Gathering

Trinity Education Foundation is excited to announce the launch of The Trinity Conversation: a public forum exploring calling, community, and care for creation!

Our inaugural Conversation features Bjørn Peterson, PhD, sharing reflections on “Calling and Place.” Dr. Peterson currently serves as the co-executive director of Holden Village in Chelan, WA.

We will gather on Saturday, May 16th, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Luther’s Table in Renton, WA.

Heavy hors d'oeuvres and refreshments provided.

Share our main flyer with your friends!

Stories

In addition to Dr. Peterson’s talk, we will hear brief stories from a trio of non-profit organizations living out their calling by realzing mission and serving their communities with passion.

Deacon Bobbi Cyr (Luther's Table), mission developer and former Trinity scholar will share about Luther’s Table’s intentional spirit of inclusive welcome for its neighbors and community in Renton.
Dr. Bjørn Peterson (Holden Village), co-executive director, will share about how Holden's pivot as it lives out its mission in new ways and places outside of the village.
Ryan Ingersoll (Trinity Education Foundation), executive director, and Ashley Crawford, current Trinity Fellow and student at Whitworth University, will share about Trinity's work with college students through its scholarships, innovative coaching, and transformational vocational formation program.

Get Your Ticket

Trinity Education Foundation is covering the expenses of the public forum. We will collect a small registration fee to help secure accurate numbers for space and catering. Tickets are required for both adults and children. Adults are $5. We have limited space, so please register early. Trinity is a non-profit public charity and intentionally partnering with other local non-profits, Holden Village and Luther’s Table, for our inaugural Conversation. We will provide an opportunity for you to hear our stories, engage in our work, and support our mission with financial support.

More information about the event is available on this page, including the abilty to purchase a ticket.

Our Featured Speaker: Bjørn Peterson, PhD

Dr. Bjørn Peterson is a practitioner of Transformational Leadership with 25+ years experience leading Community Development and Social Transformation. From peacebuilding in urban communities to managing climate-driven evacuations in the wilderness to designing programming for personal and social transformation, he is known for his ability to create welcoming environments, hold courageous spaces, and accompany difficult work. He earned an MA in Transformational Leadership at Seattle University and holds a PhD in Community Development from Arizona State University.

As Co-Executive Director of Holden Village with his spouse, Elise, the Petersons oversee Holden Village’s daily operations, programming, community engagement, and fundraising efforts while upholding the Village’s core values of hospitality, faith, and environmental stewardship. Their leadership marks an exciting new era for Holden Village as it continues to provide a space for retreat, renewal, and radical welcome.

Bjørn and Elise are currently leading Holden Village through an unprecedented season. Mudslides in December 2025 washed out Holden's only access road, leading to the emergency evacuation of the staff and an uncertain timeline for the Village's reopening. Their calling has shifted to leading "Holden Off the Road" while also sustaining the physical and organizational infrastructure and laying groundwork for the future. This is not the calling they expected, but (as Holden's famous prayer says) they continue to live into their calling in faith, while finding "good courage" in "ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown."

Conversation Partners

Trinity Education Foundation

Trinity Education Foundation inspires and empowers God’s people to live out Christ’s calling of service to others and stewardship of creation. We do this by providing financial support and guidance to foster educational success and inspire vocational discernment, affirming Gospel values for the sake of the world.

Inspired by our history, Trinity boldly lives out its calling to center students in an environment where we cultivate our callings in community, with curiosity, and partner with others to care for and co-create our world. We are committed to responding and providing holistic support around key concerns facing young people today:

Financial barriers to education
Unclear purpose and place in the world
Loneliness and desire for community
Eagerness to live harmoniously with creation

Our programs are intentionally designed to cultivate an environment that invites students into a robust web of support, where they explore their vocation, grow as people, and build a community that connects and empowers them to flourish in the world.

Ryan Ingersoll, Trinity Lutheran College alum, serves as the executive director of Trinity Education Foundation. [NAME] is a Trinity Fellow and is a [year] at [university].

Holden Village

Located in the heart of Washington’s North Cascades Mountains, Holden Village is an iconic retreat center that offers visitors a unique opportunity to step into the wilderness to form and renew their relationship with God, the earth, and each other.

Over the course of more than 60 years, Holden Village has been transformed from a copper mining town to a vibrant place of education, programming, and worship where everyone is welcome and embraced. Holden and the wilderness are for people of every sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religious background, and gender identity.

Holden Village is the perfect setting for visitors and volunteers to seek rest and renewal. The rustic buildings surrounded by forest and mountains allow guests to un-plug from their daily to-dos and connect with themselves and others in purposeful work, recreation, worship, and shared meals with good company.

Bjørn Peterson serves as co-executive director of Holden Village.

Luther's Table

A table for everyone. Nourishment for mind, body, and spirit.

Luther’s Table embodies radical hospitality by cultivating an inclusive space for community gathering, creative expression, and shared nourishment. Luther’s Table is an outreach ministry of the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), committed to holistic nourishment and rooted in love and justice.

Rooted in downtown Renton, Luther’s Table seeks to be a place where people are seen, known, and loved—a third space where neighbors gather to grow in mind, body, and spirit through learning, creativity, and spiritual exploration. We feed the whole person—and through partnerships with Sustainable Renton and REACH Renton, we offer a free weekly meal to all who are hungry.

Luther’s Table envisions a flourishing, connected community where people of all backgrounds are celebrated and nourished—physically, spiritually, and relationally—through collaboration, compassion, and the power of presence. We are proud to walk alongside partners like Sustainable Renton and REACH Renton—and to build new partnerships that foster a more just, connected, and nourished community.

Deacon Bobbi Cyr serves as the mission developer/executive director of Luther's Table and is a former Trinity Scholar.

Questions and More Information

Parking

On-Site Parking: Enjoy seven marked parking spots under the covered area behind the building, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Street Parking: Street parking available along Morris Ave S, right next to the building.
Renton City Center Parking Garage: Located just one block away at 655 S 2nd St, Renton, WA 98057, this option is within a short walking distance and is conveniently adjacent to the Renton Transit Center.
Additional Option at Renton High School: When school is not in session, you can also park across the street at the Renton High School / Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center located at: 400 S 2nd St, Renton, WA 98057

Contact Ryan Ingersoll

If you have any questions, please contact Ryan Ingersoll, Trinity’s Executive Director via email: ryan@trinityeducationfoundation.org.

The Trinity Conversation: “Calling and Place” with Bjørn Peterson, PhD, Co-Executive Director of Holden Village

A public forum exploring calling, community, and care for creation