THE PAX FELLOWSHIP
An eight-month fellowship for Christians of color ages 25-45 that includes an in-person retreat, 15 virtual sessions of group facilitation, spiritual direction, contemplative activism, and cultural identity formation for a world made whole.
At PAX, we believe people were made for peace, not simply the absence of conflict, but the presence of dignity, healing, belonging, and wholeness. In a world shaped by injustice, isolation, political divide, and cultural fragmentation, we create sacred spaces for the interior work necessary to sustain those pursuing justice and collective flourishing.
Through contemplative activism, cultural identity formation, creative arts, and intentional community, we nurture the spiritual, creative, and communal foundations required for long-lasting social change, because peace is not passive, and a world made whole is sustained by those embodying liberating love.
THE PAX FELLOWSHIP ADDRESSES:
• Cognitive justice for communal flourishing
• A deepened understanding of our decolonized God
• Contemplation as essential to one's faith journey
• How collectivist cultures practice an embodied faith
• The spiritual roots of activism
• Fusing intellect with expression
• Emotional healthy spirituality as a key leadership trait
• Integral role of cultural identity for the common good
• Intersectional approach to scripture
• The harm and repair of internalized white supremacy
The PAX Fellowship
In-Person Retreat
The Fellowship includes an in-person retreat August 28-30 in Scottsdale, AZ. Canadian Fellows: August 30 in GTA.
15 Virtual Sessions
Contemplation, instruction, and connection for two hours twice monthly at 4PM PST; September 2026 to April 2027.
2 Spiritual Direction Sessions
Attend one-on-one contemplative sessions for mental health and spiritual life from a spiritual director of Color.
PAX Showcase
Contribute within your cohort to the culminating showcase for the PAX community in April 2027.
Monthly Keynotes
Learn from leading voices on contemplative activism and cultural identity.
Group Facilitation
Learn from expert facilitators in your area of focus to further your craft and call.
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“PAX provides a space to learn, grow, and be in community with like-minded Christians of color. There is no other space like it! We share our vision, desolations, and Gospel-inspired dreams for the world based on our unique lived experiences, and we do so in an environment that wants to see the divine work assigned to each of our souls come to fruition and nurture the process. PAX is that soil.”
—Jessica Sun
Activist and Organizer
PAX Alumni | 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“In the PAX Fellowship, the people that entered the poetry cohort with me were brave and vulnerable, they used their writing to marry justice, to marry resistance, and to marry advocacy into their creativity.”
— Jean Carlo Martinez
Paralegal for Undocumented
Youth
PAX Alumni | 2024-2025 Fellow
| 2025-2026 Fellow -
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“Everything I was learning in my cohort and having the safe space has helped me have the confidence and boldness to share more about more own journey, family, and how I am making peace and advocating for justice in my personal sphere. My creative process for writing and creating is so much more grounded because I have rhythms of rest & reflection and training in contemplative activism.”
—Christine Saffold
Fin-Tech Leader
PAX Alumni | 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“During my time in the PAX Fellowship I have felt safe, seen, and cared for. It’s been encouraging to meet with my amazing cohort and listen to our various experiences, fears, and wonders of the world we live in and what the Lord longs for us. Having access to various tools and resources holds such a great value. I’m grateful for the leadership, wisdom, and opportunity to walk alongside other Christians in this Fellowship!”
— Raichel Franklin
University Chaplain
PAX Alumni | 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“PAX has helped solidify that justice work is Kingdom work, and because it is, I cannot do this work alone. As I continue to partner and co-create with God through contemplative practices, I am continually met with ways to play a role in creating a more just and loving world.”
— Sarita Smith
Poet
PAX Alumni | 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“PAX is so foundational in my true unashamed journey partnering my creativity and my walk with Christ. My creativity hasn’t been at a greater high.”
— Mallory Ferguson
Photographer and Creative
PAX Alumni | 2023-2024 Fellow -
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“PAX has been the community I’ve been hoping for all my life. To have a space where I’m fully seen and fully accepted, to be around others who similarly share this passion for justice and writing while being formed by faith and contemplation, to be connected with mentors who give such wise guidance, the entire experience is invaluable. I have made lifelong friends and cannot wait to see what my cohort does with their many talents in the future!”
