Creativity Archives | Abbey of the Arts

Joy and Rest + Prayer Cycle Podcast Day 5

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, At Easter I published a beautifully illustrated fairy tale titled Journey to Joy and later this month over the summer solstice I will be leading a two-day mini-retreat with guest musician Te Martin. The story is about Sophia, a writer and woman in search of physical healing as she has experienced a long bout of illness and the joy in her village has also been depleted. I want to share an excerpt from it near the beginning, after Sophia decides to has to leave the village and find the Medicine Woman: ***** At the river marking the eastern

June 1, 2025

Songs of Strength and Resilience + Prayer Cycle Audio Podcast Day 3

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, We are blessed to have so many beautiful musicians in our community of dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims. This Friday, May 23rd, Wisdom Council member Te Martin will lead us in a mini-retreat on Sourcing from the Well: Songs of Strength and Resilience. Te offers this reflection on the power of song. Little bird, listen to your songThere are bones buried deep deep downThey are rising from the groundWith your song-Te Martin, “Little Bird” Under tall pines and a night sky, we sang. There were songs from the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Armenia, Palestine, and Ireland. Tears of

May 18, 2025

Writing on the Wild Edges + Prayer Cycle Day 2 Audio Podcast ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, In pre-pandemic times, John and I used to lead pilgrimages in Ireland (and Austria and Germany) and one of my favorites was called Writing on the Wild Edges on the island of Inismor off the coast of Galway. The retreat was inspired by the story of St. Brendan, who was known as the navigator because he went on a seven-year journey by sea to find the Island Promised to the Saints. It is a wonderful story of preparations, prayer, discoveries, going in circles, and confronting monsters along the way, before arriving at their destination, and

May 11, 2025

Creative Joy + Prayer Cycle Day 1 Audio Podcast ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, Tomorrow Simon de Voil and I are leading our final contemplative prayer service of the season before we take a break until the fall. Our theme is Creative Joy which is the 8th principle of our Monk Manifesto: I commit to being a dancing monk, cultivating creative joy and letting my body and “heart overflow with the inexpressible delights of love.” Here is a reflection on creative joy from our Monk in the World online retreat: Whether we dance literally or metaphorically, the dance is a symbol for forgetting our self-consciousness and letting ourselves be overcome

May 4, 2025

Journey to Joy ~ A New Project from Christine

Hello dear ones, I continue to feel better on this new medication thankfully. I am far from pain-free, but better than I have felt in perhaps two years or more. I continue to take things slowly as I am keenly aware my health is often fragile and tenuous, so gently I go with gratitude and cherishing. I wanted to share a project that emerged out of this long season of my body flaring and sometimes feeling like my joy was being stolen from me. I turned to one of the things that has always served me well—writing. Specifically the writing

October 1, 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

Christine Interviewed on the Three Association Podcast

Christine was interviewed by Maria Tattu Bowen and Vanessa Carusoon on the Three Association: A Supervision Podcast for Spiritual Direction to discuss the ways art and creativity can bring fresh awareness, freedom, and delight to the practices of supervision and spiritual direction.

November 1, 2023

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Joy and Rest + Prayer Cycle Podcast Day 5

Songs of Strength and Resilience + Prayer Cycle Audio Podcast Day 3

Writing on the Wild Edges + Prayer Cycle Day 2 Audio Podcast ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Creative Joy + Prayer Cycle Day 1 Audio Podcast ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Journey to Joy ~ A New Project from Christine

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

Christine Interviewed on the Three Association Podcast

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