Category: Faith & Culture Writers Conference 2015

Posted on

Marc Schelske to speak at Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 Writers Connection

_MG_5471Mark your calendar for the next Writers Connection Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 7 p.m. when Marc Schelske is set to speak! The meeting will be at Oak Hills Presbyterian Church located at 5101 SE Thiessen Road in Milwaukie Oregon. 

Marc Schelske is a writer, speaker, hobbyist theologian, recovering fundamentalist, tea drinker & motorcycle rider.  Sometimes he’s a chef or a songwriter.  Much more importantly, he says: “I’m also a daddy and a husband.

Marc is also the teaching elder at Bridge City Community Church in Milwaukie, Oregon. Marc served on the leadership team for past Faith & Culture Writers Conference events.

Writers Connection is for everyone who is interested in story, writing, poetry, culture, art, blogging. Come each time, come once, come as you are. All are welcome!

You can check in to let us know you are joining us by visiting our Facebook event page for this meeting here:

Posted on

A Faith & Culture Sabbatical

When we started the Faith & Culture Writers Conference in 2011 at Western Seminary in Portland, our initial idea was to offer our creative event every other year at alternating higher education institutions. As the years went on, the passion for the Faith & Culture Writers Conference grew beyond the Pacific Northwest, and we began attracting attendees from across the country. Advisory board members and key team leaders suggested we reconsider our timeframe, and return a year later rather than wait two years.

Humbled and honored by the positive enthusiasm and support we began holding our conference yearly, and this last one in 2015, we even added a mini retreat to the program as well as a creative art space. And, another highlight: Rachael Thomas created this beautiful masterpiece during our two-days together. So much beauty which was reflected in our awesome feedback this _MG_6098year. We heard: “Faith & Culture changed my life,” “This is such a life-giving event,” “You’ve helped me launch my writing dreams,” and “I’ve found my people in you.”

Yet, 2015 was a trying year for me and this year continues to be a struggle. As most of you know, I was in a near-fatal accident suffering a brain injury in January 2015; and it was only because of the FCWC leadership team rallying together, that we were was able to pull off the 2015 event in April. It truly was God, who has always been our focus.
After the 2015 conference, as I have continued to try and focus on healing and my family and the rest of my life, I have slowly been meeting with lead team members, advisors and FCWC cheerleaders, both veteran and new, to regroup, reimagine, plan and dream for future FCWC events. I knew I needed to step back  this year.

Aaron Esparza PhotographyAfter much consideration and prayer, brainstorming about possibilities, we have decided to rest for the remainder of 2016, and look to 2017 for our next Faith & Culture Writers Conference.

We are calling it a Faith & Culture Sabbatical.

I am so incredibly grateful for the wonderful people who have come along to bring this wonderful conference to the creative community of faith. They are lifelong friends and I will never forget their hours upon hours of service. So many others have made this conference possible. I am also incredibly thankful for the various higher education institutions that have hosted us. It takes a lot to put a conference on!
Thank you for your encouragement, your prayers, your ideas, your support, your help, your believing in the vision. You are all part of our Faith & Culture Community.

In the mean time, other creative conferences have been reaching out to us to cross-promote their events, so we will let you know via our social media accounts and our blog.
And, if you are in the local PORTLAND, OREGON area, be sure to join us for our monthly Writers Connection. Our 2014 and 2015 conference emcee Velynn Brown, who came up with the word Sabbatical for our year of rest, is our new Writers Connection co-leader. We now alternate locations each month, between  Rolling Hills Community Church in Tualatin, Oregon, and  Genesis Community Fellowship in Northeast Portland. Our next meeting is Wed. March 17 at Genesis, featuring Paul Pastor, and in April, we return to Rolling Hills (Thursday April 21). Thursday, May 19 we have our end of the year celebration, location, TBA!

We will be keeping our blog going, so please consider contributing a piece! Email: faithcultureteam@gmail.com

Keep in touch, with questions, email:
faithcultureteam@gmail.com

Our Social Media handles:

Twitter: @FaithCultureArt
Instagram: @FaithCultureArt
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FaithCultureWriters
And, to end, I share with you our first theme verse from our inaugural event in 2011, one that keynote speaker Paul Louis Metzger gave us:

“But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
– Jer. 20: 9

Share your story; the story God has given you, His story in you! And tell us and the world when you do! Do keep in touch.

