For All Creation: A Day with Matthew Fox, Kelly Sherman-Conroy, and Will Allen

How widening the circles of spiritual & practical care can reconnect us to the Earth and one another.

Date & Time: Saturday, April 18^th, 9am-3pm

Location: Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, 511 Groveland Ave, Minneapolis

The ongoing climate catastrophe isn’t just an ecological crisis—it’s a spiritual crisis, too. If we wish to turn away from the life-degrading systems harming creation and treating humans and non-human kin as disposable, we must reconsider and reimagine the theological worldviews that have driven that history. How might we cultivate regenerative beliefs and practices for inter-belonging to repair our fraying social and ecological fabric? This April, join a landmark gathering at Hennepin Ave. United Methodist Church in downtown Minneapolis, MN, where we will explore how widening the circles of spiritual & practical care can reconnect us to the Earth and to one another for the sake of a more life-sustaining and just future. The gathering will meld body, mind, and heart, offering space to worship, learn, dialogue in small groups, and break bread together. We’re delighted to host three transformative educator-practitioners — Dr. Matthew Fox, Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy, and Will Allen — who will inspire us to reimagine how we might think, pray, and act on our way to the restoration of our shared planetary home. Mary Plaster and Timothy Frantzich will weave their gifts of art and music throughout the day.

Please, bring your fullest self and join this remarkable convening.

**This event will be both in person or you can join a livestream**

Click here to register!

Schedule

• 8:30 – Continental Breakfast
• 9:00 – Welcome
• 9:15 – Matthew Fox: A Christianity for All Creation
• 10:45 – Break
• 11:00 – Kelly Sherman Conroy: The Dakota Way for All Creation
• 12:30 – Catered Lunch
• 1:30 – Will Allen: Growing Food for All Creation
• 3:00 – Closing/Blessing

Dr. Matthew Fox holds a doctorate in spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris and has authored 40 books on spirituality and contemporary culture that have been translated into 60 languages. Fox has devoted 45 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship.  His work is inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and has awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. Among his books are Original Blessing, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, The Reinvention of Work, A Spirituality Named Compassion and Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times. Fox founded the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland, California in 1996 where he was President and professor until 2005.

Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy, a proud member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is a dynamic storyteller, poet, lover of all forms of art, dedicated mom, and scholar. As the first Native woman to earn a PhD in theology within the ELCA, she offers a groundbreaking blend of Indigenous spirituality and Christian teachings, opening paths to healing and reconciliation across cultures. Kelly teaches at Augsburg University and St. Olaf College, guiding students in social justice, spirituality, and racial reparations through an Indigenous lens. As a pastor at All Nations Indian Church, she provides spiritual leadership, creating a safe space for growth and community. She is also a convener of the Twin Cities Interfaith Movement, where she has trained over 400 chaplains since the George Floyd uprisings. A nationally and internationally sought-after speaker, Kelly’s wisdom on healing, justice, and spiritual connection resonates with diverse audiences. Her life and work inspire real, lasting change, empowering others to embrace the sacredness of every person and every part of creation.

Will  Allen is an urban farmer who is transforming the planning, cultivation, production and delivery of organic, healthy food to urban and rural populations.  As the son of a southern sharecropper and former professional basketball player, ex-corporate sales leader and longtime farmer, he is recognized as a national/international leader in urban and rural agriculture and food policy.  After a career in professional basketball and a number of years in corporate sales and marketing at Proctor & Gamble, Will returned to his roots as a farmer in 1993 and purchased the last remaining registered farm in the City of Milwaukee, where he established and functions as farmer, Founder and CEO of the world’s preeminent urban farm and for-profit organization: Will’s Roadside Farms & Markets. In 2008, Allen was a John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellow and “genius grant” winner.  In 2010, Time Magazine named Allen to its list of 100 World’s Most Influential People. Will Allen continues to do his work at Will’s Roadside Farms and Markets in Milwaukee, WI to bring Good Food to people all over the world to help end poverty.  Many people call Will Allen the modern-day George Washington Carver.

Mary Plaster is a world-traveled, trans-disciplinary artist/activist who has blended studio/theatre art and world spirituality/activism for several decades within diverse communities. She employs mostly up-cycled materials to create in an impressive range of scale, most recently at the international Parliament of the World Religions. Mary is founder/artistic director of Duluth All Souls Night (since 2008), a multicultural November arts festival transforming grief.

Timothy Frantzich as been making music in Minnesota for the last four decades, believing that common folk singing together is the most powerful and beautiful sound in the universe. He’s played on the stages of 1st Ave and the Uptown Bar. He’s made vinyl records. He’s traveled to the UK four times with his brother. He has sung on A Prairie Home Companion, and for the last seven years he has been most passionate about community singing. He leads a free weekly song Circle on Saturday mornings in Minneapolis called “Perfection-Free Community singing,” where all are welcome. He writes: “These last months in Minnesota have been so meaningful because we share songs that allow us to collectively grieve, feel vulnerable, express joy, and love on each other. I’m ecstatic to join this gathering to lift our voices together.”