2023-2024 Writing Programs Writing for Mystic Activists A workshop for faith-rooted activists and clergy led by Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove July 10 – July 16, 2024 Collegeville Institute For faith-rooted activists and clergy who want to engage writing as a contemplative practice. The application deadline has passed. Applications are due: January 29, 2024. Apart, and Yet A Part A workshop with writing coach Michael N. McGregor June 5 – June 14, 2024 Collegeville Institute Ingredients for a productive writing experience: a room with a view, meals provided, the opportunity to structure your writing time as you wish, and access to a professional writing coach. This program is designed to give participants maximum time and freedom for writing. Applications are due: January 22, 2024. Writing Toward God: The Sacred for the Perplexed A virtual workshop series led by Mary Lane Potter Tuesdays, January 30 – March 5, 2024 Virtual Workshop Feeling stuck, perplexed, timid, or fearful about writing about God/The Sacred directly? You’re not alone. While 19th-century theologians challenged the view of God as a supernatural Person, that view still dominates popular Western imaginations (fundamentalist, atheist, and liberal). To re-envision God/The Sacred for our time, we need to follow visionary poets and storytellers. Inspired by modern and contemporary writers who approach God/The Sacred in unexpected ways, we’ll explore writing not about but toward God/The Sacred. Applications are due: October 2, 2023. Waiting for Words: An Advent Writing Workshop with Lauren Winner A generative writing workshop led by Lauren Winner December 4 – December 8, 2023 Avila Center for Community Leadership In this 5-day workshop, we will enter the season of Advent with prayerful attention and focus, and we will both wait patiently for our words and undertake reading and writing exercises that summon our words. Applications are due Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Writing Our Way Into Recovery: Trauma, Addictions and Healing A seven-week online writing workshop series led by Rev. John Hudson Thursdays from October 5 – November 16, 2023 Virtual Workshop In the class we’ll use the craft of writing and the spiritual lens of the Twelve Steps to reflect upon our experience as humans in recovery. Recovery from addictions and also from personal and communal trauma (like life in COVID), recovery from broken relationships and recovery from faith lost. Registration is now closed as all spots have been filled. Regenerate Your Spirit, Generate New Writing A one-day yoga and writing workshop led by Mary Lane Potter and Stacy Lawson September 30, 2023 Camano Island, Washington Breath, rhythm, movement, deep listening—these are the skills fundamental to writing that are often ignored. Inspired by Genesis 1:2: “And the breath of God swept over the face of the waters,” this workshop will immerse participants in exercises that can help writers transform “wild and waste” into form and beauty. Guided breathing, movement, rhythm, and listening experiences will flow into related writing opportunities. Join us at Regenerate Your Spirit, Generate New Writing to refresh your spirit, create fresh work, true your voice, and deepen your writing practice. Registration is closed: all workshops spaces have been filled. Embodied Writing: Moving and Creating in Community A one-day yoga and writing workshop led by Ellie Roscher September 23, 2023 Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Harrisville Room Writing and Yoga are two powerful, transformational spiritual practices that can bring us closer to God, ourselves, and each other. As a writer and yoga teacher, Ellie Roscher loves to pair writing, breath and movement in a way that invites us to inhabit our bodies and experience deeper embodiment. In this one day writing workshop, Ellie will lead participants through simple breath work, body movement, writing prompts and discussion to unlock and explore our bodies as writers. Registration is now open. Breaking the Academic Mold A jointly sponsored Wabash Center/Collegeville Institute workshop led by Donald Quist and Sophfronia Scott July 10 – July 16, 2023 Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center This writing workshop is for scholars of religion and theology who have written exclusively or primarily in the scholarly genre for other scholars of religion but long to share their knowledge or personal experience in a more creative way with a wider audience. Many scholars yearn to speak to a broader audience through creative nonfiction, blogs, op-eds, and memoir. Participants in this workshop will develop their writing voice in service to topics they care about, and for which they have passion and curiosity. Our focus will be on releasing the professors’ voice to the public square, giving permission to be imaginative, and finding new ways of being inspired. The application deadline has now passed. Perils and Promises An invitation-only workshop led by Patrice Gopo July 6 – July 11, 2023 Collegeville Institute The act of befriending is a necessary human practice, and friendship is also an important element of many faith communities. Friendship often builds authenticity, inspiring individuals and communities to pursue qualities such as healing, liberation, presence, and growth. Transformative friendships steeped in depth can also add stability to our world. How do these truths about the possible nature of friendship intersect with society’s reckoning with racial injustice? In particular, where do friendships between Black women and white women fit within these broader conversations? Does it matter that such friendships can expand understanding and also suffer because of our racialized society and the impact of white supremacy? This writing workshop grapples with these questions at the intersection of race, faith, and friendship and explicitly centers Black women’s stories. This writing workshop is invitation-only. All spots have been filled. About Me, About You An interfaith writing workshop by and for women of color June 19 – June 25, 2023 Collegeville Institute This generative week-long workshop aims to build an interfaith writing community by and for women of color who seek to write creative prose (fiction, nonfiction and hybrid forms) that is inspired by personal experience. Guided writing exercises and discussions will focus on generating new work rooted in participants’ experiences as women of color from different faith backgrounds living and writing in America. In so doing, the workshop seeks to expand existing and limiting narratives about women of color both within their faith traditions and in the larger culture. The application deadline has now passed. Writing Toward God: The Sacred for the Perplexed A six-week online writing workshop series led by Mary Lane Potter Tuesdays from April 18 – May 23, 2023 Virtual Workshop Feeling stuck, perplexed, timid, or fearful about writing about God/The Sacred directly? You’re not alone. While 19th-century theologians challenged the view of God as a supernatural Person, that view still dominates popular Western imaginations (fundamentalist, atheist, and liberal). To re-envision God/The Sacred for our time, we need to follow visionary poets and storytellers. Inspired by modern and contemporary writers who approach God/The Sacred in unexpected ways, we’ll explore writing not about but toward God/The Sacred. Registration is now closed as all spots have been filled. Exploring Identity and (Dis)belonging through the Personal Essay A week of creative nonfiction for women writers with Enuma Okoro April 16 – April 22, 2023 General Theological Seminary In this workshop, we will explore issues of identity, home, and belonging through engaging the visual arts and the genre of the personal essay. Though we write from our own lives, there is always a way to open our work so that readers can locate themselves within a shared human experience. The application deadline has now passed.