[Note: WORDS art created by Martin French. Dove art created by Rachael Thomas]

Posted on

Last Year I declared “I am a writer.” This year. . .

writer hands charaBy Chara Donahue

Last February, I was certain God had prompted me to join Twitter and start a blog. These are weird things God, I prayed, but whatever you say.

It is a habit of mine to ask God at the end of any conference, “What step of obedience should I take in response to what I have heard?” Normally, it is something a bit more understandable, like remove this thing from your life, help this person, or serve in this area.

Starting the blog fell under service, but in a way that was quite unfamiliar to me. Could my writing hobby really be used to bring glory to my Savior? I have learned to give what He is asking even when the submission falls into curious realms. I would rather be where God is moving, than to reason away what I do not understand. For it is in that space that marvel and wonder abound.

Grabbing a $5 blogger template from Etsy and shortly after joining Twitter, I took those first steps of faith that are often the hardest.

I began following a smattering of people on Twitter, and saw that Kari Patterson, a writer who had been gracious enough to give me some tips, was going to be speaking at the Faith & Culture Writer’s Conference. For Christmas my husband had gifted me a weekend away to work on my creative endeavors, and this appeared to be the perfect opportunity to cash in on his generosity.At this point, I had published a couple of posts and had rejoiced about my first freelance piece being accepted.

I realized, if I was going to go and sit amongst those who spread beauty by putting words to page, it was time to admit I was one of them.

Acknowledging this simple truth freed me to see a new reality; what qualified me to be a writer – is that I write. No lofty author had to bestow the title upon me; I didn’t need to have a book published, and there wasn’t some foreboding checklist taunting with what I must do next.

Writers, write. It isn’t about numbers or publications, but living out a God-ordained purpose for which I was created. I had to ask myself: was I willing to trust?

This venture has eclipsed all expectations, and dwarfed even my wildest anticipations. I have seen God use my words. I have been privileged to meet other writers and read what God has given them to say. I am a regular contributor on four different websites and have guest posted all over the place. A year ago I wasn’t dreaming of this, but God was leading me to it. All I had to do was give Him my yes.

As this new year begins – I am dreaming, setting goals, meeting regularly with others in the Faith and Culture circles, and lifting it all up with open hands in prayer. Whatever is to come, I want to maintain the simplicity of I will trust and obey. Whether it is more freelance work or less, the completion of a book proposal or a manuscript, or a time of rest and inspiration, I want to live in the divine tension of everything God wants for me, and from me, and will settle for nothing less.

The whispers of doubt have not fallen completely silent; I still wonder if God really cares about which social media platforms I choose to utilize. Does He really care if I keep my words to myself, or If I allow others to see them? Does He really care about this expanding facet of my life?

He does.

He wants to be in it all, at all times. And this hobby, He has chosen to make it more. He imparts the gifts we are called to use for blessing others. He helps others find hope in words delivered through my pen by His spirit.

For long before I chose to call myself a writer my God fashioned me a scribe. Would I dare tell the God of the universe, “You can have my hands but not my pen?”

“Writer” Chara Donahue’s work can be found at:  Chara Donahue

 

Posted on

“Stats” or Bridge?

by Jan Johnson

 

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my book giveaway drawing… you know, the drawing nobody entered?

Well, I wrote about it partly to tell you where the book ended up, and partly in the interests of full disclosure–I don’t want to give a false impression that I’m some wildly popular, successful blogger or anything. But later I re-read the post and thought it may have sounded a bit… whiny.

I hate whining.

I should write a post, I thought, to emphasize that I’m okay with my small start and am definitely not whining. But I got busy and didn’t write it… yet…

Then I went to the Faith and Culture Writers retreat and conference in Portland, as I described last week. Excellent speakers taught on a wide variety of topics relevant to us creatives. Looking back over my notes, I found one common thread that appeared, one way or other, in every single talk. Here’s the gist of it:

To really connect with your readers you must know your identity and write authentically from your passion. Do not chase market trends or compare yourself to anyone else.

No kidding, this idea popped up in every session, from “Embrace Your Inner Weird” to “Learning from Great Literature” to “Ten Things I Hate About Your Blog.” After hearing it twelve or fifteen times, phrased in a variety of ways, it made quite an impact on me. (I may have mentioned that during the conference I suffered from information overload. Otherwise it might have had that impact sooner.)

I don’t obsess about the number of subscribers my blog has. Besides the “comparison” thing, blog statistics are pretty much meaningless anyway. Many people click “subscribe” if they see one post they kind of like, or if they want to sell me something–and they never come back. One time someone followed my blog, leaving this comment on one of my especially heartfelt, carefully crafted posts:

“Follow back?”

