authentic healing
ministry

collective liberation. spiritual renewal.

Nautilus Award, Silver Medal

We are thrilled to announce that A Fire at the Center just received the Silver Nautilus Award! The Nautilus Award exists to "celebrate and honor books that support conscious living and green values, wellness, social change, social justice, and spiritual growth." Thank you to everyone who has made this honor possible.

Good News! Audio Book Release

The audio book is now available through Libro.fm. At just 6 hours and 45 minutes, it takes listeners behind the scenes of the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict, to penitentiaries where prisoners of war have carried the movement onward, to the jail cell where Van Fossan was held for protesting Line 3, to a reimagining of decolonized family constellations, and to moments of collective hope and strength. Click "Learn More" for details.

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A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector

Foreword by Sandra Bercier, Keeper of the Medicine. Written by Karen Van Fossan. When the living waters that crisscrossed the Standing Rock reservation came under threat, minister Karen Van Fossan asked herself what it means, as a descendent of colonialism, to resist her own colonial culture. When another pipeline, Line 3, came to threaten Anishinaabe ways of life, the question became even more resounding...

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Speaking

Bringing a balance of kindness and truth, we are available to speak on topics like collective liberation...

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Spiritual Care

Understanding listening and sharing as sacred practices, we bring a nonjudgmental presence to spiritual care...

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Guided Meditations

For people whose hearts break because of injustice -- and sing because of the beauty of the planet...

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#JusticeForShaneNetterville

A young Indigenous man with roots on Standing Rock reservation, Shane Netterville was shot and killed by Fargo police on July 8, 2022...

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What Do We Do When Our Conscience Goes to Jail?

Accessible guidelines to help communities organize support for activists facing the criminal legal system...

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Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery

The Doctrine of Discovery has been used to justify European and U.S. colonialism for roughly 600 years...

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My Incarcerated Loved Ones

The US incarcerates human beings at a greater rate than any other nation in the world -- "disappearing" millions of human beings and silencing their voices...

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Message of Love for LGBTQ+ North Dakotans

Spiritual and faith leaders in North Dakota share a 3-minute video message of love with LGBTQ+ neighbors...

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Free Leonard Peltier

Call on President Biden to release Leonard Peltier (Anishinaabe-Lakota), who has been a political prisoner of the U.S. for over 4 decades...

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Our Values

Dedicated to the liberation of all people, we seek healing of body, mind, and spirit...

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Our Council

The Authentic Ministry Council is an intercultural group of trusted collaborators who share values...

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Our Director

Rev. Karen Van Fossan is a family matriarch, abolitionist minister, licensed professional counselor, and author...

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  •  8/1/2024 07:00 PM - 8/1/2024 08:30 PM

An Evening with Two Writers from the Dakotas, a literary event featuring Karen Van Fossan, author of Fire at the Center, and John Nelson, author of Bootjack, reading from and discussing their respective books, will take place on August 1 at Thollehaug Commons (302 Maple St.) in Sisseton, beginning at 7pm. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served (including vegan and vegetarian options). More information about the visiting authors...

  •  7/22/2024 07:00 PM - 7/22/2024 09:00 PM
  •   Fargo, ND, USA

A Fargo-Moorhead book group of passionate readers discusses A Fire at the Center with Karen Van Fossan and other special guests.

  •  7/21/2024 11:00 AM - 7/21/2024 12:00 PM
  •   Fargo-Moorhead Unitarian Universalist Church, 121 9th St. S., Fargo, ND

Prison abolition has become a popular topic of conversation and contention. Still, it’s a well-kept secret that the Water Protector movement at Standing Rock has been a living example of what it means to live with genuine abolitionist values. It’s also a well-kept secret that abolition is deeply rooted in the Unitarian Universalist tradition, particularly the Universalist value of love. You are warmly invited to join us for an engaging reflection on the practical and spiritual relevance of abolition in our time.

  •  5/12/2024 12:30 PM - 5/12/2024 01:30 PM
  •   East Shore Unitarian Church, 12700 SE 32nd Street, Bellevue WA

Please mark your calendar. Details coming soon!

  •  4/21/2024 10:00 AM
  •   Unitarian Universalist Church, 4848 Turner St. Rockford, IL

Please mark your calendar. Details coming soon!

