A Great Artists Retreat in October

"Crossways"
In Purgatorio Dante sees himself
afloat on the Arno, his body wide-flung
for buoyancy on the flooding river,
making of himself a cross like the cross
on his chest. The strangeness of crisis,
that sometimes allows a body to repeat
a familiar image of calamity met and
overcome. Fasting prayer for the hungry.
Nakedness for the destitute. The poet
asks the poet in me, How I can be a Christ
in human skin, a bearer of some part
of the world’s burdens as we all drift
downstream together without boats?

~ poem by Luci Shaw


It looks like it's going to be a slow blogging season this fall. Grad school has me reading more than usual. I certianly have plenty of material for the blog, I just don't have as much free time as I once did. I may also be handicapped by the fact that we don't yet have internet at home. Verizon has to be the sorriest company in the customer service department--ever.

Anyhoo, Steven Purcell and the Laity Lodge are once again hosting a bang-up artists retreat this fall (see here for details). I wish I could go. But you may be able to, and I highly encourage you to invest the time and money on this October 22-25 retreat. If you're looking for good community with other artists, a brief respite from the madding crowd, the calming powers of nature, great food, intellectual nourishment, access to two fully equipped studios (2D and 3D), then you can hardly say no, can you?

Here is the note Steven sent out this past week. The line-up of speakers and special guest artists is bang-on.

PS: I'm happy to inform you that Laity Lodge has officially agreed to host another retreat for "pastors" to artists, as per this last April. Details will be forthcoming. But I'm very excited about it.

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Dear Friends,

Greetings from Laity Lodge, where in less than two months the Third Annual Laity Lodge Arts Retreat will begin. This letter is going to a small, but growing, list of friends whom we’ve met over the past three years who have expressed an interest in the relationship between art and faith.

We’re very excited to give you first peak at this year’s confirmed program. Next week, we will advertise the following information through our normal communication channels, but given our limited space, we wanted you to be among the first to know. People you should know about:

David Dark is a writer, teacher, student, culture maven, and friend of Laity Lodge. His latest book, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, is entertaining and challenging, with not a hint of pettiness or cynicism. You can expect the same from his talks.

David Wilcox is one of the great singer-songwriters of our time. He’s a brilliant musician whose lyrics invite you to a place of honesty about life that is truly rare. We’re especially glad to welcome David on his first visit to Laity Lodge.

Melissa Hawkins was born in France but raised and educated in the U.S. Her award-winning performance of Juliet, by Romanian playwright Andras Visky, has been performed in Europe and the U.S. and will be featured at the retreat. It is Melissa’s first visit to Laity Lodge.

Jozef Luptak is a cellist from Bratislava, Slovakia, who tours widely, and records and directs a musical festival in Slovakia. First hearing Jozef perform, people inevitably ask, “How does he do that?” Every experience thereafter is pure delight.Our goal for the retreat is to provide an environment of encouragement and support for people of faith who take seriously the call to a creative life. With this goal in mind, we offer great food, thoughtful presentations, inspired performances, recreational activities, and ample opportunities for conversation or solitude. The retreat will take place October 22-25 (Thurs-Sun).

...We anticipate a full retreat this year, so if you hope to attend we encourage you to register soon....

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Sincerely,

Steven