NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — SOULARIZE presents a spectrum of speakers and creatives during its live event at Fullerton First United Methodist Church in Fullerton, CA, October 21-23. Soularize also invites the public to its Sacred Celebration Concert performed by award-winning Nashville-based band HuDost at the conclusion of the three-day event, on Saturday, 5:00 p.m.

The theme of this year’s 20th Anniversary event is Humane Spirituality: spiritual innovators from all over the globe are currently connecting, collaborating, learning and unleashing their creativity online; speakers will present both remotely and in Fullerton during Soularize LIVE.

“Now more than ever, it is a critical time for people to gather with real purpose. A time to bring people of different backgrounds together to discuss the important issues of the day in terms of Humane Spirituality.  We call these people visionaries and changemakers because they have seen this coming. And they are ready to meet the moment”, said Soularize founder, Spencer Burke.

The live three-day interfaith collaboration features a diverse array of expert speakers, panels, and 25 workshops. In Fullerton there are five main sessions that include music, arts and intellectual dialogue on the changing landscape of faith based communities.  All sessions and workshops are streamed for virtual participants around the world. All speaker bios and session information can be found on the event website Soularize.Live.

Some of the speakers and topics include:

• Brian McLaren, top selling faith-based author, reflecting on this year’s theme “Humane Spirituality” and participating in a panel discussion, “Economics & Humane Spirituality.”
• Akuyoe Graham, an award-winning actor and activist working with the Los Angeles Juvenile system to help incarcerated and underserved children discover their true identities, will present Unmasking the Authentic Voice, a portion of her one-woman play, and facilitate a story-writing workshop.
• Becca Stevens, founder of Thistle Farms, a Nashville-based organization that restores healing and hope for women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction, provides insights on how “Creativity in Faith Deepens and Frees Us.”
• Charles Lee, founder and CEO of Ideation, a brand agency that consults with Fortune 50 companies to create impact at the intersection of purpose and profit, speaks on “Leading Innovation: Framing the Work, Developing a Process & Integrating Forward.”
• Pamela Wilhelms, founder and curator of The Soul of the Next Economy, and Rosa Lee Harden, producer at Faith & Finance, participated in a panel discussion, “Economics & Humane Spirituality.” 
• Raj Patel, journalist, activist and co-director of the new award-winning independent documentary, The Ants and the Grasshopper, facilitates a discussion on the impact of climate change through the eyes of a Malawian changemaking farmer. 
• Anne Evans, Innovators for the Public – Leadership Group, and Mentor Dida, Wellbeing Social Entrepreneur, both from Ashoka, an international Social Good Organization (SGO) leader, facilitate a discussion on how to maximize one’s impact as a faith-inspired changemaker.
• Daniel Kamanga, executive director, Africa Leadership Transformation (ALT) Foundation South Africa, presents “Leadership and Forgiveness” pulling on his experience from Rwanda.
• Gregory Michael Hernandez, a visual artist with a history of creating work in response to, and often within, landscape and architecture, shares his recent project for the 20th anniversary of 9/11 where he filmed his dynamic installation and performance in the California desert.
• Music is provided by award-winning Nashville-based band HuDost. The duo also presents a workshop, “Songwriting as Advocacy.”

This year, Soularize workshop leaders have pre-recorded their presentations and they’re posted now, so that participants can view the content prior to the scheduled live event workshop. The goal is to give participants a more meaningful conversation with the presenters during the live workshops. Additionally, awards for up to $10K  for start-up concepts will be announced during the live event.

Onsite tickets can be purchased for $199. A network pass is available now for $19.95: participants engage with the online community and access the live event virtually. The online app is facilitated on a hybrid platform provided by Whova. 

About Spencer Burke and Soularize:
Spencer Burke is known as one of the early adopters of the Emerging Church, a Progressive Christian movement in the early 2000s, who launched Soularize in 2001, a learning party for spiritual innovators and thought leaders. Author of several books including A Heretic’s Guide to Eternity and Making Sense of Church, Burke is an ordained Disciples of Christ Minister, served as the Minister of Innovation and New Church Development with the Pacific Southwest Region, and currently leads Innovation Labs at Fullerton First Methodist Church while running his consulting company, Lean Faith – helping churches launch love into action. Spencer lives with his wife and often hosts dinners with his two grown children in Newport Beach, CA.

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Contact:
Shayna Metzner
Soularize
310-567-4426
[email protected]

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