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Faithful Words Literary Ministry

Faithful Words is a new literary ministry developed by Unity Church-Unitarian to create and support opportunities for religious liberals to discover and to develop their own language of faith. Its programs engage writing and literature as tools for spiritual practice and theological reflection, for social action, and for publicly articulating liberal and progressive religious values.

“Whether we are writers or not, words help us reach beyond ourselves to find and name and claim our greater wholeness. They help us summon our best possibilities, bridging between the world as it is today and the place of justice and peace that we long for it to be. ” 

~Rev. Karen Hering, consulting literary minister

As an ecumenical and interfaith ministry, Faithful Words explores the power of the written word to deepen our faithful conversations with one another. Through guided writing sessions on theological themes, participants mine their own inner truths and find their own words and stories to carry those truths onto the open page. With these writing sessions and other communications workshops, Faithful Words also explores the power of imagination and language as tools for social change. The project is supported by private donations, including a grant from the Fund for Unitarian Universalism and contributions from individual donors. 

 

Unity Church-Unitarian

732 Holly Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55104

unity@unityunitarian.org

651-228-1456


OPEN PAGE WRITING SESSIONS: reflecting with pens in hand

These guided writing sessions, led by Literary Minister Karen Hering, are invitations to the creative spirit, opportunities to correspond with “the still, small voice within.” No writing experience is required; only an empty page and an open heart and mind. Individual programs, unless otherwise noted, are free and do not require pre-registration. 

 

OPEN PAGE Writing Session
Sunday, September 19
2:00–4:00 p.m. • Unity Church
Reflection Topic: Faith
Free; RSVP karen@unityunitarian.org
In the early Buddhist, Jewish and Christian texts, faith is not a noun but a verb. It is a way that we live, a leap that we take. In the Pali language of the original Buddhist texts, it meant literally “to place the heart upon.” This writing session, first offered last June, explores faith as something we do. How and where do we offer our hearts? And what does it mean when we do? The session is free and open to all. Registration not required, but an e-mail to karen@unityunitarian.org is requested to help in planning.


THE AWAKENED HEART

Tuesday Evening Sessions, 6:30–9:00 pm
Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul
Tuesday, September 28; topic: Courage
Tuesday, October 26; topic: Brokenness
Tuesday, November 23; topic: Pilgrimage
Tuesday, December 7; topic: Incarnation
For registration fees and details visit: www.wisdomwayscenter.org
A monthly series of guided writing sessions shaped around the theme of Awakening, to be used in individual sessions or as a series. We’ll awaken mythic memory and reflect on the possibilities presently stirring in our own lives and the wider world.

Saturday, October 9, 9 am – Noon
The Loft Literary Center
1011 Washington Ave, Minneapolis
Reflection Topic: A Day of Rest
For registration fees and details visit: www.loft.org
An empty day, like an empty page, carries its own wealth of possibilities. “All creation springs from emptiness,” says writer Wayne Muller. This session explores the creative possibilities of rest and emptiness found in the ancient practice of Sabbath and how writers can make clearings in our lives for creative work. We’ll consider what rest and emptiness mean in a world of 24/7 opportunities.

Thursday mornings, October 28 – December 9, 10 am – Noon
The Loft Literary Center
1011 Washington Ave, Minneapolis
Reflection Topic: The Yin-Yang of Writing
For registration fees details visit: www.loft.org
The practice of writing, like the philosophy of Yin and Yang, can be a rich conversation between this and that, between inner and outer realms, being and becoming, self and other, and reality and imagination. This 6-session class draws from the Tao Te Ching and its teachings on Yin and Yang to explore the relationship between opposites.