Beloved Community Pilgrimages
2024-25: Puentes Collective is a community initiative founded on the principles spiritual healing and sustenance, specifically for and by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Primarily composed of Latine Millennials and younger generations, the collective embraces the concept of liminality—being “neither from here nor there"—as a source of strength and blessing rather than a threat. Initially established in Southern California, Puentes Collective has grown to include members across the United States, including Texas, Washington D.C., and North Carolina. The majority of in-person retreats are held in Los Angeles County, with additional retreats in Austin, Texas, and Washington D.C. The project aims to continue its activities in these three areas, providing virtual connectivity for all workshops.
Puentes Collective’s workshops and retreats are designed to create safe community spaces for reclaiming, decolonization, embodied practices, and testimonios (testimonies). These spaces promote personal transparency, authenticity, and freedom, allowing individuals to participate as they choose not based on what they do for a living but on who they are. The collective fosters a sense of belonging, comfort, and hospitality within the community.
Reclaiming focuses on recovering generational and ethnic identity, acknowledging the full image of God without suppressing cultural aspects. Decolonization involves recognizing and dismantling colonial systems and ideologies that have historically impacted communities of color. Embodied practices are physical expressions that promote healing beyond the individual, connecting members to their ancestors and the community. Testimonies are shared personal and collective stories of resilience, which serve as inspiration and a source of collective strength.
Born in Ensenada, Mexico, and raised in Colima, Vanessa later migrated to Orange County, California, where she was reunited with her family. Her matriarchal upbringing shaped her passion for community transformation and work at the intersection of faith and justice. Since 2008, she has organized for immigrant rights, worker rights, and civic engagement, incorporating indigenous healing practices for young BIPOC. She is the co-founder and director of Puentes Collective, which creates spaces for healing and transformation for young BIPOC engaged in faith and justice across the U.S.
Congregational and Community grants provide support for urban pastors, churches, faith-based community organizations, and theological institutions to share resources, ideas, and practices for life-giving ministry in cities across North America. Typically, we invite those who have not previously had access to resources or grant funding.
Affinity Working Groups (AWG) provide time and space for a small group of ministry practitioners to journey with each other over time, exploring a focused question (or set of questions) and engaging in action and reflection cycles. The background for this is a recognition that ministry leaders are often so busy that they have little time or structure to intentionally reflect on and learn from their practice. We anticipate this to be a hopeful, life-giving, and generative process that encourages growth and ministry sustainability. This group could be a transformative experience for ministry leaders individually and as a community. Each year, the HUB team facilitates groups around particular topics.