Blessings of the New Year! I hope you had some joyous and gentle holidays. I so love the beauty of the Christmas Season and the 12 holy nights leading to Epiphany. We are all called to carry the light, and my Christmas Angels did that so beautifully on Christmas Eve! If you want to see their playful Gospel with adorable shepherds, click here!
As we step into the new year, how are you called to carry the light? What are the adventures, the joys, the acts of service that beckon to you? I have been musing that I am called to do what I love, and to trust that giving through my joy is an act of service. And even more than that, I am called to do whatever I do with love. Our world seems hell bent on some crazy rhetoric these days, and I need to keep returning to my own practices which include dance, beauty, children, and peace. What are your practices? Mother Theresa coaches us — “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” May it be so!
In the newsletter below, I am happy to invite you to a few upcoming adventures! I’m super excited to be offering a couple of Zoom events in January & February, and if you are in Seattle, please know you are always welcome at SpiritPlay on second Tuesdays. Also, I’m excited to be offering a new LIVE retreat in April, so scroll down for more info! May you carry the light of love!
Dance Sharing & Video Celebration!


Speaking of love, I’ve been working on this video collection of 20 dances for the past couple of years with Abbey of the Arts, and we are nearing completion of the project! Our first live sharing of the material will be for
Sacred Dance Guild: Sacred Sunday!
Sunday, January 19th | 4:30-5:30pm (Pacific) on Zoom
Come learn some of the stories (of creating) and some of the dances! Below you can view the teaser for the video compilation. Join me in the joy of celebrating this newly birthed collection!
“I Will Live Until I Die” Musical Showing

Did you miss our video showing in the fall? For Black History month, we will once again be sharing our Musical on the life of Sr. Thea Bowman, pioneer in racial & social justice, and beacon of light in music and prayer. Join us for joy & inspiration!
P.S. for anyone in the Seattle area, ValLimar Jansen will be back in town with her “Saintly Six” production Feb. 7-8.
Ancestors & Archetypes: A Journey through the Expressive Arts


with Betsey Beckman & Kayce Stevens Hughlett
April 21 – 25, 2025
St Andrew’s House, Hood Canal, WA
My dear friend, Kayce Hughlett & I have been leading Awakening the Creative Spirit together for the last handful of years, and we have an amazing time wandering in the land of art, poetry, dance, nature, ancestry, and archetype. So, we’ve come up with a brand new retreat … to birth new adventures inner and outer! Here’s a bit of a taste:
Symbol & Spirit. Archetypes & Ancestors. Signs & Soul Guides.
Do you long to deepen your connection to those who have gone before us? Understand what it means to call upon archetypal energies as a resource for the times? Expand your own Divine Story?
Join master facilitators, Betsey Beckman and Kayce Stevens Hughlett, as we embark on a playful and soul-filled journey through the expressive arts to explore how Archetypes & Ancestors enhance our Spiritual lives.
Enjoy 4 days and nights filled with guided experiences, artmaking and movement, journaling, singing, SoulCollage®, InterPlay, solo time and wild wandering.
Join us for this art-making adventure!
Limited to 12 participants. $1445
In Closing
Mary & Elizabeth
For literally 50 years (since I was 17 years old) I have been dancing the story of Mary. Mary as young girl, Mary saying yes to the Angel, Mary pregnant with child, Mary as young Mother, Mary at the foot of the cross, Mary throughout the ages. This year, during Advent, for the first time, I danced the character of Elizabeth! I guess it’s appropriate to honor my own body as it ages, and find new ways of celebrating new birth! Enjoy this duet of the pregnant Mary & Elizabeth at the scene of the Visitation. May we continue to support each in carrying the light, and giving birth to the light! Love and blessings!
Betsey
Betsey Beckman, MM