A Special Evening of Lovingkindness with Rev. Ryan Arnold

Join us for a special Lovingkindness session led by Rev. Ryan Arnold, an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) whose ministry has emphasized compassion, reconciliation, inclusion, and building relationships across differences.

Ryan has worked with congregations on LGBTQ+ inclusion through the Reconciling in Christ network and has helped lead faith-based conversations around systemic racism and racial reconciliation. His ministry has also included ecumenical and interfaith engagement, community outreach, and collaborative work across congregational and cultural boundaries.

For this special session, Ryan will bring his own perspective and experience into our ongoing exploration of lovingkindness as a practice of meeting ourselves and others with greater openness, care, and goodwill.

About Rev. Ryan

Rev. Ryan Arnold currently serves as Interim Outreach Pastor at St. Mark in West Des Moines, where he is helping develop the congregation’s Neighborhood Fridge food-rescue initiative. He previously served congregations in Des Moines and Ames.

Across his ministry, Ryan has been especially drawn to advocacy, inclusion, reconciliation, ecumenical work, and interfaith dialogue. He has accompanied two Iowa congregations in becoming LGBTQ+ affirming communities and has participated in initiatives focused on racial reconciliation and relationship-building across differences.

His connection with Lovingkindness grows naturally from this broader commitment to compassion, community, and reducing the barriers that separate people.