Who We Are
The OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership is a global leadership training and consulting program serving religious and civic leaders who are committed to solving society's most intractable problems, such as racism, extremism, and economic justice.
Because we recognize that differences can create either walls or bridges, we train people of diverse faiths, backgrounds, and points of view to engage productively, honestly, and creatively to solve problems together. We believe that all great change is movement-centered and we work to launch movements that bring about positive, just, and lasting results.
In addition, we serve as a valuable resource center for theologians, civic leaders, political activists, and educators, offering our 40+ years of content expertise in addressing some of the toughest issues of our time.
What We Do
OMNIA goes beyond promotion of mere passive understanding to solid, constructive engagement by exploring the questions of struggle and pain that arise from the margins of society. This contextual engagement leads to examining strongly held, exclusivist theological positions and privileged cultural self-understandings. We help leaders move from models of comfortable consensus to positive models of power that serve the common good. It isn't easy. But by listening to, learning from, and living in deep solidarity with those in the margins, participants draw new insights about one another, their mutual concerns, and the foundational stories of the religious traditions that transcend theology and embrace hospitality, companionship and solidarity.
In addition to movement-centered projects, we work with clients at the structural level to offer practical help in organizational development and systems thinking, resource development, and communications.
Why We Do It
Many of society's greatest challenges are often bound to moral and religious issues. Religious and spiritual leaders, along with the communities they represent, have a special responsibility to respond to this challenge with insight and courage.
OMNIA's method rests on more than four decades of training religious professionals, community activists, and thought leaders. We understand the unique dynamics that religion and ethics play in the pursuit of social justice. We have seen what can happen when committed people of faith and conscience dare to step beyond mere conversation and actively deconstruct theologies of hate and exclusivism. We see the excitement when people organize to take action for a just and peaceful world. We have witnessed OMNIA-trained leaders break through the religious, racial, cultural barriers that divide communities and build collaborative relationships that lead to justice, peace and the healing of the earth. But there is still so much to do. That is why we are committed to building movements across the world, and we invite you to partner with us in this important work.