The Festival Center
Vision and Misison
The Servant Leadership School
preparing a people on the way
Our Vision
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. From that time Jesus began to proclaim ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ – Matthew 4:16-17
All around us darkness pervades. The gap between rich and poor grows daily, both in our city and across the globe. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression keep people bound up and divided from one another. The earth suffers under the weight of exploitation, crying out for release. Like the people of Israel and the early church, we live in the shadow of empire, an immense web of systems that thwart human flourishing and threaten creation’s future.
And yet the darkness need not overcome us, for a light has dawned in our midst. The living God has been made known among us through the in-breaking of Jesus Christ into this world. And this light illumines a way, a narrow path through the darkness. ‘Turn!’ Jesus proclaims. ‘Take leave of empire within and without! Enter God’s realm in the here and now! Abide in my presence to sustain you on your arduous passage!’
Just as our faith ancestors before us, we are called to begin an exodus from empire, following the pillar of flame set before us to Sabbath and Jubilee. In and of ourselves, it is an impossible call to be sure. Yet all other routes through the darkness lead surely to destruction. So we step out on this journey together in faith, trusting that the Spirit will strengthen us as we go and gather our frail efforts into an audacious act of new creation.
Our Mission
The mission of the Servant Leadership School is to prepare called individuals and communities to come out of empire and into God's realm, abiding in Christ to sustain them on the way.
Our Program
Rooted in the inward/outward tradition of The Church of the Saviour, the Servant Leadership School offers a unique approach to theological education that emphasizes an integrated process of personal and social transformation. Spiritual practices are paired with serious study; intentional relationships across cultural divides come alongside immersion in movements for justice. Located in the diverse Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC, it empowers people from all walks of life for their next step in our shared exodus journey.
Developed in partnership with faith communities and organizations on a similar path, the School’s programming is organized around six themes: call in community, prayer and contemplation, Scripture and the Christian tradition, economic and earth justice, liberation from oppression, and peace and reconciliation. Each term of the School these themes are woven together to trace the movement named in our mission: out of empire within and without, into God’s realm in the here and now, abiding in Christ to sustain us on the way.
With gratitude to Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson for their witness and how it has inspired this vision.