Art and Spirituality Archives | Abbey of the Arts

The Year Ahead at Abbey of the Arts ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, We hope you have had a restful and inspiring summer. We always cherish this time of quiet reflection and dreaming into the new academic year of programs. I have savored having some time to simply be and deepen into the sacred rhythms of life. Out of this wellspring of rest, flows forth our calendar for the coming months which you can find here. Special thanks to our always amazing program coordinator Melinda Thomas for her wonderful work putting that together. So much happens at the Abbey due to her efforts! I am excited for the variety of

August 3, 2025

Christine Interviewed on the Podcast Find Your Center, Find Your Feet

Christine was interviewed on the podcast Find Your Center, Find Your Feet: Going Deeper in the Spiritual Life produced by the Moravian Seminary. She had a lovely conversation with hosts Pam Rotelle Robertson & Marcella Kraybill-Greggo, Director of the Spiritual Direction Training Program at Moravian Seminary about writing, expressive arts, ancestors, and her new fairy tale Journey to Joy. Listen here.

May 19, 2025

Writing Your Spiritual Memoir ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, This Friday, September 13th, we are pleased to welcome Wisdom Council member, clinical trauma specialist and expressive arts therapist Dr. Jamie Marich to lead us in a mini-retreat on Writing Your Spiritual Memoir. In this mini-retreat experience, Jamie will use several expressive arts facilitation strategies to help us start or continue the process of writing our own spiritual memoir. Fresh off the experience of writing her own memoir You Lied to Me About God about her experience of growing up in a mixed Catholic-Protestant home and experiencing spiritual abuse in other settings, Jamie has a great deal

September 8, 2024

Writing as a Spiritual Practice ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims Tomorrow we begin a 4-week series on Writing as a Spiritual Practice. The online program begins with a live Zoom retreat and then offers 27 days to follow with a daily pre-recorded writing prompt designed to take you about 20 minutes as a way to cultivate a writing habit. There are two additional prompts each day as well for when you have more time to spend diving into your creative well. I am deeply inspired by monastic tradition, one of the great contemplative and mystical strands of Christian heritage, and also present in other religions.

August 18, 2024

Awakening the Creative Spirit In-Person Retreat

Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education in the Expressive Arts (Northwest) April 21-26, 2024 – St. Andrew’s Retreat Center in Union, WA with Kayce Stevens Hughlett and Betsey Beckman We are excited to announce our only in-person retreat for 2024! Join Kayce Stevens Hughlett and Betsey Beckman for this five-day experiential intensive exploring tools for integrating the arts and imagination into spiritual direction and other healing ministries. This retreat is designed for those who are ready to explore the arts for yourself, for your work with others, and for the world. Anyone called to the practices of soul care (mentorship, spiritual companion,

October 5, 2023

Please Help Us Sustain this Work ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks and artists, One of my heart’s great joys is the global nature of this community. To know that there are monks and artists spread all over the world who commit to this way of life brings me tremendous comfort and encouragement. I feel grateful daily for this vibrant and meaningful work and the amazing people I get to collaborate with to help create our programs and offerings. I am thankful every day for you and for the many notes of encouragement I receive about what our work means to you. We will be adding a fourth week to

September 18, 2022

The Sacred Art of Doll Making + New Dancing Monk Icon ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, This Saturday, September 10th, Wisdom Council Member Polly Paton-Brown is leading a retreat on Praying with Poppets: Rediscovering the Sacred Art of Doll Making. Polly worked for many years as a psychotherapist and trainer in the field of trauma. More recently, her focus has been on helping people explore their spirituality and prayer using creativity and connection with nature. Polly has a particular passion for creating healing dolls as a portal to transformation. Read on for Polly’s reflection on the art of doll making. Creativity, nature and spirituality have always been interwoven for me. As a child I loved the

September 4, 2022

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The Year Ahead at Abbey of the Arts ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Christine Interviewed on the Podcast Find Your Center, Find Your Feet

Writing Your Spiritual Memoir ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Writing as a Spiritual Practice ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Awakening the Creative Spirit In-Person Retreat

Please Help Us Sustain this Work ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

The Sacred Art of Doll Making + New Dancing Monk Icon ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

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