Please join us on the Bluff for a weekend of creativity, contemplation, and community. From writing our hearts out to walking the labyrinth, practicing Centering Prayer to sharing our stories, we’ll experience rest, renewal, and reconnection.
How can we use story to tend our souls? We can do it by crafting the stories of our hearts. We can honor our Selves, and our Creator, by telling the stories we are meant to tell. Whether that’s a novel, a memoir, or a family history; whether you want to publish or simply share with friends. It all counts. That’s what we’ll be about during our time together: claiming our stories, honoring our voices, and taking the next best steps in our creative journeys.
This retreat is not about critique or comparison, and you needn’t consider yourself a “real writer” to participate. You simply need to honor your voice and listen to the leanings of your soul. It’s as easy—and as challenging—as that.
Robbie Pinter and Amy Lyles Wilson are experienced retreat leaders who revere language and revel in wonder.
Robbie Clifton Pinter is a retired professor of English at Belmont University, where she taught writing for more than thirty years. She enjoys teaching a wide variety of writing genres that connects a writer’s deepest longing with the sacred call to be fully human. In her courses, she provides students with the framework for real-life writing practice. She offers workshops and publishes about life writing and its connection to contemplation and action in both academic and non-academic publications. In 2004, Pinter published her memoir, For This Child I Prayed, which tells the story of open adoption. She works with several local nonprofits and serves as a spiritual director in the Nashville area.
Amy-Lyles Wilson, M.A., M.T.S., believes it is the sharing of our stories that saves us. Toward that end, she helps people get to the heart of the matter through words. Amy-Lyles works as a story coach, spiritual director, teacher, and writer. She is affiliated with the Wisdom Tree Collective, Day7, and The Porch. She has been published in a variety of magazines and on National Public Radio, and co-authored or contributed to eight books. Amy-Lyles has served as adjunct professor and writer-in-residence at the Earlham School of Religion, and led workshops across the South, as well as at the Chautauqua Institution. A trained spiritual director and facilitator of both Amherst Writers and Artists and SoulCollage® workshops, she holds degrees in English, journalism, and theology. She recently earned a certificate in narrative healthcare from Lenoir-Rhyne University as part of her commitment to continued education and training. Learn more at www.amylyleswilson.com.
After 72 hours of registration, a $100 cancellation fee applies. There are no refunds within 7 days of the program arrival date.
Scholarships are available. Contact Reservations@stmaryssewnee.org for application.
Roommate discounts are available. Contact Reservations for more information. St. Mary’s Sewanee does not assign roommates.
*A minimum registration is required for retreats to take place. If the program does not meet the minimum registration within 2 weeks of the event, there is the possibility of cancellation. If SMS cancels a retreat for any reason, any registered guest will receive a full refund of all payments.
Lodging in Anna House (motel style room, private bathroom), meals, program fees and materials included
Lodging dorm style, private rooms, shared bathrooms, meals, program fees included
Meals, program fees and materials