Hildegard of Bingen and the Greening Power of God
with Christine Valters Paintner and Betsey Beckman
Program Description
Join us on the feast day of St. Hildegard of Bingen for a mini-retreat online gathering via Zoom to celebrate this remarkable woman and her gifts for us today. Hildegard was a theologian, preacher, musician and composer, visual artist, herbalist, spiritual director, prophet, visionary, and abbess of a 12th century Benedictine community in the Rhine valley of Germany.
One of her most inspiring teachings is about viriditas which means the greening power of God. She saw this as the foundational principle for the vibrancy of all life, both body and soul. She calls us to nourish a fertile and juicy approach to our physical health and our spiritual well-being, inviting in God’s greenness and working with the places this energy is blocked.
During our retreat we will draw on her teachings, visions, music, and work with herbs to invite you into a consideration of how to nourish your own creative flourishing. Through the expressive modalities of song, writing, drawing, and movement you will be encouraged to make space for your own greening life force to flow.
The retreat will be recorded for those who pre-register but are unable to attend at the scheduled time.
Your Guides for the Journey
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE
Christine is the founder and director of AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery and global community integrating contemplative practice, creative expression, and ways to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. She is a spiritual director, teacher, pilgrimage guide, expressive arts educator, poet, and author of 17 books on spirituality and the arts. Christine lives out her commitment as a Benedictine oblate and monk in the world on the west coast of Ireland with her husband John and dog Sourney. Visit the “About Christine” page for more information.
Betsey Beckman, MM
Betsey Beckman, MM fell in love with Hildegard von Bingen in the 1980s when she developed a dance-drama depicting the Abbess’ life story, thereby discovering a spiritual mentor in Hildegard’s embrace of the arts, preaching, and healing practices. Betsey’s own professional and creative practices include dance, storytelling, spiritual direction, movement ministry, and videography. In 2005, Betsey began collaborating with Christine Valters Paintner to develop Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education in the Arts for Soul-Care Providers. Out of this initial offering grew a book, and the subsequent launching of online courses which eventually became the global virtual community of Abbey of the Arts. Betsey’s skills in playful improvisation blend seamlessly with Christine’s depth of wisdom to create a beautiful duet of depth and expressiveness in their shared leadership. She earned her BA in Theology from Georgetown University, Masters in Ministry from Seattle University, her certificate in Movement Therapy from the Institute for Transformational Movement, and her certificate as InterPlay leader from BodyWisdom.org. Under the umbrella of The Dancing Word, in addition to developing a full repertory of storydances, she has produced 4 CDs and (soon to be) 4 DVDs of song and movement prayers for Abbey of the Arts. She offers the gift of playful improvisation whenever possible.
Registration
If you need a different payment plan or a greater scholarship to make this program accessible, please get in touch with us.
Terms and Conditions
Please consider your purchase carefully and review the many free materials we have on our website to make sure the program will be a good fit or get in touch with any questions.
We ask that you honor our work by not sharing the program materials with others who are not enrolled.
Please contact us for permission to quote in settings beyond the program
These videos are made available to registered participants and may also be included in future versions of the program including self-study. If you choose to speak during a recorded gathering, you are giving us your consent to record that contribution. If you prefer not to be seen or heard, you can of course switch off or mute your camera or microphone at any time. Chat sessions are recorded and posted as well. Participation in the chat function is also giving consent to their recording. Breakout groups are never recorded.
If you choose a payment plan and stop payment before fulfilling the commitment without contacting us to make other arrangements, your access to the program will be removed.
