About

Amistad Way

Honoring ancestors and learning from the past, we seek the way forward in the work of repair, reclamation, reparation, and reconciliation

Emblem with hands holding a bird surrounded by a circle of alternating yellow and blue human figures, with the text Community Repair below.

Altar with portraits of enslaved ancestors, candles, old books, chains, and a cross

Repairing Community, Remembering Together

Amistad Way weaves spirituality and ancestral wisdom with restorative practices so communities can address harm, reclaim power, and nurture belonging. We partner with neighbors, organizations, and coalitions to seed durable structures for mutual care.

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Our Stewards

A set of handcrafted clay vessels of varying sizes and earth tones—umber, terracotta, and pale sand—each one visibly repaired with fine, contrasting seams of metal and dyed fiber, placed along a narrow, dark walnut shelf. Behind them, a smooth plaster wall in soft matte taupe provides a calm backdrop. Gentle side lighting from an unseen floor lamp with a linen shade creates delicate highlights on the vessels’ curves and casts understated, overlapping shadows along the wall. Photographed at close range with a shallow depth of field, the foremost vessel is in sharp focus while the others blur progressively, suggesting continuity across generations. The mood is intimate, refined, and quietly hopeful, rendered in photographic realism with a minimalist, gallery-like aesthetic that honors reclamation and care.

Elizabeth Gordon, MDiv, PhD

Creates ways of community repair and reclamation, bringing wisdom as an ordained minister working across races, generations and religions and as a former attorney. Centers those who have been denied justice and accountability.

An intricately woven circular rug made from reclaimed fabrics in deep indigo, warm ochre, and soft cream, its textures subtly varied and tactile. The rug rests at the center of a polished concrete floor in a minimalist community space, surrounded by low wooden benches and neatly stacked hand-carved bowls. Late afternoon natural light pours through large unseen windows, washing the scene in a gentle golden glow and casting soft, elongated shadows. Shot at eye level with a slightly wide angle, the composition centers the rug while keeping the room in crisp focus. The mood is contemplative and dignified, photographic realism with a clean, sophisticated aesthetic that quietly suggests gathering, reflection, and shared repair without showing any people.

Michael Gordon

Brings a lifetime of experience as a person of faith, a veteran, an electrician, and a business owner. Committed to honoring ancestral wisdom, supporting community healing, and encouraging the voices of those on the margins.

Barbara Bennett, PhD

Hosts restorative circles and facilitates workshops in spiritual practices that integrate joy and sorrow, using wisdom from her spiritual journey with grief and decades of working with children and families as a psychologist and educator.

Craig Rennebohm, DMin

Advocates for ways to provide companionship in our neighborhoods and organizations, with wisdom gained from a quarter century of working as a chaplain with people struggling with mental illness on the streets of Seattle .

A carefully curated altar-like arrangement on a low, dark stone slab: a smooth river rock etched with a subtle spiral motif, a small bowl of ancestral seeds, a beeswax candle half-burned with delicate drips, and a simple brass bell with a gently tarnished patina. Surrounding them are a few sprigs of dried herbs and a folded indigo-dyed cloth. The background is a shadowed corner of a quiet room with plaster walls, illuminated by the soft, flickering light of the candle and a trace of cool twilight seeping in from an unseen window. Shot in close-up with a shallow depth of field, the main objects are sharply defined while the periphery falls into a gentle blur. The photographic realism and restrained palette create a hushed, sacred atmosphere that honors diverse wisdom traditions and the subtle work of healing.

An old, leather-bound journal lying open on a subtly textured flax-colored linen cloth, its pages filled with layered, handwritten notes in different inks and scripts, interspersed with pressed leaves and bits of woven thread. The journal is flanked by a fountain pen with a worn brass nib and a small carved wooden box slightly ajar, revealing folded paper inside. Warm, directional light from a nearby desk lamp pools onto the pages, leaving the surrounding area in soft shadow, emphasizing the sense of depth and history. Shot from above in a carefully balanced composition, everything is in crisp focus. The photographic realism and muted color palette convey a sophisticated, reflective atmosphere, suggesting intergenerational wisdom, memory, and the quiet work of healing stories over time.