Writing That Restores
LETTER BY BRIAN MORYKON
Some people like change. Some people prefer things to stay the same.
Wherever you fall on that spectrum, we hope you’ll enjoy (or come to enjoy) the new format for Renovaré Weekly, which we’re introducing today.
If you’re a stay-the-samer, know that the style of the newsletter is changing slightly, but the substance remains.
It will still feature curated readings and resources. Now, instead of three or four selections, there will be a list of six things you can dive into. (The number and water metaphor is a nod to the Six Streams.)
I realize that lists are misused online… “7 Tips for a Better Life!” and so forth. But humans like lists for a reason: they offer order and clarity. God apparently likes them, too: the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the fruit of the Spirit, to name a few.
We’ll do our best to wield the list for good.
Our weekly six will explore a topic through a variety of mediums — articles, podcasts, events, etc… Some from Renovaré. Some from others who help with the important work of spiritual formation. No one can pay to be on the list, and we will only pass along something if we think it’s worth your while. (Behind the scenes our Content Manager, Grace Pouch, is helping craft the list.)
“Curated” was bolded earlier for a reason. The world is awash with good Christian content. It can be paralyzing. Curators can help. Just like an art gallery leaves many great works in storage in order to put a few on display, we hope this newsletter spotlights resources that deepen your life with God.
Besides things to read and listen to, we’ll pass along practical tools, events, and community opportunities. Because, as François Fénelon put it, we don’t want to spend “such a large segment of our lives in gaining knowledge that we shall need another lifetime to put our knowledge into practice.”
In addition to the list-of-six, the newsletter will feature a quote, a quick list of upcoming Renovaré events (with a visual cue for newly announced events), sometimes a piece of art to contemplate, and a question of examen or suggested practice.
And, for now, the newsletter will have less images. We’re experimenting. We want the images we do use to count.
So on to this week’s theme, which is about how writing can restore our souls.
One last thing before we jump into the list: I’m glad you’re here. May this little touchpoint each week be — for you the reader and me the writer — a gentle stirring of the soul toward the life that is truly life (1 Tim 6.19).
Brian Morykon
Director of Communications
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LET’S DIVE IN...
CURATED BY GRACE POUCH
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1.
The Renovaré Podcast with Nathan Foster is back with a new episode! And the podcast has a new name. It’s called Life with God: A Renovaré Podcast. Same conversational format, same host, same gentle pace. For this episode, Nathan talks with Renovaré friend and writer Katelyn Dixon about finding restoration and redemption in writing. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or on the Renovaré website.
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2.
Katelyn also penned a new new essay to go with the episode. She transparently shares how words were used against her in a past relationship, but how “God refashioned those weaponized words into tools of my deliverance.”
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3.
Renovaré feels called to help pastors and ministry leaders be rooted and renewed in Jesus, and to not feel alone in their work. To that end, we host an annual pastor’s retreat called First Love. The next one is April 2024 in North Carolina. This new venue, still beautiful, allowed us to lower costs a little. If you are a pastor or know one, here’s the info.
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4.
I don’t get most poetry. But I want to. This seems like a good place to start: The poetry section of Ekstasis, a thoughtful and artsy publication from Christianity Today.
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5.
The writing and life of Eugene Peterson has profoundly shaped many of us. The Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination is dedicated to stewarding his pastoral vision and spiritual theology. They have a yearly gathering called Doxology. Grace and Mel on our team (and Katelyn from the article above) just attended and highly recommend it.
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6.
The Renovaré Book Club is a space where writing can restore your soul. The fall registration window closes on Monday, October 9, which is when reading begins. There’s still time to join.
Grace Pouch
Content Manager