gathering: April 23-25, 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.
These gatherings are stay where you like weekends: 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 bivocationally. Lisa as a prison chaplain and abolitionist, Stephanie as a leadership coach and mutual aid worker. Both hold master's degrees from seminary and have spent ten years leading circles where Scripture and justice meet. Together they create spaces where curiosity, honesty, and communal wisdom do the work.
COST
$3600
The full cost of the Justice & Faith Cohort is $3,600, which includes a $100 non-refundable deposit upon acceptance.
Scholarships are available on a limited basis. When you apply, tell us what you need and we will do our best to make it work.
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. Email lisa@40orchards.org.
40 Orchards is a registered 501c3 nonprofit. Your participation cost is a tax-deductible donation to the extent allowed by law.