The Christ & Cascadia Gathering 2025
How do we bring the word to life in Cascadia?
Connection, conversation and innovative ideas for bringing the Word to life in Cascadia.
Friday, May 2, 2025
1:00-4:45pm followed by Mocktail Mix & Mingle
Calvin Presbyterian Church, Shoreline, WA
Sessions & facilitators
PLenary session: How do we bring the Word to life in Cascadia?
Kate Rae Davis
In the opening chapter of John, we read that “the Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” The context of that neighborhood – its cultural norms, social structures, and political realities – all shaped Christ’s ministry. What does it mean for us to be shaped by Cascadia, and to bring the Word to life in this context? Dr Kate Rae Davis will be joined by a panel of our facilitators to start the conversation.
Dr. Kate Rae Davis serves as the Executive Director for the Center for Transforming Engagement at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology and the Executive Editor of Christ & Cascadia.
Her work focuses on leadership development through connecting personal narrative, community narrative, and divine narrative.
Reading Scripture with the Community of Creation
Forrest Inslee & James Amadon
What happens when we read the Bible as a book that is filled, from beginning to end, with references to nature and our relationship to it? Much of the Bible’s content happens outside, but the majority of our reading and interpretive work is done inside. In what ways might this impact our reception and understanding of the text? When we open our eyes to God’s deep love for ALL of this world that God has made, how might that change the ways we relate to the WHOLE community of creation—both human and more than human?
Dr. Forrest Inslee is the Associate Director of Circlewood, and host of the Earthkeepers—a podcast that explores issues at the intersection of faith praxis and creation care. He also served as a graduate professor of International Community Development for 20+ years at Northwest University, and most recently worked at the Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship as the interim Executive Director. He earned a BA, MA, and PhD from Northwestern University in Chicago, and an MA in Theology from Regent College—where he designed contextualized strategies for theological education and leadership training for emerging Turkish churches. He lives in Edmonds with his dogs Nigel and Suzie.
Dr. James Amadon is the Executive Director of Circlewood, a ministry dedicated to “accelerating the greening of faith” through creative media, immersive education, and the development of Circlewood Village, a sustainable learning center on Camano Island. James is ordained in the Covenant Church, and pastored in churches for 15 years before starting Circlewood in 2017. He has a BA from Gordon College, an MDiv from North Park Theological Seminary, and a DMin from Duke Divinity School, where he focused his work on developing the framework for Ecological Christian Leadership (ECL). He lives on Camano Island with his family.
Neighborhood Engagement and Hospitality
Bob Zurinsky
In the evolving post-Christendom context that many of us find ourselves in, there is no longer an assumption that average folks will be actively seeking out a church home, or any particular institutional ‘home,’ for that matter. In response to this reality, many wise counselors have urged us to adopt a posture of pursuing authentic relationship and engagement in our local communities as a primary modality for ministry in this era.
In this discussion group, we will each share our own experiences and insights related to neighborhood engagement and relationship building, so that we can inspire one another with new perspectives, questions, and encouraging stories that might prompt us to experiment with neighborhood connections in a fresh way.
Rev. Dr. Bob Zurinsky was born and raised in Seattle (and then Gig Harbor). His early educational journey was focused primarily on the natural sciences, and he received degrees in biology and biochemistry with the intention of pursuing a career in medicine. But in the transition to graduate school a new vision for human flourishing captured his imagination, and he instead went on to earn master’s and doctoral degrees in constructive theology (at Regent College and Drew University). For the first decade of his professional career, Bob worked in university campus ministries, and for the past 10 years he has served as the senior pastor of Emmanuel Church in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle. Bob is ordained to Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Covenant Church, and he lives with his wife Danni and his baby girl Geneva in the church parsonage, right across the street from ‘work.’
Wonder, Heartbreak, and Hope: How Artists Respond to God’s Work in the World
Shannon Sigler
Artists are often the prophets of our culture. Wondering how artists and creatives might faithfully respond to what is happening in our world? Join us as we explore how creativity can be a powerful theological and social touchpoint in a tumultuous culture.
Shannon serves as the Executive Director for Fuller’s Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts and is a PhD candidate at the University of Manchester (UK). Her art and research center around a Wesleyan paradigm for the arts, as well as explorations supporting the spiritual health of artists. Shannon previously served as the Associate Director for CIVA | Christians in the Visual Arts. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Matt, and son, Elijah.
Running the Race Well:Self-Care Practices for Anxious Times
Laura Terasaki
Do you wonder how to thrive both in life and in ministry? What does the Word say about our flourishing? Come prepared to explore a theology of self-care and tangible ways we can put that into practice in our Cascadian context.
The Rev. Laura Terasaki is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor and the Executive Presbyter of the Northwest Coast Presbytery. She also is the founder of Small Acts Consulting which offers services to nonprofits and religious organizations. She is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University and Fuller Theological Seminary. Laura was raised in the Pacific Northwest and makes her home in Shoreline, WA with her husband and two sons.
Stewarding the Grove
Seth Thomas
As we seek the Common Good of our region, we must plant and steward new Groves of Connection between faith communities and civic organizations. How do our ecumenical and interfaith partnerships support the interconnected work of justice and peacemaking in our region? How do we forge new partnerships as allies and co-laborers?
The Rev. Dr. Seth Thomas is the Minister of Word and Sacrament at St. James Presbyterian Church in Bellingham, WA. A lifelong Cascadian, Seth and his family are deeply rooted in Bellingham, where they appreciate the breadth of God’s natural beauty. Seth has spent much of his ministry career exploring how spiritual practices can integrate with the rhythms of our lives. Seth also serves on the Center for Transforming Engagement staff, working with regional congregations in the Transforming Communities project.
Creating Longer Tables, Tearing Down Political Walls
Rose Madrid Swetman
We live in a time of fragmentation – theologically, politically, and culturally. How does scripture invite us to participate in God’s story of reconciliation of all things – including Government? What common good can we pursue together that transcends political differences?
Dr. Rose Madrid Swetman is the Associate Director of the Center for Transforming Engagement. Rose is a pastor who is the founding co-pastor (currently a Teaching Pastor), along with her husband Rich, of the Practicing Church in Shoreline, WA. She is the founder of Canopy Scholars, a nonprofit that partners with local agencies to provide tutoring and STEM programs to a diverse population of Shoreline Elementary School students, prioritizing students participating in the National School Lunch Program, and is the former Regional Leader in the Northwest Region of Vineyard USA.
Rose obtained her DMin from Bakke Graduate University, focused on Transformational Leadership for the Global City. Rose and Rich have a blended family of 8 children and more than 20 grandchildren.
As a companion event, we are excited to launch the inaugural Reimagining Preaching Conference on May 3rd. This conference will equip experienced, lay, and new preachers to bring the Word to life by diving into preaching inspiration, tools, skills, and practices. Keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm will ground our time together before we break into workshops that reimagine preaching through the lenses of text, soul, and culture.
