Cole Parke-West studied theology at Texas Lutheran University, earned their Master’s in Conflict Transformation at Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice & Peacebuilding, and has been working at the intersections of faith, gender, and sexuality as an activist, organizer, and scholar for nearly 20 years. Most recently, Cole served as the senior organizer at Carolina Jews for Justice, a grassroots organization working to build a powerful progressive Jewish justice movement in the South. Prior to joining CJJ, they worked as a research analyst at Political Research Associates, a social justice think tank dedicated to understanding and interrupting right-wing extremism, including white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, and antisemitism. Cole also serves on the Board of Soulforce, an LGBTQ justice organization working to “sabotage” Christian supremacy for the sake of collective liberation, and has organized and collaborated with many groups, including Showing Up for Racial Justice, Southerners On New Ground, Never Again, and the Catalyst Project. Whether they’re facilitating workshops on white supremacy and antisemitism, live tweeting about their adventures as a “queer spy” in right-wing Christian spaces, or digging up weeds at Farm Church, Cole consistently strives to do so with deep compassion, abundant joy, and a relentless commitment to justice.
Ben Johnston-Krase is one of the organizing pastors of Farm Church in Durham, NC, a congregation that meets on a farm and leverages the resources of that farm to address food security by honoring people with locally grown organic food. A year and a half into Farm Church’s story, Ben was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, and ultimately stepped back from his role as pastor. He remains passionate about the theological underpinnings that motivate people and congregations to move outside of their comfort zones and take risks, not for their own sake, but for the sake of those who are vulnerable and marginalized in our communities. Prior to starting Farm Church, he served as a pastor of churches in Texas and Wisconsin, and in a past life he taught middle school language arts. He and his three daughters live on a small farm just north of Durham, where Ben continues to engage work with faith communities, tends gardens and chickens, and writes about theology, congregational vitality, and life with cancer.
