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Abbey of the Arts LogoWelcome to Abbey of the Arts!

This is the website for the work of Christine Valters Paintner, OblSB, PhD, REACE. 

My primary work is to integrate spiritual formation & contemplative practice rooted in the Christian tradition with the healing practice of the expressive arts and the cycles of the natural world. My doctorate is in Christian spirituality and I have earned my professional status as a Registered Expressive Arts Consultant and Educator from the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association.

Click on *Teaching* to learn more about Awakening the Creative Spirit: Training for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts, a program I co-teach with Betsey Beckman and will be offered again May 23-28, 2010 in the Hood Canal area near Seattle, WA.

My other interests are in contemplative spirituality and practices especially those that emerge from the Benedictine tradition, and in Ignatian spirituality as a path that honors the imagination and calls us to work for justice in the world.

I am rooted in the Catholic mystical tradition with a strongly ecumenical spirit and love for the wisdom of all spiritual traditions. I am also a Benedictine Oblate at St. Placid Priory which means that I have made a commitment to live out the Benedictine way in my daily life. I am committed to contemplative living, one rooted in Sabbath rhythms, and consider myself an urban monk and part-time hermit. I live in the vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle where most days you can find me writing, making art, preparing to teach, sitting with someone in spiritual direction, having tea with friends, cooking a meal, playing with my dog, or on a date with my husband.

Currently I am the Program Coordinator for the Ignatian Spirituality Center and an Adjunct Faculty at the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University where I teach ”Contemporary Christian Spirituality and Prayer” and “Contemporary Expressions of Monastic Spirituality.”  I also serve as the Art Editor for Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction.

In addition to these institutional connections, I work independently as a writer on spiritual themes (check my blog and published articles) and as an artist and photographer, mainly through self-publishing a series of Reflective Art Journals available through my Abbey Store. 

My first book Lectio Divina: Contemplative Awakening and Awareness, published by Paulist Press is now available (co-authored with Sister Lucy Wynkoop of St. Placid Priory.)

In Spring 2010 I will have two new books published — one on praying with wind, fire, water, and earth for Ave Maria Press and the other on bringing the expressive arts to spiritual direction for Morehouse Publishing (co-authored with Betsey Beckman).

EDUCATION

Click on *Teaching* to see my calendar of upcoming classes, retreats, and workshops.  I try to keep it updated regularly. Most of my teaching and retreat work focuses on bringing the expressive arts and spiritual formation together and training others how to integrate creative and contemplative processes into their ministries.

Click on *Writing* for articles and books I have published and *Photography* to explore some of my creative expressions. Some of my writing and art is available for purchase under *Abbey Store in my Reflective Art Journals. * 

Click on *Spiritual Direction* to learn more about my philosophy of spiritual companioning and my approach to this work. I have served as a spiritual director and retreat leader for over fifteen years and bring the arts to my work in these ministries. My current focus is on the supervision of spiritual directors and others in pastoral ministries of compassionate listening and spiritual care.

Past courses I have taught include “Tending the Fire: A Program of Growth in Christian Spirituality” at St. Placid Priory Spirituality Center, “Creativity and Christian Spirituality,” “Benedictine Spirituality,” “Lectio Divina,” “Contemplative Listening,” and “Social Discernment” through the Graduate Theological Union and San Francisco Theological Seminary and “God in Human Experience,” “Rethinking God,” “Sacraments,” and “Symbol, Ritual, Myth” in the Theology and Religious Studies Department at Seattle University. I was also a learning group facilitator for the Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension Program in the Sacramento Diocese for students working towards a Masters in Pastoral Ministry or Religious Education. I began my teaching career at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, CA where I taught religion and was a campus minister.

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PRAISE FOR THE WORK (from previous course evaluations)

Wonderful! Christine was so well organized, prepared, and inviting! The variety of activities and sharing experiences was wonderful, helpful, and moving.

Christine was wonderful and knowledgeable. She balanced discussion, prayer, and art-making time well. I learned a lot!

Christine was a thoughtful, sensitive, articulate, soul-filled presence. Her passion for the subject came through strongly and I felt I was ministered by her in this course. Her attention to aesthetics, to creating a prayerful atmosphere helped me to get in touch with the divine.

I’ve never attended a course that was better planned and organized in my life. Christine’s thorough preparation made for a remarkable week of learning, depth, and experience.

I greatly appreciated how grounded theologically the instructor was. This class was experimental, creative, and practical all at the same time!

Christine’s love and passion for her topic imbues her teaching and creates a safe, nurturing environment for exploration.

Absolutely incredible! Christine is a wonderful teacher and model of these beautiful activities.

Christine is a wonderful teacher and spiritual guide. She explains things clearly, presents challenging tasks in a very invitational, non-threatening way. She helped build real community is a very short time.

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In ancient times, one sign of the holiness of mystics and Saints was a special connection to animals. Animals have their own wisdom that comes in part from their otherness, they open a window to dimensions of God we might not otherwise see.

Abbess Petunia “Tune”

Tune

Former Abbott “Duke”, In Loving Memory (1996-2006)

Duke