— Kristin T. Lee
Doctor and Author
PAX Alumni | 2023-2024 Fellow
| 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“The PAX Fellowship is the community I've always craved, but didn't fully realize I needed. Growing alongside other people of color that have similar experiences and interests enriched my life immeasurably. I've found a community of people that are willing to walk alongside my hurts and triumphs.”
— Joylanda Jameson
Higher Education
Administrative Coordinator
PAX Alumni | 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“PAX has given me space to breathe and actually take time to imagine and dream. Not only have I grown in my creative skills but I’ve experienced a deep sense of community and family who truly got me, where I could come just as I was and bring the fullness of myself into our space and know that I would be welcomed and loved. It has changed my imagination for what belonging can be and look like in future spaces and how I want to build that room for others.”
— Rebecca Catoe
University Chaplain
PAX Alumni | 2023-2024 Fellow -
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“I've never felt like I belonged so deeply... To be connected by Jesus, creativity, faith & justice was just incredible and inspiring. I loved learning from people who I know lived out being spiritually grounded and working from a place of belovedness instead of striving. I left feeling encouraged in the work I want to do, inspired to trust God for more, and to courageously live out who God has genuinely created me to be. I also left with a community of peers to do this with.”
— Chealsia Smedley
University Chaplain
PAX Alumni | 2023-2024 Fellow -
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“The fellowship has influenced both my personal and spiritual life in that it increased my understanding and approach to pursuing social justice and peace in my everyday life and finding ways to enhance and maintain peace through active resting.”
— Nathalie Alcime
Educator
PAX Alumni | 2023-2024 Fellow
| 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“Because of The PAX Fellowship, I've caught momentum in my writing journey, gotten in touch with an editor, and begun interviewing clergy women about how they've overcome church hurt. Being a part of the Writing as Social Impact cohort has helped me lean into a journalistic style of writing, and write for a broader audience. I deeply appreciate how this group has gathered around the intersection of faith, justice, word, and deed.”
— Christine Teng-Henson
Ministry Leader
PAX Alumni | 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“I have been able to connect in ways that feel encouraging and safe. BIPOC communities are hard to come by these days, and when they are available I am usually the one hosting them. So this space felt like an incredibly restful place for me to come and receive and not have to lead or give of myself. The investment in the PAX Fellowship has impacted my life-long journey as a writer, it is a short amount of time with life-long payoff.”
— Victoria Gonzalez
University Chaplain
PAX Alumni | 2024-2025 Fellow -
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“It is impossible for you to not be affected by this fellowship. Whether it's becoming more contemplative, more active for causes bigger than oneself, or growing in a craft that you would like to use to spread the Good News, there is growing for you to do here. There is a peacemaker inside of you who needs iron sharpening iron.”
— Desiree Smith
Educator
PAX Alumni | 2023-2024 Fellow
| 2024-2025 Fellow
COHORTS
Click image to learn more about each cohort and apply!
Note: please submit one application to one cohort for the 2026-2027 PAX Fellowship Program. Multiple applications submitted by one applicant to one or multiple cohorts will result in the delay of your application and potential application rejection.
WHAT TO EXPECT
• Retreat includes lodging, meals, materials, worship by Common Hymnal, keynotes, and cohort breakouts
• Devotional Workbook with asynchronous practices and corresponding monthly keynotes by leading voices
• Engagement on virtual platforms
• Learn alongside Christians of color from varying geopolitical, cultural, and theological backgrounds
• Unity, not uniformity
• A space of high curiosity, high respect
• Commitment to empathy and bridge-building
• Alumni opportunities post-Fellowship
• Contribute to a Cumulative Project featured at the PAX Showcase
• Connection & pitching opportunities to Publishing Professionals
• An ecumenical space centered on the contemplative practices of Jesus
• Thoughtful dialogue and nuance in discussion
• A zero tolerance policy for harassment, bullying, and violence
• Welcome and respect of all image bearers: without discrimination based on class, gender, or orientation
VALUES
Hospitality and Belonging
PAX draws from Franciscan spirituality rooted in radical hospitality for all God’s image bearers. We honor each person’s God-given uniqueness, background, story, and identity, believing they can encounter the Divine through the created world, others, and experiences. We strive to uplift voices from diverse perspectives through embodied faith expressed under the tent of belonging. We welcome, accept, and affirm every individual’s worth as a reflection of God’s love made plain in creation. Our Franciscan way embraces the primacy of Christ and the richness of Christian faith expressed through incarnational presence. In our effort to pursue justice, peace, and care for all creation, we reject supremacy that harms image bearers or God’s beloved world.