Did she even read any of the post?

That lack of depth or engagement sends a message: “Jan, you are just a commodity this person wants to use.”

A four-digit number of followers would feel good, but only if those individuals benefit from what I have to say. I want to build a bridge between myself and my readers and, hopefully, between us and Christ. So why pump up my statistics with two thousand people who have spent no more than fifteen seconds–ever–with my blog? As near as I can figure, it’s better to connect with two dozen real live people who actually, you know, enjoy some of my posts.

Like Marlece, f’rinstance–mom of four boys in Washington state. She documents the joy and wackiness in her blog “Son Up ‘Til Son Down.” We connected online, and got to meet when I was in the area for the conference. After encouraging each other for a couple of years, I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to see her and deliver a real, live, warm, 3-D hug right there in Starbucks! She writes authentically and from her passion. As we talked I found I already knew her. She is just as wise and wonderful in person as I’d thought.

That’s how I want to write, too. So, if you’ve read this far, know that I truly love sharing my hectic, goofy and often-discombobulated life with you. You are the one I write for, and again I say…

…thanks for reading.
Seriously!
Jan

Connect with Jan:

Website

 

Posted on

When Cracks Show us the Glory of God

Ashley Hales

by Ashley Hales

Shivering in this northwesterly wind, I sit on the edge of dirt and pavement: this juxtaposition between organic and man-made. This concrete worn and utilitarian next to the unadorned simplicity – almost vulgarity – of the dirt. We are stuff just as these. Stones pulverized and fashioned into meaning. Organic material who hide behind makeup and jewelry and our bios. But we’re all just dust and ashes. All here to serve a God so much bigger and more incomprehensible than ourselves. A God who hung the stars in galaxies we haven’t yet discovered; a God who created atoms and molecules and things we can’t comprehend. For what? For the joy of it.

For delight. (That’s what Henry James taught me – the delight in language, in the glory of the small pieces forming intricate beings called sentences that curl and twist and in which we live and move and have our being).

That there is something about glory that fills and moves spaces; that it is self-assured in its perfection because it is perfection that comes from humility, from sacrifice.

For a Kingdom that breaks through these cracks in the sidewalk or speaks to me out of the dirt, is a Kingdom that is not about utility. It is a Kingdom that glories and dignifies the small, that notices the simple – that says a hair or a sparrow are currency in this Kingdom.

In college there was a singer-songwriter who sang a song based on Isaiah 55, “You who have no money, come buy and eat” and it made no sense to me then. This Kingdom where glory comes in brokenness, where glory breaks in through the stuff of dirt and sidewalks, where glory is a free meal.– where glory fills the ordinary with good things – this, this is where I want to live.

It is only here, in this Kingdom of concrete and dirt, where I am fully free. In this moment there is life, life more abundant and full and overflowing than my degrees or accomplishments. And it comes inching towards me as an offering while the thoughts about all those people who I am responsible for, for the pain and heartaches and miscommunications come racing in. But I’ve been given this moment.

It, too, is an offering of dirt and concrete. And it, too, is delight.

Connect with Ashley Hales:

Website | Twitter

 

Posted on

What it Looks Like to Find Home (yet again)

Ashley Hales

by Ashley Hales

We almost moved to Portland in 2009 to do an apprenticeship with a church. We fell in love. We wanted to be downtown people. We wanted to walk on lazy Saturday mornings with a cup of hand-crafted coffee and browse in Powell’s. We ached for urbanism, books, meaning, and craft beers. We longed for the coming together of pubs and stories; of the gospel and hipsters; of beauty and brokenness. And then it turned to ashes. We didn’t move. And we felt like death. Six years later, this last weekend, I returned to Portland and even in the span of three days and three nights, I am resurrected.

I am more fully alive, more fully myself, more a member of a tribe than I dreamt possible. There is a quiet back and forth between the prophetic fire I feel stretching for release inside of me and the long, slow soul-digging necessary to make a life of writing work. And it all is good work. Because now I believe I have a community of soul friends; where, hunched over drinks around a table, even though we come from different backgrounds and theological viewpoints, we are home. There, around the table, we are most fully ourselves, most fully alive. Because home was never about being right. Home is belonging. Home is where we hash out who we are and what we believe; but surrounding that process, is a womb of protection. Home is where we can be messy, scared, broken, angry. And a true home can hold us as we thrash about as we are birthed into ourselves.

