Threading the Gold

This poetry collection takes us on a journey from Advent to Lent during a time of conflict and chaos locally and globally, through reflections on what was heard and experienced while attending services at Westminster Church. These poems consider the balance between the mystical path of contemplation and a heartfelt desire to repair and heal through activism. They ask how do we align with Divine Love and what is our responsibility to our neighbors, including those who live across the globe? What does it mean to be broken and whole at the same time and who do we turn to when we feel devastated by loss and outrage? These poems include imagining several Biblical figures and their choices and decisions, and what we might learn from them. They pay attention to sorrow and joy, the holy in the ordinary, and the dance between repose and ecstasy. From the weariness of Santa trying to find the homes of those who do not have a home to the joy of finding connection and community, these poems illuminate the gold of spiritual awareness threaded through all circumstances.

This poetry collection takes us on a journey from Advent to Lent during a time of conflict and chaos on the global stage and an increase in those who are in dire circumstances, through reflections and responses to what was heard and experienced while attending worship services and adult education classes as artist-in-residence at Westminster Presbyterian Church. These poems consider the balance between a mystical path of inner contemplation and a heartfelt desire toward activism. They ask how do we align with Divine Love and what is our responsibility to our neighbors, even when those neighbors are in a country across the globe? What does it mean to be broken and whole at the same time and who do we turn to when we feel devastated by loss and outrage? Where do we find the Divine in difficult times and what do these ancient stories have to teach us? These poems include imagining several Biblical figures and their choices and decisions, and what we might learn from them. They reflect on loss and grief and grace. They take us through a portal to witness the holy in the ordinary and the power of prayer to uplift our consciousness. They pay attention to sorrow and joy and the dance between repose and ecstasy. They are grounded in spiritual practice and inquiry that lead to healing and transformation. From the weariness of Santa trying to find the homes of those who do not have a home to the joy of finding connection and community, these poems illuminate the gold of spiritual awareness threaded through all circumstances.

Wendy Brown-Báez is the author of Heart on the Page: A Portable Writing Workshop, the novel Catch a Dream and poetry collection Ceremonies of the Spirit. Her poetry and prose appear in numerous literary journals and anthologies, both in print and online, such as The Litchfield Review, Mizna, Water~Stone Review, Poets & Writers, Wising Up Press, The Heart of All That Is, Tiferet, The Ocotillo Review, Mom Egg Review, and Talking Writing. Wendy facilitates creative writing in community spaces such as prisons, spiritual and healing centers, and arts organizations. Wendy and Elena Eggert Anderson co-authored Writing to Wholeness: workshops to transform lives and communities and offer consultations for organizations that provide services for survivors of personal trauma. She is a member of Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and executive editor for Saint Paul Almanac. Wendy was the 2023-2024 artist-in-residence at Westminster Presbyterian Church www.wendybrownbaez.com