Alumni Spotlight: Ryan Kuja
Ryan Kuja talks about vocation, sustainability, his education at The Seattle School, and his new book, From the Inside Out.
Ryan Kuja
A global citizen with a background in international mission, relief, and development, Ryan Kuja has lived in fifteen cities and rural villages on five continents. He holds an MA in Theology & Culture from The Seattle School, as well a Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. A spiritual director and writer, his work has appeared in Sojourners, Missio Alliance, Presence Journal, and several theological journals. His first book, From the Inside Out: Reimagining Mission, Recreating the World, released in June. Ryan is currently serving as the Field Director of Word Made Flesh in Medellin, Colombia, where he lives with his wife. You can find him online at ryankuja.com and on Twitter as @ryankuja.
All Posts
Psyche, Meet Pneuma
Ryan Kuja (MA in Theology & Culture, ‘14) explores the Genesis creation narrative and the ancient concepts of psyche and pneuma, offering a compelling image of the Spirit who hovers over, fills, and animates the chaos and darkness in our lives as in the original act of creation. If we are moved by and follow […]
Between Gargoyles and Sunsets
The spiritual and therapeutic work we strive for at The Seattle School is marked by personal integration—the capacity to bring the disparate parts of ourselves into conversation, including the parts we might prefer to keep hidden. Here, Ryan Kuja (MA in Theology & Culture ‘14) writes about how a seemingly ordinary walk forced him to […]
The Biology of Pilgrimage
Earlier this year, John Philip Newell visited The Seattle School and shared about an upcoming interfaith pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago in Spain, led by his Heartbeat Journeys organization. Ryan Kuja, ‘14 MA in Theology & Culture, was selected to join this year’s pilgrimage. Before leaving, Ryan wrote here about his anticipation of the […]
A Pilgrim’s Blood and Eschatological Hope
Earlier this year, John Philip Newell visited The Seattle School and shared about an upcoming interfaith pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago in Spain, led by his Heartbeat Journeys organization. Ryan Kuja, ‘14 MA in Theology & Culture, was selected to join this year’s pilgrimage. Here, Ryan writes about what is drawing him to this […]
Middle Sea: Navigating the Unknown After Graduation
Every year, a graduate from each degree program is selected by their peers and faculty to speak at Commencement around a particular theme. This year, the speakers chose the theme “Crossings.” Below is the speech shared by Ryan Kuja, an MATC graduate. The ancient seafaring people of Polynesia paddled small outrigger canoes thousands of miles on […]
Vocational Plans from the MATC
For the past several years, I have been imagining what it would look like to use surfing as a platform for community engagement in a rural village along the Indian Ocean coastline of South Africa. Toward this goal, I formed a partnership in 2010 with a Denver-based nonprofit named Empowering Communities to Transcend Adversity. ETCA […]