Wonder and Wisdom
We understand that with diversity comes disagreement and tension. Therefore we value thoughtful dialogue and embrace tension, as these are key components of contemplative Christianity. We challenge PAX Fellows to wonder with the topics presented in the PAX Fellowship, and encourage thoughtful prayer and reflection. Our aim is to support Fellows in a deeper relationship with the Divine and others. Fellows are expected to interact constructively with those holding different denominational and theological perspectives. We recognize the difference between healthy disagreement and harmful behavior, therefore we do not allow bullying, harassment, hatred, or violence.
Contemplation and Action
We are contemplative activists. Our practice holds silence and stillness as sacred tools for transformation; personally and collectively. We draw from Black and Brown Christian faith traditions that have long practiced deep reflection, communal prayer, and creative resistance first practiced by the Desert Mothers and Fathers of North Africa and later embodied by the Civil Rights Movement. Contemplation for us is not withdrawal from the world, but a way of grounding our action in love, justice, and presence. Rather than emptying our minds, we fill our mind and heart with the knowledge and presence of Christ in our contemplative practice.
TUITION TIERS
Tuition per fellow is $2,000. While this figure reflects the true cost of architecting the fellowship, we believe that the opportunity for mentorship and instruction belongs to all Christians of color and are committed to reducing financial barriers to participation. That’s why we’re offering tiered tuition with scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $1,200, affording you the agency to choose tuition that best aligns with your current financial circumstance. These tuition tiers are made possible by the generosity of donors and foundations.
Tier 1: $800
2 payments of $400
(scholarship amount: $1200)
If your financial picture is such that paying more would not be feasible, please select this tuition tier and know that we welcome you with open arms.
Tier 2: $900
2 payments of $450
(scholarship amount: $1100)
Suggested dues for the PAX Fellowship
Tier 3: $1000
2 payments of $500
(scholarship amount: $1000)
If your season allows you to comfortably pay this amount, you'll help offset the lower tier for those for whom tuition represents a greater barrier to access.
Tier 4: $800
3 payments at $200, $300, and $300
(scholarship amount: $1200)
If your financial picture is such that paying more would not be feasible and you’d like a three part-payment plan, please select this tuition tier and know that we welcome you with open arms.
FINANCIAL AID
If tuition continues to be a barrier beyond the scholarship tiers and a PAX provided sponsorship letter, you may answer the financial aid question in the application to be considered for additional aid toward Tier 1 or Tier 4 tuition.
Financial aid requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and awarded as funds are available. You will be notified via email on the status of your financial aid request.
FELLOWSHIP FAQ
Here are the most frequently asked questions about The PAX Fellowship.
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The PAX Fellowship is for you if you…
identify as a Christian of color, are between the ages of 25-45, and practice a non-syncretic* expression of Christianity
can commit to attending the in-person PAX Fellowship Retreat in August 2026 located in Scottsdale, AZ (U.S. Fellows) or GTA (Canadian Fellows).
are able to attend and engage in 15 sessions taking place September 2026 to April 2027
desire to be with Christians of different theological and denominational backgrounds with the shared values of justice, peace, and contemplation
maintain your sense of self in spaces with people of differing perspectives
engage in civil discourse and disagreement respectfully
wish to learn practical ways of Christian contemplation and apply these principles into your everyday life
seek opportunities to deepen your relationship with God
are committed to upholding the PAX values statement for the entirety of your engagement with our community and programming
*We define non-syncretic expression of Christianity as an expression of Christianity that does not blend, incorporate, or combine elements of other religions or belief systems, and is exclusively Christian in nature.
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Each cohort will vary in size, but each cohort will have a minimum of 5 people and a maximum of 15 people.
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The PAX Fellowship kicks off with an in-person retreat in Scottsdale, AZ (U.S. Fellows) and in the Greater Toronto Area (Canadian Fellows)
The PAX Fellowship Connection + Contemplation Retreat is the time to meet in-person with your Cohort and Facilitator (U.S. retreat only), engaging in fellowship, instruction, worship, and community. You will also be able to connect + grow with other PAX Fellows and leaders in PAX community.
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Please reach out at fellowship@madeforpax.org and the PAX Team will get back to you as quick as we can!
