Join us on Thursday, May 18, 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT, for a presentation entitled “From Good Intentions to Faithful Change: The Challenge is Real” by author/pastor Rev. Lee Roorda Schott.

Overview: You’ve felt God’s call to put your faith into action. You want to address the real issues that affect real people in your community. You’ve learned all the right principles. You may even have a team of people who are ready to make a difference. But then you butt up against the wall of HOW! It’s a challenge we’re going to face if we take the work of justice and compassion seriously. Our speaker, an Iowa pastor who has served in prison and in the suburbs, will share insights from her book, Foolish Church: Messy, Raw, Real, and Making Room, along with the challenges of putting good, just intentions into action.

About the speaker: Rev. Lee Roorda Schott (she/her) is a white, cis-het United Methodist minister, author, mom, wife, and friend. She currently serves as pastor at Valley United Methodist Church in West Des Moines, Iowa, following a legal career and an unexpected call to ministry at the age of nearly 40. Lee served for nine years as pastor of a church inside the walls of the Iowa women’s prison. That work planted in her a vision of the church outside the prison embracing persons right next door who face challenges like the ones that characterize persons we incarcerate: addiction, mental illness, sexual assault, and domestic violence. Her writing, speaking, and advocacy on behalf of those who are marginalized have grown out of that experience.  Lee lives in West Des Moines with her husband and their springer spaniel, Francis.