What role can fellow writers play in the creative process? And how can a desire to “change the world” backfire?
In this episode we hear a conversation between two writers: Rev. Alexis Carter Thomas and Lyndsey Medford. They met at the Collegeville Institute’s Writing for Mystic Activists workshop in 2019 and, since then, have continued to encourage one another in their writing lives. Here, they discuss the dangers of writing to change the world without also being changed as humans, the call for writing as liberation, and how a writing community can help one be “heard into speech.”
Topics and resources discussed in this episode:
- Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom by bell hooks
- Dr. Eboni Marshall Turman
- Journaling for yourself versus writing for a general audience
- Anger and healing in the writing journey
- “If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” ― quote by Anne Lamott
- Writing with integrity, wholeness, pleasure, and self-care
- The importance of building a writing community
Read Rev. Alexis Carter Thomas’ recent writing:
- How can congregations help Black clergywomen flourish? in Faith & Leadership
- Read her blog posts here
Read Lyndsey Medford’s recent writing:
- Whiteness Ruthlessly Lies in Sojourners
- Making Friends With My Body and God – a guided journal made for embodying a new relationship with ourselves
Bios
Rev. Alexis Carter Thomas is a writer and researcher who lives in South Carolina. She has served in campus ministry at various universities, as a pastor of discipleship and as an adjunct instructor at Phillips Theological Seminary. Currently, she is a church consultant in matters of discipleship and race and an adjunct professor in the department of history and philosophy at Lander University. Thomas received her M.Div. from Duke Divinity School.
Lyndsey Medford is a writer and activist based in Charleston, South Carolina. On her days off, she’s usually baking something yummy, mucking about in her garden, or at the beach with her husband and rescue pup. Lyndsey attended the summer 2019 Collegeville workshop Writing for Mystic Activists, and she writes at lyndseymedford.com.
Ellie Roscher is a writer, theology teacher, and host of the Unlikely Conversations podcast. She is a board member at the Collegeville Institute and the author of 12 Tiny Things, Play Like a Girl, and How Coffee Saved My Life. Ellie holds an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and an MA in Theology from Luther Seminary. She lives in Minneapolis with her spouse and sons. Follow Ellie on social media at @ellieroscher [Twitter, Instagram, Facebook].
Matthew Ian Fleming edited the audio for this podcast. You can find Matthew on Instagram at @matthewianfleming and his other podcasts at www.alterguild.org.
Next Steps
- Follow the work of the Collegeville Institute on social media at @collegevilleins [Twitter, Instagram, Facebook] and subscribe to our email newsletter
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