Announcing our 2023 Public Life Fellows!
We are excited to announce our inaugural class of Public Life Fellows! At the Center for Christianity and Public Life, our mission is to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. This mission is not one that can be advanced through ideas or data alone. Jesus works in and through people, first and foremost.
Our fellows come from all over the country, from across a number of different Christian traditions, and with varied personal and political backgrounds. What unites them is that each of these fellows has demonstrated a commitment to public service over self-aggrandizement and to Christian faithfulness in public life. Our fellows represent various sectors including academia, journalism, government and elected office, nonprofit and community leadership, philanthropy, and ministry — a microcosm of our American civic life.
The Public Life Fellowship Program is a nine-month intensive, community-based program about the intersection of faith and public life. While it is often necessary to be in the position of translating for and bridging "faith" and "politics," our experience is that it is essential to also have places where people can toggle between and integrate these two conversations with as little friction as possible. Over the next nine months, the Public Life fellows will gather for three in-person retreats featuring teaching around spiritual formation and civic renewal, extended time with experts and leaders in various civic sectors, and fellowship with one another.
If Christians and the general public are to consider anew that Christianity has something essential to offer our politics, it will be because they encounter the difference Jesus makes in the lives of individuals who are of great service to our political life.
We are excited and humbled to have such a remarkable class of fellows to journey with and invest in this year. This program would not be possible without the generous financial contribution of our incredible partners, and we are grateful for their support.
We hope you will take the time get to know our 2023 Fellows class. And keep reading to find out other CCPL news!
Last month, we co-hosted a private convening of American and British thought leaders with Tim Farron, MP and Founder of Faith in Public. The leaders considered an essay by Bonnie Kristian, commissioned for the event by CCPL. That essay has now been published by our friends at Christianity Today. We think there is much for Americans and British Christians to learn from one another, and we will continue to invest in this area.
Our Founding Board Chair, James Catford, led Chapel at Westmont College earlier this month. Watch James speak on making ourselves intentionally available to the movement of God in our faith and practices. (James’ introduction begins at 19:55 in the video.)