  •  3/21/2024 06:00 PM - 3/21/2024 07:30 PM
  • Online Event

World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness that 2.2 billion people live without access to safe water. At UU Ministry for Earth, we are honored to welcome Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs and Rev. Karen Van Fossan into a conversation on this important and sacred day.

  •  2/22/2024 03:30 PM - 2/22/2024 04:45 PM
  •   North Dakota State University, Anishinaabe Hall, Student Union

NDSU's Antiracism Coalition invites regional artists and writers to reflect on the theme "how art speaks back to racism." All are welcome.

  •  2/4/2024 06:30 PM - 2/4/2024 08:00 PM
  •   UU Women's Federation

This month, we are welcoming a special guest, Rev. Karen Van Fossan (she/they), author of her new memoir, A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector .

  •  1/30/2024 09:00 PM
  • Online Event

East Shore Unitarian Church warmly welcomes author Rev. Karen Van Fossan to our book discussion group.

  •  1/21/2024 10:30 AM
  •   Bismarck-Mandan UU Congregation, 818 E. Divide Ave., Bismarck, ND

In a recent memoir dedicated to this congregation, Rev. Karen Van Fossan tells the story of our solidarity with Standing Rock during the NoDAPL movement. On Sunday, January 21, she will join us in person to share reflections on solidarity, water protection, and hope in the face of climate change and colonialism.

  •  12/3/2023 10:00 AM
  •   Unitarian Church of Underwood, 206 Main St. N., Underwood, MN

When the living waters that crisscrossed the Standing Rock reservation came under threat, minister of the nearby Unitarian Universalist congregation Karen Van Fossan asked herself what it means, as a descendent of colonialism, to resist her own colonial culture. When another pipeline, Line 3, came to threaten Anishinaabe ways of life, the question became even more resounding. Join us for this engaging presentation on the practice of being human, despite a colonial culture that would deny full humanity to us all. Book discussion to follow the service. All are welcome!

  •  11/30/2023 06:30 PM
  •   Zandbroz Variety, 420 Broadway N, Fargo, ND

Join us at Zandbroz for a reading, discussion, and signing with Karen Van Fossan, author of 'A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector.' In 'A Fire at the Center,' Van Fossan takes readers behind the scenes of the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict, to penitentiaries where prisoners of war have carried the movement onward, to the jail cell where she was held for protesting Line 3, to a reimagining of decolonized family constellations, and to moments of collective hope and strength. With penetrating insight, she blends memoir, history, and cultural critique...

  •  10/12/2023 08:30 AM - 10/12/2023 09:00 AM
  • Online Event

Each week, UU Ministry for Earth shares an online live meditation session, lasting 30 minutes. Join Rev. Karen Van Fossan on September 21, October 5, and October 12, as she leads earth-loving and spirit-healing meditation sessions. All are welcome! As Dr. Heather Eaton says in Eco-Feminist Theologies in the Age of Climate Crisis: “Inspiration, radical amazement, wonder and gratitude are an antidote to despair, fear, and certitudes that constrict awareness.”

  •  10/5/2023 08:30 AM - 10/5/2023 09:00 AM
  • Online Event

Each week, UU Ministry for Earth shares an online live meditation session, lasting 30 minutes. Join Rev. Karen Van Fossan on September 21, October 5, and October 12, as she leads earth-loving and spirit-healing meditation sessions. All are welcome! As Dr. Heather Eaton says in Eco-Feminist Theologies in the Age of Climate Crisis: “Inspiration, radical amazement, wonder and gratitude are an antidote to despair, fear, and certitudes that constrict awareness.”

  •  10/3/2023 06:00 PM - 10/3/2023 07:30 PM
  • Online Event

All are welcome to join Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance in conversation with Rev. Karen Van Fossan, an abolitionist, minister, professional counselor, street chaplain, and former defendant in the Line 3 pipeline resistance. This special program will also celebrate the release of her new book, A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, & Becoming a Water Protector...