I found a little slice of home there in the drizzly northwestern rain. I found a home by myself, sandwiched between earth and concrete, feeling as much a part of one as the other. I found home in a Kingdom that is wide and deep and long and a breath of air. I found home in words that filled me, where I marveled at beauty and truth wrapped around one another like lovers. I found home in the eyes of my friends, when I could listen to their hurt, to their cries of lament from systemic oppression; or where I could weep at the violence done to them because they were sacrifices to a system. These are systems based on fear or control, where the image of God becomes something to squelch and squash, like my toddler squishes Play-Doh back into its plastic tin. I found home in the words of meandering faith journeys, where we hold holy space open for each other. I found home in my tears. Portland birthed me. Me. Not in my writerly garb, but just me.

I have some resolutions of sorts, some lessons to take away and tape up to my bathroom mirror, to remind myself what I will do:   I will dig gently. But I will dig. I will tell myself the truth of the middle day. That there is dusk and there is dawn and at these threshold moments we are the verge of beholding glory. I will see. I will pause, slow down and not rush to resolution. My first duty is to see. I will proclaim truth. I will point others to glory. And, I will show them home.

This was Ashley’s first time attending the Faith & Culture Writers Conference. She blogs at: Website

Posted on

Letting go of fear and saying, “I am a Writer”

By Leanne Sype 

There’s something I haven’t told you because I’ve been fearful. I thought I was being humble. But this past weekend I attended the 2015 Faith and Culture Writer’s Conference, which turned into two-day therapy-retreat where I cried a lot and got really depressed before I became inspired. I was hindered to inspiration because I was blocked by truth.

I sat in a guided writing experience with Micah J. Murray,  during the new, “Breathing Space: A Mini Retreat” that was added to the conference this year. Micah called us out our snippy inner-gremlins and fought against them by writing a fan letter to ourselves. I wasn’t going to read mine out loud because my gremlins told me that everyone else’s letter was way better, that I would be self-centered if I volunteered, and that everyone would think mine was stupid. I punched my gremlins in the face by volunteering to read mine.

I read my letter and I was okay; people liked it.  Micah asked me to read it again. The second time I read it, I wasn’t okay. I began to cry and could barely get through the dang thing without snotting all over it. I got mad(ish) at Micah, “Why did you make me read this again? Look at what you made me do!”  He had called me to a place of public vulnerability–then asked if the group could pray for me. He asked the sweet girl next to me, Michelle, to lay a hand on me and pray. And pray she did, so beautifully and tearfully. This was a powerful moment that I didn’t understand in the moment.

In this same class, a gentleman, Sovann Penn (@SovannPenn), read his letter. He said to himself, “You have been mistaking fear for humility far too long… you have friends who are awesome and believe in you.” This stuck with me the rest of the day the same way a rock gets stuck inside your shoe.

That night in the main session, author Emily Freeman said, “I want to write like a hostess. A hostess doesn’t leave her guests to go call all the people who RSVP’ed “no” to find out why the didn’t come and why they don’t like her. That’s crazy. I want to write like a hostess, not a crazy person.” This put another rock in my shoe, and I went home feeling depressed, annoyed, and uncertain if I would be back the next day. I snuggled up to my husband and blubbered all over him with no words to express what was wrong with me.

I woke up the next morning with the very clear voice of the Holy Spirit:

“You’ve been mistaking fear for humility; you’re missing out on the full experience of the gift you’ve been given and the ministry in which you have been invited to participate. You are scared of people rejecting you, mocking you, and being angry with you, yet in all the things I’ve given you to write never once have you experienced what you fear. Not even in your most public confessions of sin. You are a lovely hostess with many guests I’ve brought to you because they can hear you; your translation from the Kingdom to the guests is good! But you leave them so you can wait by the phone for the “no” RSVP’s to call. They aren’t calling… and you’re missing the party! You have faithful friends, family, and even strangers who believe in you, but most importantly I believe in you. I have work for you if you’re willing; the fruit will be good and beautiful if you will trust Me.”

Here’s what I want to tell you:

I’ve spent the last 14 years pouring into and editing the stories of others, defining myself as an editor and merely dabbling in my craft as a “wet-noodle” writer. I confess that while I adore, honor, and value other people’s stories, I’ve been using editing as a way to avoid the true work God has for me–writing. I have been fearful of stepping into the public arena of vulnerability, giving power to voices of the gremlins and cloaking my fear in humility so as to justify my place behind the scenes (which, incidentally, is where an editor works. How convenient.)

