Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

  • Welcome
    • Prayer Cycle
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    • About Christine Valters Paintner
    • About John Valters Paintner
    • About the Wisdom Council
    • Monk Manifesto
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  • Books
    • Breath Prayer:
      An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred
    • Sacred Time:
      Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
    • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems
    • Earth, Our Original Monastery:
      Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
    • Dreaming of Stones: Poems
    • The Soul's Slow Ripening:
      12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
    • The Wisdom of the Body:
      A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
    • Illuminating the Way:
      Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
    • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
      Eight Practices for the Journey Within
    • Eyes of the Heart:
      Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
    • The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
    • Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated & Explained
    • Lectio Divina–The Sacred Art: Transforming Words and Images into Heart-Centered Prayer
    • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements
    • Awakening the Creative Spirit:
      Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction
    • Lectio Divina: Contemplative Awakening & Awareness
  • Poetry | Art | Music
    • Music + DVD
    • Poetry by Christine Valters Paintner
    • Poetry Videos
    • Dancing Monk Icons
    • Other Art Collaborations
      • Monk in the World art series by Kristin Noelle
      • Saints & Animals art series by David Hollington
      • Sacred Time art series by Alexi Francis
      • Mary block print art series by Kreg Yingst
  • Programs
    • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color Book Club
      • Embodied Spirits: Stories of Spiritual Directors of Color (Book Club – March 2021)
      • God Alone is Enough: A Spirited Journey with Teresa of Avila (Book Club – February 2021)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman-on Being Free
      • Writing Into Bloom
        with Christine Valters Paintner
      • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
      • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: A Weekend Retreat Online
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Sacred Balance:
        Aligning Body and Spirit Through
        Yoga and the Benedictine Way
    • Self-Study Online Spiritual Retreats
      • Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert:
        An Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen
      • Dreaming of the Sea:
        A women’s discernment journey through the story of the Selkie
      • Earth, Our Original Monastery
        A Companion Retreat to the Book (SELF-STUDY)
      • Exile and Coming Home:
        An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
      • Eyes of the Heart:
        Photography as Contemplative Practice
        (Companion retreat to the book)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors:
        Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance
      • Lectio Divina:
        The Sacred Art of Reading the World
      • A Midwinter God:
        Making a Conscious Underworld Journey (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone:
        A Creative Retreat with the Elements (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Seasons:
        A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
      • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
        Eight Practices for the Journey Within
        (a companion retreat to the book)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred (a companion retreat to the book)
      • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire
      • Watershed Moments
        in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
      • Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist:
        A 12-Week Companion Retreat to The Artist's Rule
      • The Wisdom of the Body:
        A 10-Week Online Companion Retreat to the Book
      • The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine
    • Live Programs: Pilgrimage & Retreats
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
  • Contact

Women on the Threshold

Women on the Threshold: Ronna Detrick (Part 2)

This is a guest post from Ronna Detrick, one of my fabulous co-creators and collaborators on the upcoming Women on the Threshold program.  Ronna lives in the Pacific Northwest, so it was an absolute delight to get to meet her in person before I left for Vienna.  I knew as we shared dreams together that afternoon, that partnering would be necessary soon, to see what the Spirit might give birth too when we brought our gifts together.  So I was thrilled when she responded with an enthusiastic yes to my invitation to join me in this special offering.

Here is Ronna sharing about the power of stories for her:

There is a thin, red thread that binds me to the stories or women in mysterious and powerful ways. It tugs, pulls, and weaves its way through my own life’s stories, reminding me that I am never alone.

Not content to just know this thread is there, I tie one end around my waste and follow its path – navigating narratives in search of understanding; in search of hope. This journey has led me into stormy seas, across torrid deserts, and over/through countless thresholds. It has revealed my insecurities and my inherent capacity to endure; my fears and my faith. And it has shown me the way home – to myself, to the breathtaking strength of women, to God.

This thin, red thread of connected stories does not disappoint, endlessly guides, and never lets me go.

The stories are told in infinite ways: through fairytales, myths, archetypes, metaphor, everyday life. But one “genre” captures me in ways I can neither resist nor escape: the stories of women in Scripture.

They have been tangled in centuries of theology, patriarchy, and history. They have been misinterpreted, misunderstood, and even maligned if not just forgotten or silenced. And still, they speak; still, their thread spins; still, they inspire.

The thin, red thread that winds its way through these stories is the one that sews my heart back together and reconnects me to God.

It is these women and their stories that have enabled, strengthened, and inspired me to stand on the edge of yet one more threshold (whether chosen or not), take another step, and sometimes even leap. Women like Eve, like Hagar, like the woman at the well, like me, like you – bound tightly together by a thin, red thread that flows through our veins; that carries us, comforts us, and calls us to God; that reminds us we are never alone.

—Ronna Detrick (Don't miss her video posted last Monday on thresholds)

Women on the Threshold will offer a multitude of ancient stories of women who have traveled this path before, including women from scripture and the mystics, as well as others.

If this sounds too delicious to miss, you are right.  Please join us here.  You have the option of the email content and a private forum for online conversation with all the women gathered for this event.  AND you can also opt to choose small group spiritual direction via phone to support you in this process (and/or individual direction with any of our facilitators if you prefer).

Do you have questions about whether this program is right for you?  Email me!

If you are drawn to exploring the monk and artist's path this fall, Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist will also be offered again in its 12-week online format.  Always a transformative journey as well. . .

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Leave a Comment August 2, 2012

Upcoming Programs

  • The Two HT’s Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman on Being Free with Therese Taylor-Stinson
    • Apr 17, 2021
  • Writing Into Bloom with Christine Valters Paintner
    • May 1, 2021
  • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
    • May 13, 2021
  • View All Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Greta Kopec
  • Monk in the World Podcast + Harriet Tubman Mysticism ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color – April Video Discussion and Book Group Materials Now Available
  • Hildy Tails 12: Is ait an mac an saol ~ by John Valters Paintner
  • Easter Blessings + An Elemental Journey ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

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