  •  9/21/2023 08:30 AM - 9/21/2023 09:00 AM
  • Online Event

Each week, UU Ministry for Earth shares an online live meditation session, lasting 30 minutes. Join Rev. Karen Van Fossan on September 21, October 5, and October 12, as she leads earth-loving and spirit-healing meditation sessions. All are welcome! As Dr. Heather Eaton says in Eco-Feminist Theologies in the Age of Climate Crisis: “Inspiration, radical amazement, wonder and gratitude are an antidote to despair, fear, and certitudes that constrict awareness.”

  •  8/14/2023 01:00 PM
  •   McCormick Place - Lakeside Center, Chicago, IL, USA

Join Dr. Chez Rumpf, Maya Schenwar, Dr. Peter Huff, and Rev. Karen Van Fossan for this in-person session at the Parliament of the World's Religions. Rooted in punitive theology, the carceral system in the United States causes the very injustices it claims to address, particularly violence against women. Yet the U.S. system of punitive justice has long been a prototype for carceral systems around the world, perpetuating economic inequality, healthcare disparities, racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ+ hatred, and violence against Indigenous peoples. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution even identifies “punishment for a crime” as a legitimate form of slavery.

  •  8/6/2023 11:00 AM
  •   Fargo-Moorhead Unitarian Universalist Church

What might genuine solidarity look like? How might we arrive at mutual liberation? How might the Standing Rock movement of 2016 shape a way forward today? Please join Rev. Karen Van Fossan for a sneak peek of her new book, A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector, due for release this fall. Karen is an abolitionist, ordained UU minister, licensed professional counselor, and former defendant in the Line 3 pipeline resistance. As director of Authentic Ministry in the Fargo-Moorhead area, she serves as a street chaplain committed to relational spirituality and restorative justice. Please visit fmuu.org for a zoom link, or join the gathering in person.

  •  7/8/2023 11:00 AM
  •   1636 32nd Ave N, Fargo, ND, USA

Shane Netterville was shot and killed on July 8, 2022, by Fargo Police Officer Adam O’Brien. All are welcome to join us in a spirit of respect, as we honor Shane’s memory one year later. We will gather at his gravesite (see address above) at 11 AM on the 8th. Then we will share a free community meal at 1 PM at the Fargo Public Library (101 4th St. N, Fargo).

  •  6/21/2023 12:00 AM - 6/26/2023 12:00 AM
  • Online Event

Join Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs, Rev. Adam Lawrence Dyer, and Rev. Karen Van Fossan for this on-demand session at UUA General Assembly. Is colonization guided by religious vision different from colonization for wealth? Europe claimed to bring “Christian civilization” to the world, yet this mission was enabled by the pursuit of riches, particularly through Joint Stock companies that fostered our congregations in New England. What does history reveal about civic religion today?

  •  4/9/2023 10:00 AM
  • Online Event

Easter can be a complicated holiday for Unitarian Universalists. Christian religious holidays often invite deep questions—from what we mean when we say we are UUs to how our shared values can be embodied. Our UU Principles are a key statement of these values. Yet what do they actually mean? Where do they come from? Could we add one? Subtract? Start over? And what do our UU values have to do with the season of Easter? Please join us on April 9, Easter Sunday, as we reflect and deepen together. Guest speaker: Rev. Karen Van Fossan.

  •  4/3/2023 10:00 AM
  •   First Unitarian Society, 900 Mt Curve Ave, Minneapolis, MN, USA

For generations, UUs have been jailed for our conscience in resisting systems of oppression. As our tradition becomes more justice oriented, rates of UU arrests are on the rise. How does our conscience also call us to be there for those whose bodies are on the line? Learn how UUs are building capacity to support and share the load in the face of mass arrest. Find out more about how to organize support for those who are arrested and jailed as a conscientious form of protest. Presenters: Rev. Karen Van Fossan and Dr. Karen Wills. Organizer: UU College of Social Justice.

  •  2/28/2023 09:50 AM - 2/28/2023 11:20 AM
  •   The Centrum, 901 8th Street South, Moorhead, MN, USA

How does compassion for ourselves make genuine justice possible? All are welcome to join us, as Rev. Karen Van Fossan preaches at this special Sending Service, right before Spring Break. We will honor this time of transition, our collective longing for justice, and our hope for the times to come.

