We are so excited to introduce our next group of Emmaus (second-year) fellows! In their Emmaus year, fellows dive into a year of leadership development. They take on servant leadership roles during Friday trainings and other staff support responsibilities, all while continuing to serve at a church or non-profit site. Let's meet our new team!
Hey, y'all! I hail from Kansas. I applied for Life Together because I love the Episcopal Church and I wanted to spend a year doing service and discerning my next steps in life. I was drawn to trainings that Life Together offers as well as the personal connections I made during my interview process. For the past year, I have been working at Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford. I have loved being able to build relationships with the parishioners and create a connection between the church and the local university. I have been living in Fall River. My favorite part of living in intentional community has been getting to know my roommate, Marq, and exploring this community together. I applied to be an Emmaus Fellow because I felt like my time here wasn't over. I have much more learn about myself and the work around me, and I'm excited to deepen my knowledge and experience of working in social justice.
Hi and 你好 Everyone! My name is Lily or 丽丽！
I grew up between Columbus, Ohio, Tianjing, and Shanghai. I graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in Political Science and English in 2016 and have been working at Mass Senior Action for the past year as a Micah fellow with Life Together. In my first year with Life Together, I've had the opportunity to learn and grow at my job as a grassroots organizer, in my house as a part of an intentional community, and within the fellowship leading worship. I've learned the joys and difficulties of organizing in a deeply broken world and more than ever, I remain steadfast in belief that revolution must start from within, with a deep evolution of our personal and collective spirits (as my two spirit goddesses Gloria E. Anzaldúa and Grace Lee Boggs put it).
Next year, I'm looking forward to embracing leadership within our community, to being a mentor for the fellows of color who are about to enter their Micah year, and to continue writing poetry that, as Audre Lorde put it "give us the strength and courage to see, to feel, to speak, and to dare."
Hello! I hail from the grasslands of central Wisconsin via Wellesley College. Short answer, I'm doing Life Together again because I couldn't bear the thought of parting with the the fabulous humans at St Mary's (where I work) and the #ltcommunity quite yet. Longer answer, I've become a much more whole and alive person this year learning how to church plant alongside a group of amazing Latina leaders, launching a listening campaign with our parish young adults group, going on spontaneous Rita's runs and having heart-opening late-night talks with housemates and hosting a workshop on Decision-Making from the Soul. Here feels like a good place to keep growing.
This coming year, I'm excited to deepen all those relationships and help to shape the Micah Fellow training program, doing what I can to support incoming fellows as they navigate the wilderness of spiritual journeying and working for racial and economic justice.
My name is Luke Abdow. Originally from Amherst, Mass., I first came to the Boston area to go to school at Tufts University, where I studied American Studies and Community Health. As I neared the end of a year outside of the US after graduating, I felt a distinct call to come back to Massachusetts, the state I've always called home. After a year working at a restaurant in Cambridge and some initial resistance to Life Together (I grew up in the Episcopal Church and wasn't sure if I wanted to re-associate with the institution), I've landed gratefully in this community. It is a blessing to be surrounded by so many people who are committed to aligning our faiths and values with a more liberatory way of life.
In my second year of Life Together I will continue my work at the Massachusetts Communities Action Network. I began my first year as a development fellow, and as I was exposed to community organizing practices through Life Together, felt pulled towards organizing. I am excited to work at MCAN as an organizing fellow, engaging communities of faith across the state in our campaigns for racial and economic justice.
I consider biking around the city a spiritual practice, occasionally make it to the pool to swim laps, play the viola when I need to relax, and think that when all is said and done, my true vocational calling is to cook for others.