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Welcome to Abbey of the Arts!

The Abbey is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded by Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, OblSB.  It is in part a virtual monastery – existing as an online community through classes, reflections, and resources which integrate contemplative practice and creative expression.  You can also join Christine in person for a variety of retreats and classes through various organizations.

Ways to get involved at the Abbey:

Your purchases and participation in any of these opportunities are an essential support to my ministry and makes it possible for me to dedicate my time and energy to this important work, including providing the weekly blog reflections and free email newsletter.  I am profoundly grateful to each of you who helps to sustain my work in whatever way is possible for you.  Thanks so much for visiting the Abbey and for all the ways you share in my ministry.  I love receiving your words of feedback and encouragement as they offer nourishment for my path and I am always grateful when you share the word with others about this work.  Feel free to email me at Christine@AbbeyoftheArts.com.

Christine Valters Paintner, OblSB, PhD, REACE is the author of several books:

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 PhD is in Christian spirituality and I have earned my professional status as a Registered Expressive Arts Consultant and Educator (REACE) 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.  I also offer online classes at the Abbey – Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist, Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice, and Seasons of the Soul as well as E-Courses. In addition I lead retreats for a variety of spirituality centers, parishes, seminaries, and non-profit groups.

My writing and teaching interests focus on the weaving together of three threads – contemplative practice (especially as rooted in Benedictine, Celtic, and desert monastic spirituality),  creative expression (in a variety of forms), and the wisdom of the seasons and the natural 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 a Benedictine Oblate at St. Placid Priory which means that I have made a commitment to live out the monastic 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 part-time 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 and as a Contributing Writer for Patheos.

In addition to these institutional connections, I work independently as a writer on spiritual themes (see above for titles, 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.

EDUCATION

Click on *Teaching* to see my calendar of upcoming classes, retreats, and workshops.  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. I am available to lead retreats on lectio divina, expressive arts, praying with nature, and other topics related to Christian spiritual practice.

Click on *Writing* for articles and books I have published. 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. I co-facilitate two expressive arts-based Soul Care Supervision Groups with Kayce Stevens Hughlett, MA, LHMC.

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.

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.  I live under the guidance of an Abbess.

Abbess Petunia “Tune”

Tune

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

Duke