  •  2/7/2023 06:00 PM
  • Online Event

For generations, UUs have been jailed for our conscience in resisting systems of oppression. As our tradition becomes more justice oriented, rates of UU arrests are on the rise. How does our conscience also call us to be there for those whose bodies are on the line? Learn how UUs are building capacity to support and share the load in the face of mass arrest. Find out more about how to organize support for those who are arrested and jailed as a conscientious form of protest. Presenters: Rev. Karen Van Fossan, Antoinette Scully, Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs, and friends. Organizers: Rachel Myslivy (Green Sanctuary/Side With Love) and Rev. Deanna Vandiver (UU College of Social Justice).

  •  2/5/2023 09:30 AM - 2/5/2023 10:30 AM
  • Online Event

“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free,” said Fannie Lou Hamer in the twentieth century. These words are no less true in 2022. As a former defendant in the resistance to the Line 3 pipeline, Rev. Karen Van Fossan will reflect on both personal and collective experiences of the carceral system in the U.S., challenging the punitive theology that has gotten us here. She will also share words of courage from contemporary political prisoners and offer hopeful practices toward collective liberation.

  •  1/1/2023 12:00 AM - 12/31/2023 11:55 PM
  •   North Dakota, USA

The traveling art exhibition includes the work of seventy-five 2D, 3D, filmmakers, and live performance artists from around the world. Each artist explores human rights, civil rights, or social justice issues through their respective mediums. In addition to paintings, mixed media works, and photographs, avant-garde animated and experimental films are also featured in the exhibition. The Festival includes artwork by Ryan Netterville, honoring his brother Shane who was shot and killed by Fargo police in July of 2022. It also includes two poems by Karen Van Fossan -- "Solidarity is Not a Favor" and "Prayer for Children at the Border."

  •  12/8/2022 05:00 PM
  •   Fargo City Hall, 225 4th Street North, Fargo, ND, USA

Community members gather at each meeting of the Fargo Police Advisory & Accountability Board (as well as other commissions and boards), calling for justice for Shane Netterville, who was shot and killed by a Fargo Police Officer in July 2022.

  •  11/22/2022 11:30 AM
  •   St John ELCA, 1710 5th St S, Fargo, ND, USA

All are welcome to join the second session of the Town Hall series "Called To Welcome," to learn and discuss what people of faith can do to support and advocate for LGBTQIA+ individuals and their families. Guest Speakers: Pastor Joe Larson, Bishop Craig Schweitzer, Barry Nelson, Nancy Farnham, Kristen Nelson, Katrina Koesterman, Sen. Tim Mathern, Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, Rev. Karen Van Fossan. Organizers: Welcome Connection and ND Human Rights Coalition

  •  11/12/2022 09:00 AM - 11/12/2022 04:00 PM
  •   Indigenous Association, 720 1st Ave N, Fargo, ND

As a Water Protector and former defendant, Karen Van Fossan will be a guest conversation partner with Gina Peltier and Bee Kakac at 1 PM, reflecting together on water protection, Indigenous-led pipeline resistance, and the role of nonviolent action in justice-seeking.

  •  11/5/2022 08:30 AM - 11/5/2022 04:30 PM
  •   Dakota Medical Foundation, 4141 28th Ave S, Fargo, ND

We hope you will join us for an important event, helping people of faith to understand and repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery -- in a positive atmosphere of sharing and connecting across cultures.

A Review of A Fire at the Center

A Review of A Fire at the Center

4/26/2024

By Peter Huff of Compulsive Reader. This remarkable spiritual memoir tells the story of how one woman learned the cost of authenticity in an age of incessant empire. With an appealing blend of gentle grace and formidable soul-force...

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Writing from Experience: Author to Present Book on Experience as a Water Protector

Writing from Experience: Author to Present Book on Experience as a Water Protector

11/30/2023

By Karrie Carlson of Daily Journal Media. Believing in a cause and joining the fight can be two very different things. Activist and author Karen Van Fossan...

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After Pipeline Protests, Fargo Author's New Book Offers a Cultural Critique on Colonialism

After Pipeline Protests, Fargo Author's New Book Offers a Cultural Critique on Colonialism

10/30/2023

By C. S. Hagen of The Forum. Before the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests began in 2016, Karen Van Fossan felt lonely, but she didn’t know why. Before the controversy Van Fossan, a Unitarian Universalist minister living in Fargo, had a longing for an experience of wholeness in the human community.

