Our Voice will sponsor a “Tea to Nourish the Soul” with Becca Stevens, April 7, 2016 at 4:00pm at Homewood, 19 Zillicoa St in the Montford neighborhood of Asheville. Seats Are Limited!!! You won’t want to miss this.
Episcopal Priest Becca Stevens wears many hats… author, speaker, social entrepreneur, founder and president of Thistle Farms, the largest social enterprise in the US run by survivors of sexual assault. She has been featured in the New York Times, on ABC World News, NPR, PBS and CNN. In 2011, the White house named Becca one of the Champions of Change for violence against women.
Why the name Thisle Farm? Thistles grow in the streets and alleys where the women of Thistle Farms walked or grew up. The Thistle is considered a weed and they have a deep taproot that can shoot up through the concrete and survive in drought. In spite of a prickly appearance, its royal purple center makes it a mysterious and beautiful flower.
I read everything I could get my hands on about Becca and Thistle Farms and finally scheduled an interview with her. I expected someone so different although I can’t say exactly what I expected! When she picked up the phone she said hello and immediately said, “Excuse me.” She covered the phone and yelled in the most kind and beautiful southern way, “Shut the door! Where you raised in a barn?” Immediately I like her. I was comfortable with her and trusted her. Everything I had heard and read about her was true. She is an amazing woman. You can hear her heart when she is speaking.
Becca founded Thistle Farms In 1997 under the name the Magdalene Project. She understood the most important elements for women to heal from the strain of molestation, sex trade, prostitution and addiction. She knew they need to be loved and that love is the most powerful force for social change. They needed shelter and they need an income. Many women fail to get off the streets because they need a way to support themselves. Arrest records, prostitution convictions, and low self-esteem keep them from being hired. Thistle Farms includes a two- year residential program and advocacy services for up to 700 women yearly. They employ more than 50 survivors through social enterprises, which include a natural body care company, Thistle Stop Cafe, artisan studio, and global marketplace called Shared Trade.
Becca Stevens newest book is, Letters From the Farm: A simple Path for a deeper Spiritual Life. Read her blog and more about the Thistle Farm projects at thistlefarms.org.
Tickets for the tea are available from Our Voice. They will go on sale February 15, 2026. You may purchase your tickets by calling the Our Voice Office (828) 252-0562. Tickets are $50. Please purchase your tickets soon since Seating is Limited.
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