About Circle of the BelovedCircle of the Beloved is a program of young adult spiritual formation. Our deepest commitment is building kinship across all lines of difference, in response to the radical call of Jesus to love one another as Christ loved us.
Four young adults (ages 21-29) live together in Liberty House in North Minneapolis. Together, the fellows will build a rule of life, deciding what they commit to one another. The fellows will meet twice a month with a chaplain for spiritual direction, and will together discern what other formation opportunities they are called to experience. We invite you to join with us as you discern how you might spend a year serving others and living in intentional community. In the Fall of 2016, The Episcopal Church in Minnesota, together with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and community organizers and neighbors, launched Circle of the Beloved: the Minnesota chapter of the Episcopal Service Corps. At Circle, we live together in an intentional Christian community that acknowledges and deepens kinship across many lines of difference. In community, we live out these values: |
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Kinship
Instead of operating from a benefactor paradigm of “us” helping “them”, we acknowledge our innate kinship, where all sides give and receive based on our mutual gifts and needs. |
Rule of Life
We craft a rule of life together that encourages holy listening and prayer, simplicity, a ministry of presence, and active justice-making in our neighborhoods. |
Reconciliation
We embark on a journey of racial, socioeconomic, and spiritual reconciliation, grounded in following the way of Jesus. |
Our Leadership Team
Chair, Bishop Craig Loya
Bishop Loya served as Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska from 2013-2020, and was the Canon to the Ordinary in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas from 2009-2013. He received his Master of Divinity from Yale University and a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in 2002. The Very Rev. Craig Loya was elected during the 162nd convention of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota (ECMN), held in St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, MN on January 25th, 2020. Joining Bishop Loya in Minnesota are his wife, Melissa, and their two children, Mari and Asa.
Vice-Chair, Cecelia Caspram
Cecelia Caspram (she/her) has been present within various of the concentric circles around Circle of the Beloved since it first began. She was grateful to be invited to join the board in 2022, as it resonated with her as an opportunity aligned with so much of who she is. Ever since studying for her English degree at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, where she lived within two monasteries for years, she has lived, and worked, around and within monastic and other forms of intentional communities. She holds a Master’s in Social Work from UW-Milwaukee and has found a vocation as a professional fundraiser, helping mission-based movements fuel themselves with the funding they need. She finds gardening to be both a nourishing, generative practice and a meaningful metaphor for most things in life. She lives with her husband, Arun, in Minneapolis.
Board Member, the Rev. Jayan Koshy
Greetings, dear friends, I’m Jayan (he/him pronouns)! I’m a seminarian training for the priesthood, and I’m thrilled to serve as one of Transfiguration’s co-planters and equally excited to lead Circle fellows through spiritual formation this year. I grew up in a church riddled with racism & homophobia. I fled that painful Christianity in my teens. But in time, God led me to find wholeness in that Anglican tradition that had nourished my Indian ancestors. This journey drives my desire to create spaces where we can experience Jesus’ liberating love and heal from the wounds of racism. I live in St. Paul with my husband, Benji, and our Goldendoodle puppy, Granger. In my spare time, I enjoy baking, singing, and watching murder mysteries.
Treasurer, Kathy Schweikart
Kathy is a lifelong Episcopalian and a member of St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Minneapolis. She recently retired from General Mills where she spent most of her career in a variety of finance roles. In addition to volunteering Kathy enjoys reading, walking her dog, visiting with family and friends, and supporting her children with their various endeavors.
Liberty House Liaison, The Rev. John Bellaimey
John has recently retired as the chaplain for the students at Breck School so he can travel and enjoy time with his family. John is not officially a board member (yet) and we are so blessed to have him sharing his energy, repair knowledge, and organize many helping hands in and around Liberty House!
Past Vice-Chair, The Rev. Susan Moss
Susan is a senior priest in ECMN and founding Circle Board member and its immediate past chair. "I am drawn to give my best efforts to promote kinship across lines of difference, and to support this opportunity for young adults to engage in a year of service and intentional community, with time to explore their God given gifts, sense of call and purpose to better guide their future vocational decisions."
Founder and Past Vice-Chair, The Rev. Craig Lemming
Craig Lemming has served as the founding Director, Chaplain, Board Member, and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Circle of the Beloved. Craig holds a Master of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, a Master of Music degree from Indiana University, and is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Trinity College, University of Toronto. Craig is delighted to serve as the Associate Rector of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in St. Paul, and on the Episcopal Church in Minnesota’s diocesan Racial Justice and Healing Commission. He is fascinated by Decoloniality, Intersectionality, Musicology, Zimbabwe, and Orthodox Iconography, and is passionate about equipping and empowering young leaders to be decolonial, antiracist followers of Jesus.
“Stepping back and connecting reconciliation to God’s story also helps us move away from dramatic visions of fixing the world, as if our job were to provide solutions to problems outside us. If Christians believe anything, it is that no one—including ourselves and the church—is separate from the brokenness as an untainted solution to the problems of our world. The new creation contends with the old. The dividing line between good and evil runs straight through each one of us. So the journey of reconciliation begins with a transformation of the human person.”
― Chris Rice, Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing