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Homemade Cross Removed from Grave of Man Killed by Fargo Police

Homemade Cross Removed from Grave of Man Killed by Fargo Police

9/8/2023

By April Baumgarten of The Forum. Ryan Netterville claims a Cass County cemetery caretaker damaged his brother's cross. A county leader denied that, saying the cross violated Springvale Cemetery policy...

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Netterville Family Involved in Dispute with Cemetery over Gravesite Memorial

Netterville Family Involved in Dispute with Cemetery over Gravesite Memorial

8/24/2023

By Hami Arain of KVRR TV. A little over a year after Shane Netterville was killed by a Fargo police officer, a dispute at a Fargo cemetery is keeping his family from honoring him how they want. Ryan Netterville created this memorial to honor his brother, Shane. “I just figured he deserves something nice especially since it just wasn’t like he just died. He was murdered.”...

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A Year After Fatal Police Shooting of Native Man in Fargo, Investigation "Has Life Again"

A Year After Fatal Police Shooting of Native Man in Fargo, Investigation "Has Life Again"

7/9/2023

By C.S. Hagen of The Forum. More than 30 people gathered at Shane Netterville’s grave at Springvale Cemetery on Saturday, June 8, the one-year anniversary of his death. He was fatally shot by a Fargo police officer on June 8, 2022...

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Fargo School Board Meeting Reveals Mixed Reactions Over District's Stance on Transgender Law

Fargo School Board Meeting Reveals Mixed Reactions Over District's Stance on Transgender Law

5/23/2023

By C.S. Hagen of The Forum. Eighteen speakers took to the stand during the Fargo School Board's public comment period on Tuesday, May 23, to voice both support and opposition regarding Superintendent Rupak Gandhi's recent comments regarding the district's stance on a new transgender law...

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Spirituality Books Get Down to Earth...Literally

Spirituality Books Get Down to Earth...Literally

5/19/2023

By Cathy Lynn Grossman of Publisher's Weekly. Spiritual perspectives on climate change, sustainable living, and food insecurity are drawing attention from religion publishers. Upcoming books address the spiritual significance of the food we eat, the water we rely on, and our responses to issues such as the struggles of Indigenous peoples to protect their sacred lands...

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Justice for Shane Netterville

Justice for Shane Netterville

2/13/2023

By Vanessa Jugarap and Karen Van Fossan in the High Plains Reader. “Honestly, with this whole thing and how everything’s gone on, I feel like I died that day, too,” said Ryan Netterville, older brother of Shane Netterville, a 28-year-old Indigenous man who was shot and killed by Fargo Police Officer Adam O’Brien last summer. Ryan created a special tribute piece, which now joins the North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival circuit, to honor his brother and keep a spotlight on the July 8, 2022 shooting...

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Justice for Shane

Justice for Shane

1/1/2023

By Ryan Netterville with Karen Van Fossan in the Northern Mirror. At age 28, Shane Netterville was shot and killed by a Fargo Police Officer, just a few weeks before his birthday. Following the shooting this past summer, his brother Ryan Netterville created this artwork in Shane’s honor...

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Two Approaches to Fighting Climate Change

Two Approaches to Fighting Climate Change

12/7/2022

By Elaine McArdle of UU World. Rattler is an Oglala Lakota Tribal member who spent three years in federal prison for charges related to protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline, and he wants you to know one thing: he would go back to prison in a heartbeat. “It was worth it because it was the right thing to do,” said Rattler...

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15th Century Blessing for Colonization to be Focus of Fargo Conference

15th Century Blessing for Colonization to be Focus of Fargo Conference

11/4/2022

By C.S. Hagen of The Forum. "A more than 500-year-old declaration that paved the way for widespread colonization outside Europe will be the center of a daylong conference in Fargo..."

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New Americans Have the Right to Vote

New Americans Have the Right to Vote

10/31/2022

By Karen Van Fossan in The Forum. "I signed up to be an election judge this year, after learning that election workers in 2020 had turned away New Americans as well as U.S.-born citizens who they believed to be New Americans..."

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These testimonials focus on our director's work. As we grow, we will share more about our mutual work.

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Reach out to book speaking engagements, public readings, and spiritual direction. Thank you!