My name is Amber Mattingly. I hold a Master of Divinity degree from George W Truett and in 2020 completed by Doctor of Ministry degree from Claremont School of Theology. My dissertation's title is "From the Pew to the Mat: Seeing and Hearing the Outsider." I focused on creating safer spaces for people from any or no religious background to engage in spiritual conversation. I am a yoga teacher with training in Ashtanga, Adaptive Yoga and Trauma informed yoga practices. I see the need for our religious traditions to be firmly rooted in practice as the gateway to expand our spiritual consciousness. I am a pastor of a Disciples of Christ church who through my leadership in 2022 decided to embrace new life through merging with a sister church instead of closing its doors. I am a mother to a neuro diverse child and another child who explores the world through music and theatre. I am the best friend & wife to the pastor of Kingwood Christian Church. My work with Middle school students and with those who identify as spiritually fluid was chosen by the National Benevolent Association (Disciples of Christ) to participate in the first Sent Cohort in 2021. In this work, I accepted invitations to be interviewed by Edge with the United Church of Christ and consult with InDependence a wellness community for military spouses. I value Beauty, Flexibility, Community & Collaboration. You can find me at ambermattinglylivefree.com. Recently, I co-authored a book with my dear friend Pema Lisa Antoniotti titled A Leap of (Inter)Faith: Finding Treasures in Shared Practice. You can listen to the podcast about this project by locating Collaborate 2022: From Unknown Other to Sacred Other on Spotify.