Yes, some of my recent writings have been more confessional and vulnerable, evidence of God’s effort in coaxing me out into the arena, but I can tell you they were published in trembling obedience and reluctant submission.

Writing  I surrender with humble declaration that I am writer. I write creative non-fiction about real-life, my story, and God’s unwavering persistence to be the anchor for both. I translate through written words what I hear, see, and feel from God so I can better understand the purpose he has for me, how I can live that purpose for His glory, and how I can invite others to discover the same for their lives. My prayer always is that through my experiences, you find yourself encouraged, inspired, and invited into a Kingdom that is safe and welcoming, and promises purposeful life no matter how broken you are. You are loved unconditionally. And so am I.

God gave me my first assignment in January– a children’s book called The Hungry Garden. It’s an alphabet book the Hungry Gardenthat explores the ordinary to extraordinary food that gardens grow and why these foods are so exciting. It comes with a 26-recipe “snack book” that parents and children can use in their kitchen to be creative with food. I have completed the first draft of the main manuscript, and I am currently developing and testing the recipes.

I never wanted to write a book, let alone a children’s book . . . let alone a children’s book about food.  I didn’t feel qualified. But as I have been following His lead on this project, it’s becoming more clear that as a recovering anorexic patient, I understand the fear of food intimately. I know what it feels like to see food in front of me that looks scary, smells weird, and would certainly be the worst thing ever if I ate it. As a child of God living with an eating disorder, I can relate to children in a way others cannot. Only God can orchestrate such a unique connection.

I look forward to sharing with you the nutty things that have happened since beginning this process, along with the mysteries and surprises I encounter as I journey forward. I promise not to hold back anymore! I am joining the party and will step into the arena as my name is called.

And those grumpy gremlins? Well, they aren’t invited.

—————————————————————-

Leanne Sype was a speaker at the 2015 Faith & Culture Writers Conference. She IS a also a  writer, whose work can be found at Leanne Sype website

Posted on

Listening silently – then come the takeaways

Nicholle Franke By Nicholle Franke

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill

In a world of constant NOISE… Will we sit down and LISTEN?

In a world of constant NOISE… Will we stand up and SPEAK?

On April 8, 2015 Andrew and I boarded a plane way, way too early for Portland, OR.  We were heading to the Great Northwest for our 10th Anniversary Trip (How is that possible?), a Tour of Two Airplane Factories (Andrew-always the plane enthusiast) and for me to attend the Faith & Culture Writers Conference  (truly the reason this trip came together).

And because nothing, absolutely nothing is ever simple for me. We were also privileged to spend an extra hour in the PDX Airport with their awesome carpet awesome carpet and seriously the NICEST TSA agents on planet earth because I left my cell phone in one of the bathrooms behind security.  But have no fear, they found it! HALLELUJAH!

Can you say this Power Couple (hahaha) is efficient?  We killed three birds with one trip.

Plus for good measure we saw about one-quarter of the state of Oregon in a tiny little clown car, had a great lunch with my cousin at a Brewery, and rode Segway’s for the first time around Bend, OR.

When my in-laws were naming their son, I’ve often joked Efficient should have been his middle name.  Of course, he did marry me, always the inefficient one. So perhaps he knew his proclivity towards exactness and needed some balance in his life. I mean seriously how many people do you know that leave their cell phone in an airport and can’t remember where they left it? Perhaps our diverse personalities are what joined us together.

But I digress.  Because truly this trip was about confronting what’s next for me. It was my chance to wrestle with my passion for Revival and see what that could look like in terms of living as a Writer and even Bigger than that, engage with others around my Calling as Prophet in the Body Of Christ. And honestly, until this trip and the weeks that have followed – the jury was still out in my soul.

I had certainly spent MONTHS in total Silence with the Lord. Months wrestling with understanding what the Lord was asking of me.  Months spent writing in these cute little notebooks my friend keeps supplying me with. And Months spent seeing visions of what was to Come. But MONTHS of all of that for an extrovert, can feel like AGONY!

“Listen to Me in silence, And let the peoples gain new strength; Let them come forward, then let them speak…” – Isaiah 41:1

Let me speak plainly for just a moment. I was beginning to feel like a crazy person when people asked me what I was up to these days…

“Well, umm, you know,” I’d say.  And they’d say, “well no, I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking.” . . . see crazy person here.

