Collegeville Institute

Bearings Online

  • Home
  • About
  • Events
  • Podcasts
  • News
  • Giving
  • Comprehensive Campaign

Title of the document Make A Gift Now

Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Bearings Online
  • Calling Initiatives
  • Fellows Program
  • Giving
  • News
  • Podcasts
  • Comprehensive Campaign
  • Residency Programs
      • Scholars, clergy, church leaders, thinkers, artists, and writers who are seeking to discern and communicate the meaning of Christian identity and unity in a religiously and culturally diverse world are invited to apply for our residency programs.
      • Get Practical Information »
      • Apply for a Fellowship »
      • View 2024-25 Scholars »
      • Resident Scholars Program

        for those looking to stay a semester or a full academic year

      • Program Details
      • Work and Scholarship
      • Housing and Facilities
      • Application Process
      • Former Resident Scholars
      • Short term Residencies

        for those looking to stay for a shorter period of time

      • Program Details
      • Living and Working
      • Application Process
      • Former Short Term Scholars
      • Learn More »
    • Close
  • Writing Programs
      • Each year, the Collegeville Institute opens its doors to writers of faith for intensive writing workshops. In addition, the Collegeville Institute partners with other institutes, seminaries, or churches to coordinate regional off-site workshops.
      • 2025 Workshops

      • Pop-Up Writers Workshops
        • Pop-Up Writing Workshop, March 22, 2025 (Colorado Springs, CO)
        • Pop-Up Writing Workshop, March 29, 2025 (Birmingham-Vestavia Hills, AL)
        • Pop-Up Writing Workshop, April 5, 2025 (Asheville, NC)
      • Flesh and Blood: Crafting a Communal Constructive Theological Anthropology, May 27-30, 2025
      • Apart, and Yet A Part, June 9-18, 2025
      • A Sparked Imagination, June 23-27, 2025
      • Deep and Wide: Longform Prose Revision, July 9-18, 2025
      • The Release:  How Writing in an Economy of Gifts Liberates Writers, September 29, 2025
      • Fifty Pairs of Eyes: Creating Characters in Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry, October 27-November 1, 2025
      • Waiting for Words: An Advent Writing Workshop with Lauren Winner – 2025, December 2-6, 2025
    • Apply Now »
    • Close
  • Calling Initiatives
      • The Communities of Calling Initiative invites congregations into a 5-year project on vocation.
        The Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative, coordinated by the Collegeville Institute, funds 13 innovation hubs from across North America.
      • Calling Initiatives Overview »
      • Research Seminars on Vocation »
    • Resources on Vocation:

      • BridgeIntroducing Calling & Discernment – language of calling, models of discernment, and calling across the lifespan
      • gabriel-brito-80atz53Th9o-unsplash-2Prayer & Worship – prayers, hymns, sermons, spiritual practices, and liturgical year resources
      • Vis-Group-2Small Group Series – adult education and faith formation guides for congregational use
      • FrancoisVideos & Interviews – video storytelling projects on vocation from Christian and interfaith perspectives
    • Close
  • Fellows Program
    • Bringing together an ecumenical group of gifted Minnesota faith leaders, the Collegeville Institute Fellows Program focuses on leadership development with the goal of strengthening religious leaders’ sense of themselves as civic leaders.
    • Fellows Program Overview
    • Rural Minnesota Fellows Program
    • Multi-Religious Fellows Program
    • Close
  • Participant Publications
  • Search
You are here: Home / Podcasts / Start with Your Own Soul

Start with Your Own Soul

November 4, 2020 By Collegeville Institute Leave a Comment


How can writers begin to claim their own voice? And how should local communities inform both writing and organizing work?

In this episode, we speak with writer, pastor, and community organizer Rev. Brandon Wrencher. Brandon is a serial innovator who pastors a network of spiritually rooted small groups through the Good Neighbor Movement, which is inspired, in part, by African hush harbors of the antebellum period and Latin American base communities. Listen to Brandon speak about his own writing journey, the importance of organizing through grassroots small groups, and why all good writing must start with your own soul.

Topics and resources discussed in this episode: ​ ​

  • The Good Neighbor Movement
  • Decolonizing Church training
  • Justice: Gathering for a New World (forthcoming book from Baker Academic)
  • South American base ecclesial communities
  • Liberating Church Project: A 21st Century Hush Harbor Manifesto
  • African hush harbors of the antebellum period
  • Quaker clearness committees
  • Finding one’s voice as a writer
  • Writing as a spiritual practice and discipline

Read Brandon Wrencher’s writing:

  • “Living the Word” column and other writing in Sojourners
  • Our Cries For Equity by Brandon Wrencher in The Other Journal

Bios

Rev. Brandon Wrencher is a minister, organizer, writer, and trainer. He works across the US within faith, education, and non-profit sectors at the intersections of decolonizing church, contemplative activism, and local presence to build beloved communities. Brandon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from UNC-Chapel Hill, a Master of Divinity from North Park Theological Seminary, and completed post-graduate studies in theology and ethics from Duke Divinity School.

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 Brandon Wrencher’s work on Facebook with the Good Neighbor Movement and Liberating Church
  • Follow the work of the Collegeville Institute on social media at @collegevilleins [Twitter, Instagram, Facebook] and subscribe to our email newsletter

Like this post? Subscribe to have new posts sent to you by email the same day they are posted.

More from my site

  • Writing for Mystic ActivistsWriting for Mystic Activists
  • How to Write During a PandemicHow to Write During a Pandemic
  • Writing for Mystic ActivistsWriting for Mystic Activists
  • Mothering Wisdom for ActivistsMothering Wisdom for Activists
  • Collegeville Institute Greats: Parker J. Palmer, Part OneCollegeville Institute Greats: Parker J. Palmer, Part One

Filed Under: Podcasts Tagged: podcast, Rev. Brandon Wrencher, small groups, soul, Unlikely Conversations, writing, Writing for Mystic Activists

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Collegeville Institute Tour

Check out our virtual 360-degree tour experience and see our beautiful campus with its many amenities!

CI 360 Tour

Unlikely Conversations

Unlikely Conversations is a podcast from the Collegeville Institute that features unique and dynamic interviews with writers, thinkers, scholars and artists affiliated with our programs. In its second season, each episode of the podcast centered on the subject of writing, faith, and justice with alumni guests from our writing workshops.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Subscribe to the Unlikely Conversations podcast here, or wherever you get your podcasts, so you never miss an episode.

 

 

    

Latest News

Dr. Aizaiah Yong appointed as new Executive Director of Collegeville Institute 

April 14, 2025

Collegeville Institute welcomes Andrew McNeil as its new Director of Communications.

March 11, 2025

Meet a Resident Scholar

March 11, 2025

Subscribe

Sign up for our email newsletter today, and keep up to date with what's going on at the Collegeville Institute.

Sign Up Today

Get Involved

Give online

Check out our writing workshops and our residential programs.

Contact Us

2475 Ecumenical Drive
PO Box 8000
Collegeville, MN 56321

Phone: 320-363-3366
Email: staff@collegevilleinstitute.org

Map/Directions

Copyright © 2025 Collegeville Institute. Read our Privacy Policy.