Join Us March 1 with Becca Stevens of Thistle Farms for Lunch and Conversation
Please join us on March 1 at 12:15 pm for a lunch and conversation with Becca Stevens, Episcopal priest, author, and founder of Thistle Farms, a Nashville nonprofit dedicated to supporting women who have survived trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. During lunch, Becca will share about the work of Thistle Farms and help lead a meaningful conversation alongside women whose lives have been transformed through the program. You are also warmly invited to attend worship at 11:00 am, where Becca will preach from the sermon title, “The Long Work of Healing.” Her message will be from John 3:1-15 and through stories of survivors, communities shaped by long suffering and resilience, and the quiet courage of those who continue to show up, she will explore what it means to follow the path of love without giving up.
This is a free event. If you would like a boxed lunch, please RSVP by February 23. Lunches are $10, or you are welcome to bring your own. For questions, email communications@fpcknox.org.
About Becca Stevens
Becca Stevens is a nonprofit leader, entrepreneur, Episcopal priest, survivor, and the founder and president of Thistle Farms, a Nashville-based nonprofit dedicated to healing, empowering, and employing women who have survived human trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. What began as a small home in Nashville has grown into an international network of more than a dozen survivor-led nonprofits and justice enterprises, with dozens of additional organizations mentored along the way. Through this work, Becca has helped raise more than $90 million in support of survivor-led healing and economic justice.
She is the author of 12 books and has served for nearly 30 years as chaplain at St. Augustine’s Chapel at Vanderbilt University. Becca’s leadership and voice have been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, CNN, and ABC World News. She has been named a CNN Hero and a White House Champion of Change and holds multiple honorary doctorates. Drawn from decades of mission-driven leadership, Becca’s message is grounded in the conviction that love is the strongest force for change, and that healing happens in community when dignity is restored and stories are honored.
11:00 am Worship Service
At 11:00 am, Becca will preach from the lectionary selection John 3:1-15 in a sermon titled “The Long Work of Healing.” Drawing from the three encounters between Jesus and Nicodemus, she will reflect on how healing often begins not with grand gestures, but with a whisper, and how love calls us into steady, faithful presence over time. Through stories of survivors, communities shaped by long suffering and resilience, and the quiet courage of those who continue to show up, she will explore what it means to follow the path of love without giving up.
Her message will consider how truth, when we are open to it, changes us beyond political affiliation or religious dogma, freeing and reshaping us in ways that are both forgiving and transformative.
Lunch & Conversation at 12:15 pm
Following the 11:00 am service at 12:15 pm, all are invited to gather in the Fellowship Hall for a boxed lunch. We will hear from two women who have completed the Thistle Farms program as they share their own powerful stories of perseverance, healing, and transformation. Their testimonies reflect the redemptive arc of God’s love at work through the ministry of Thistle Farms.
If you plan to join us for lunch, please RSVP online by February 23 at
👉 https://rsvp.church/r/WKKQC43Q
For questions, please email communications@fpcknox.org.
Shop Artisan Goods from Thistle Farms and Global Partners
In addition, Becca Stevens will bring a selection of bath and body products and handcrafted accessories from Thistle Farms and artisans around the world. Guests will have the opportunity to shop these items, and each purchase helps support survivor-led businesses and global artisan communities.