But somehow with each passing day, and each moment spent at Jesus’ feet I was gaining more strength, more hope, and more passion to SPEAK! Because each moment I spent listening to HIM was a moment of being Built Up in my inner being.  The very place where I needed it most, the INSIDE OF MY FRAGILE HEART!

And therefore when I arrived at the Faith & Culture Writers Conference Friday Evening, my outside life (the one everyone sees most days) was ready to listen to what I needed to do to be strengthened to stand up and Speak the Words that the Lord was placing in my inner being.

Don’t be confused though.  I have not arrived, I still have no idea what I’m doing most days, and I still wrestle. I am the very least likely person God should use to broadcast anything to the world, but like Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians-its God’s grace that calls me to announce God’s good news, which is unsearchable.

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ… – Ephesians 3:8

And at the Conference, I finally found a space to rest, to find strength and courage, and to discern the words I was struggling to own about who I was. I was able to be still and LISTEN, so I can SPEAK.

So maybe you’re wondering what I heard God speak to me up in Oregon at that Conference…  Me too!

But honestly as I listened to the words spoken over me at the FCWC and re-read my notes over the last few weeks I walk gently because it’s hard to follow so much collective wisdom.  But here are my five key takeaways as I journey forward to speak and live out my calling in a Noisy World.

1. I will Never Arrive. Sorry this isn’t such good news to some, but there’s some strange comfort in it for me. Once I’m published, once people hear what God’s given me to say, once… There’s always another once. But from every published author, from every workshop leader, from every main stage speaker, I heard in their voices a hunger for continued obedience. So until we’re in heaven, creation will continue to wait for the revealing of our hope which is Christ.

2. There’s Beauty in the Redemption Process.  Cornelia, Romal, Emily,   Phil, Tony, William and everyone else that led our time there shared with fear and trembling God’s mighty work of redemption in their lives. And each of them reminded me that if the LORD has told me to listen, to write, to speak about my journey from broken-ness to wholeness – I need to see that I only have one choice: obedience.

3. My Best Writing and Theology Will Come out of Living the Gospel. Thank you AJ. I know this, and need to hear this EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!

4. Gut-Wrenching Honesty is Always My Preferred Method of Hearing the Truth. You are probably saying, for real? But yes, it is for me.  I heard from different agents and publishers that yes, if I want to be a published author, I’m gonna have to work HARD, HUSTLE, and GROW my platform. And even in all that it’s not a given. But it is the truth.

5. My Passion and Calling Won’t Let Up Even When the Work is Hard. Because as Jeff Goins says, “I would rather do hard things that matter than easy things that don’t.” From every person who spoke, to every volunteer, to every attendee who was at the Conference, there was this sense that we all kind of knew what lay ahead wasn’t easy, but we were all ready for whatever it was.

I have no earthly idea, if any of those takeaways will help another soul. But today I was obedient to write and here’s what i realized… although I haven’t arrived, I will share my redemption process of becoming who I’m called to be, so that as I preach, write and live out the gospel with truth I’ll give someone else a sense that what we all do matters and we are ready for whatever that is!!!!!!

——————

Nicolle Franke is a writer and speaker and can be reached at:  Nicholle Franke Website

Posted on

They’re my people because they’re “Jesus people” – and they write

By  Chara Donahue

In my stocking this past Christmas was a gift from my husband. A small little piece of torn notebook paper with  “one writer’s weekend” scrawled across it.  My husband had asked me what I wanted, and I told him a weekend of quiet to focus on writing. He gave the okay with that little corner of  paper. The beginning of the year was crazy: I was in school again working towards a History endorsement, and Biblical Counseling certification, leading Outward’s  women’s ministry, starting a blog, and trying to maintain sanity at home raising my four little rascals.

Fast forward two months, and across my newly opened twitter feed I saw that Kari Patterson  would be speaking at a writers conference in Portland.  Being that she was the first (non-relative) writer  to read  a very small piece of my someday book, It drew my attention. I clicked on the link and  managed to scrape together the funds. My Christmas present arrived in April in the form of the Faith and Culture Writers’ Conference.

I was a bit excited:

Going into this, I knew I was going to have to stop hiding from the fact that I am a writer. Pretending that this piece of me is a dirty little secret of pages needing to stay under a mattress wouldn’t do. It was time to embrace it as part of how God has scripted my part in his story. It was also time to be amongst others who know what it is to write.  Those who simply want to serve the world by weaving together letters that create beautiful words and words that create lasting stories.

