Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Timothy Seals has been a pastor in the Lutheran Ministerium for 41 years after his ordination in 1984. He has served three congregations: Hope Memorial Lutheran Church, Los Angeles; University Lutheran Chapel at UCLA; and St. Luke Lutheran Church, where he presently pastors. He completed a master's degree in New Testament at Claremont School of Theology in 2008. He completed a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible at the same school in 2019. His research interests are mysticism, postcolonial thought, and apocalypticism.

Tia Norman is a spiritual leader and contemplative guide helping people pursue spiritual depth by exploring the intersections of spirituality, psychology and social change. She serves as Pastor of Awakenings, Inc., where she leads a contemplative Christian community through weekly worship and communal formation. Beyond her pastoral work, Tia is a spiritual teacher who designs immersive retreats and learning experiences rooted in embodied spirituality and contemplative practice. She also curates and hosts the annual Black Contemplative Prayer Virtual Summit, a gathering that is open to all and centers Black contemplative voices, practices, and histories. Tia’s work has been featured in USA Today, and she was recognized by Wesleyan Impact Partners as part of a new generation of leaders changing the face of the Christian church.

Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ, currently serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Franciscan School of Theology. She completed her doctorate in historical theology at Saint Louis University in 2006. After teaching at Saint Louis University and the University of Dallas School of Ministry, she entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in 2009. She served as a professor of church history at the Aquinas Institute of Theology from 2012 to 2021. She has published on the twelfth-century Abbey of Saint Victor as well as contemporary issues in religious life. Her most recent book is a biography entitled St. Madeleine Sophie Barat: Leadership in a Divided World (Paulist, 2025). You can check out her book here, and peruse the chapters in the link below.

Carl Hughes teaches theology at Texas Lutheran University. His writings revolve around Søren Kierkegaard, Luther and the Lutheran tradition, mystical theology, biblical reading practices, and interfaith studies. He is the author of two academic books: "Clouds of the Cross in Luther and Kierkegaard: Revelation as Unknowing" (Lexington Books, 2024) and "Kierkegaard and the Staging of Desire: Rhetoric and Performance in a Theology of Eros" (Fordham University Press, 2014). He is also the author, in a very different vein, of a book for young children, with illustrations by Dalton Smith: "Where God Lives" (Open Hearted Books, 2025). Dr. Hughes specializes in Historical and constructive theology, Philosophy of religion, Søren Kierkegaard, Luther and the Lutheran tradition, Mystical theology, History of biblical interpretation, Race, gender, and theology, Contemplative studies, Interfaith studies, and Buddhist-Christian dialogue.