Essays & Events
Articles
OUTLOOK: “In lockdown, my church cannot fulfill its calling — just when we need it most.” by Beth Waltemath for The Washington Post, Post Everything, May 19, 2020.
( Churches are among the riskiest place to congregate during the pandemic. As a pastor, I consider the moral toll of not being able to gather to witness to God’s mercy and justice among growing evidence of disparities.)
OPINION: “We Will Need New Ways to Grieve” by Beth Waltemath for The New York Times, The Sunday Review, April 5, 2020. (After presiding over our church’s memorial for a friend, I realized I’d need my own ritual to mark the loss.)
ESSAY: “Beyond Bye Bye Baby: A Mother Considers the Hard-Earned Lessons of the NICU,” by Beth Waltemath for Chapter 16.org, August 13, 2010
ARTICLES: My news coverage of the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) appears in The Presbyterian Outlook with my reviews on what I am reading and how I recommend these books in the context of ministry. Pieces I’ve written from a solutions journalism approach covering communities addressing larger systemic problems appear in the print version of Presbyterians Today.
Events
Gateway To Sapelo: Stories that Shape Us
WRITER’S RETREAT: Gateway To Sapelo: Stories that Shape Us – October 20-23, 2022
A Soul Ventures’ retreat designed for women who are curious about how stories shape us: the stories of the land and stories of its people through the ages.In this intimate Soul Ventures retreat, we will travel to Gateway to Sapelo, a home retreat on the salt marshes across from Sapelo Island, Georgia. We will explore the stories of Coastal Georgia and spend time on Sapelo Island, home to generations of the Gullah-Geechee people inhabiting the land for over two centuries. Come to explore the quiet yet active salt marsh and delve into the power of stories at Sapelo’s Cultural Day. Relax on the beaches and porches while sharing our own stories with one another. We will be guided in the craft of writing through various prompts and workshops by Beth Waltemath and with rituals of grieving and healing by grief counsellor, Zeena Regis.This retreat will explore how Individuals and cultures are shaped by the stories we share for better and for worse. How do we understand the narratives that form who we are, as individuals and as a collective? When do we need to write new ones to liberate our hearts, minds and purpose in the world? How do we listen to the voices of neighbors and communities that are silenced but may offer wisdom to help in our personal and mutual liberation? What is possible when we truly listen to the voices that are inside us?
CLASSES: Writing in Community Together: An Online Workshop, Devotional Writing, An Online Course and Writer’s Collective, and Writing for Publication with a Spiritual Voice, An In-Person Workshop. Faith and Fiction: Using Literature as a Resource in Life and Work. Classes were developed in partnership with The Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary. Look to their website for enchore offerings or below for new online courses through this website.
BOOK FESTIVAL APPEARANCES:
Festival favorite Barbara Brown Taylor joins author Sophfronia Scott and Pastor Beth Waltemath of North Decatur Presbyterian Church to discuss Howard Thurman, Thomas Merton, and prayer-centered life. This complex conversation will bring together ideas from Barbara Brown Taylor’s work in the anthology, Anchored in the Current: Discovering Howard Thurman as Educator, Activist, Guide, and Prophet, and Sophfronia Scott’s upcoming book, The Seekers and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton.
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