All this seemed big but not necessarily scary.  I mean, what risk was there?   I know how to wear big girl pants.  Yet, emotionally I heard whispers of peril and intimidation, because I love writing and this was my first real proclamation of that. I was putting something I love out on the offering plate and I had no idea if it would be received.  Nevertheless, I was going and I would call myself a writer.

I longed to enter into a retreat where I was able to talk about writing and not have the fear of appearing prideful, because the people there would understand I don’t write out of pride or self-elevating desires. I write to process, to expose hidden glories, and to seek out the truest truths.   I don’t write because I know it all. I write because I have something to say.  That in a world of billions of voices, I want mine to make people ask, “Who is this Jesus?”

So to Portland I went. While I drove to the land of exotic food carts, the weird, and an airport carpet that’s got a platform 10 times the size of mine, I asked God “What are you going to do? I am listening. How are You going to challenge me? How do You want me to love people?”

The challenges came in many forms:

Can I go from Blank to Beautiful?

Can I–wash windows so that others can see God’s beauty more clearly? — @sethhaines

Can I– point people at God and change hearts with my words?– @NishWeiseth

Can I–remember It ‘s not about my greatness it’s about God’s?– @AshleyMLarkin

Can I–bleed out onto the page in incredible ways?– @karipatterson

Can I–learn “how to market without selling my soul?” — @kurtbubna

Can I–just follow the advice of @karenzach, by never going to a cold computer and telling that nagging inner editor to “shut up” as I write fictional accounts of Kenyan boys choosing their paths?

Can I–like @CorneliSeigneur , “Ask God to show me why He saved me?”  or create space to build up, honor, and encourage others while living Isaiah 50:4?

Can I–tell stories that create beautiful images that people will never forget like @tonykriz and his  Albanian lights?

Can I–search for reason in unreasonable space?– @phievalon

Can I–read the headlines of my soul  from a bench on a Tuesday as tears hug my eyeballs?– @emilypfreeman

Can I–just show up and  be willing to tell the painful, shameful stories so that others can find life?– @RomalTune

Can I–strain my best and truest stories through glory and trust my Lord with the results? — @AliaJoyH

Can I–be in my heart and not my head and get out of the way so that what I am trying to convey can break through? —@christaljenkins

Can I–write a crystal clear book proposal?– @MacGregorLit

Can I–remember rightly and craft beauty out of the pain Jesus has healed me from?– @ChapinChick

Can I–step out of the box God is willing to climb into in order to be with me, and reach for Him instead?– @wmpaulyoung

Can I accept the challenges, and love the people?

I loved the inspiration and the information, but the people…the people at this thing brought the joy.

When I have the deepest truths written and interwoven into my very being, I can risk loving others freely and sincerely from the heart.

I could tell my unedited ideas to a room full of other writers because like everything else in my life my writing belongs to God – NOT to me. I could sit with them, be motivated, and as I nodded along with truths from the speakers, I could join the cacophony of Yays and Amens coming from those around me.  I could genuinely be more interested in their stories than in telling my own, because all insecurities, hang-ups, and self protective measures become small when God is big; and this God of ours is BIG.

I felt accepted by people who invited me to sit at their tables, ask about their lives, and talk about writing in the ways that only writers do. Faces I had only met once became faces of familiarity that made all the other unknown faces a little less alien.  They too want tales to be told, so that faith, hope, and love can seep into  the world as we place words on alters of paper, web pages, and open air. They know writing is not an exclusive club. It is a desire that drives, and that is why I feel a kinship with them – “my tribe.”

But really, they are not my people in the closest sense of the word.  My husband, my children, my church – those are the people that were still there Sunday morning when the conference was over.  I love my daily people, still there, still my favorite humans offering rest when I come down from that conference high and face reality and responsibilities that reach outside of my writing bubble.  But my writing people have been grafted into my awareness.

These fellow writers are still there in my mind, so I can be reminded that there are people out in the world that would understand my blank expression when other more familiar people ask me why the dishes are pouring out of the sink and the kids are still in pajamas,  and I say sheepishly, “Um, I was writing?”

I may only see them on Twitter (which I am loving by the way); hopefully, I will see some of them next year. Reality tells me I may never see some of these people again–at least on this side of heaven. I know it might sound trite, but truth is I am okay with that. That’s life. I am so pleased and filled by those, “Hey, it was nice to meet you once before heaven, see you when we get there” kind of interactions, because they are hopeful  glimpses of eternal community.

This is what I love the most. That these people were my people before I knew them because of Who they know. They are my people because we have the same Ultimate Person. We have Jesus. So yes, these people are my people in that they understand a facet of me that some of my close people just don’t get.

Ultimately, though, these people are not my people because they are writers. These people are my people because they are Jesus’ people. But, it sure is nice that they write.

“That I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary”.–Isaiah 50:4 (Cornelia Seigneur, keynote speech)

——————-

Chara Donahue attended the 2015 Faith & Culture Writers Conference for the first time, and blogs at Chara Donahue

Posted on

A Welcome Letter from FCWC Director

Cornelia Becker Seigneur  By Cornelia Becker Seigneur

On behalf of the entire Faith & Culture Writers Conference Leadership Team, I want to welcome you to the Expanded 2015 Faith & Culture Writers Conference – Rough Draft: From Blank To Beautiful.

Last year you spoke, saying you wanted more time for fellowship and legroom — in short, more breathing space — and we listened. We added our Friday pre-conference experience which we are calling “Breathing Space-A Mini Retreat”; we also have Art Stations in McGuire, where you can reflect on the conference visually. In addition, we will have a prayer room available to ponder your creative God-given calling. We truly hope and pray that you find inspiration, courage, and community during your experience with us.

We need in-person connection and we intentionally want to be a creative community where everyone belongs and feels as though their story matters. Because it does!

It Takes a Village!
After my life-changing Accident in January, this amazing team that I serve alongside continued to move this conference forward, and without them there would be no conference! I am incredibly and humbly grateful for their service and friendship.

  • Bethany Jackson has been so faithful, keeping us on task as our Executive Administrator
  • Marc Schelske serves as our Scribe and (new!) Launch Coordinator and all-around get-things done guy
  • Taylor Smith returns as the warm and amazing Communications Coordinator of our speakers;
  • Brooke Nicole Perry is once again our expert, matching attendees with their Agents, Editors, and Mentors;
  • A big nod goes to Tony Kriz, one of our visionaries and Advisory Board Members;
  • Leah Abraham, is our awesome Website Administrator;
  • Matthew O’Connell, organizes our Faith & Culture Writing Contest;
  • Jody Collins, is our Volunteer Coordinator|Administrative Assistant.
  • Our Committee members include: Kim Hunt, social media coordinator, Cayla Pruett and Rachael Metzger, creative space coordinators; Faye Strudler our Prayer Team Coordinator; and Stephen Carter, Writing Contest|Social Media Assistant.
  • Huge thank you goes to Bethany Sundstrom-Smith for re-designing our website this year. Be sure to see our “Acknowledgments” page in your folder for complete list of thank you’s.
  • We are also thankful to Warner Pacific College for their hospitality as our sponsoring host. Grace Kim and Melody Burton have made us feel very welcome, as they have worked behind the scenes with logistics and details. Thank you to Mimi Fonseca for coordinating our bookstore and Joel Santana, our meals.
  • Once again, we are honored that Martin French created our beautiful WORDS logo shown at the top of this letter;
  • Aaron Esparza returns as our photographer;
  • Brad Ediger is recording all talks and sessions for you to purchase.
  • And, we give a shout-out to the judges of our Writing Contest as well as Scrivener and Bedlam Magazine.

A Couple of Changes.

I do have a couple of notes to make you aware of. We are sorry to say that due to a family situation, Amber Haines and Erika Morrison are no longer able to be with us. And Nish Weiseth has to leave early so she will not be leading the afternoon mini-retreat small groups. But, Micah J. Murray and Karen Zacharias Spear are stepping in to join the co-led groups of  Seth Haines and Brooke Perry and Tony Kriz and Romal Tune

We serve a creative God who carved something beautiful out of nothing; and now He calls us to create, to fill the blank pages of our lives with our WORDS, our stories. We pray that you find a place of community and belonging here, and that you sense that you matter. May Christ be honored this weekend; may He give you the WORDS to share the stories that change lives. I am so glad you are here!

Happy Writing and stay connected.

P.S. Please understand if I am not my usual, energetic self! Blame it on the concussion. Hey, you try surviving getting hit by an SUV and live to tell!

– Cornelia Becker-Seigneur

Cornelia is the founding Director for the Faith & Culture Writer’s Conference, and blogs at www.corneliaseigneur.com.  If you have any questions about the conference, you can email her at cornelia@corneliaseigneur.com.