The Dancing Trinity

Happy Summer! I hope you are having a joyous entrance into the season of gentle journeys & outdoor adventures. I have been wrapping up my projects for the year – so much to give thanks for! And I must admit, I am looking forward to letting go of my full schedule and embracing a more leisurely summer pace. I hope you have some sweetness and space to look forward to also! (Scroll to the bottom for my news about Bali!)

Meanwhile, I wanted to share that a couple weeks ago was Trinity Sunday, traditionally celebrated by Christian Churches on the first Sunday after Pentecost. At my parish, Dcn. Steve Wodzanowski (a dynamic leader in our community) told me he would be preaching on the Trinity, and he discovered some interesting theology. He writes – 

“The very mystical Cappadocian Fathers of 4th Century eastern Turkey (Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, and Basil of Caeserea) developed some highly sophisticated thinking on the TRINITY. It took three centuries of reflection on the Gospels to have the courage to say it, but they circled around to the best metaphor they could find, and the Greek word they daringly came up with was PERICHORESIS, or circle dance.

“They wrote: ‘Whatever is going on in God is a flow, a radical relatedness, a perfect communion between Three – a circle dance of love. And God is not just a dancer. God is the dance itself.'”

I love this dynamic expression of the movement of the Divine presence! With Steve’s invitation, this was the perfect opportunity to bring Trinity to life in a joyous embodied way. I was able to invite two of my dancing friends from our Thea Bowman production to be part of a dancing trio with me. (I love how Thea Bowman is continuing to bring new energy and collaboration to our community!) 

In Steve’s homily he explained that the most common naming of persons in the Trinity is Father, Son, and Spirit. But throughout the centuries, there have been other ways of envisioning this dance within the Divine. Julian of Norwich, through her contemplation of the hazelnut, named the Trinity as: Maker, Lover, and Keeper. (At Abbey of the Arts, we have a wonderful Doxology with this imagery which you can enjoy here! ) Another of my favorite ways of naming Trinity is Source of All Being, Incarnate Word, and the Love that Flows Between. Makes me feel like dancing! 

For our dance of Trinity, we chose to interpret a beautiful song entitled: How Wonderful the Three-in-One with lyrics by Brian Wren. In this song, the poet names the three persons as: Lover, Beloved, Empowering Friend. We thoroughly enjoyed responding to these qualities in the dance, and also drawing on the image & colors from the artwork by Mary Southard, CSJ, pictured above. 

I give thanks to Dcn. Steve for bringing such beautiful imagery and invitation to our St. Joseph community! I hope you enjoy the dance, and scroll down for a few more celebratory stories from the season!

Thea Bowman Video Showing!

We had an awesome showing of our Thea Bowman video this past week here in Seattle! Catch a glimpse here of the joyous energy. We plan to do host a zoom showing in the fall – so stay tuned!

The Soul of a Pilgrim Prayer Cycle

Exciting news! Here at Abbey of the Arts we have just completed the launch of our new Prayer Cycle! In these 14 visual and audio podcasts, you can dive into the practice of pilgrimage through song, word, dance, gesture, & silence. Pray with a whole host of prayer/dance videos for free – woohoo! Such a blessing to share. 

To partake of our morning & evening prayers click here.

We Have Got a Van!

My husband, Charlie and I have been supporting our friends in Tororo, Uganda in expanding their Dance, Music and Artistry for the children at Ma’s Junior School and beyond. This week, we helped our friend, Bernard Omuse purchase a van for their community. Enjoy this amazing outpouring of gratitude! May we all be filled with this spirit of gratitude for the gifts of life!

In Closing: Dancing in Bali!

One of my summer adventures coming soon is that I am heading to Bali! When I was in my senior year at Georgetown University, I was studying Sacred Dance as part of my BA in Theology. I wrote my senior thesis on the Dance in Bali as Religious Expression. Now, 45 years later, I get to actually travel to this beautiful Indonesian Island with a group of InterPlayers! We will be practicing InterPlay in the mornings and studying Balinese dance in the afternoon, so I will have lots to share in my next newsletter! Have a joyous summer and keep dancing!  

Blessings of the dance,

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: June 19, 2024 by

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Dancing Into New Dreams

Happy Easter season! I hope you are enjoying the flowering of Spring and the gifts of resurrection in your life. I have so much to share! 

Mostly I want to say that we did it! We completed our Thea Bowman play – I Will Live Until I Die,written by ValLimar Jansen and performed by a cast of 50 folks here in Seattle! What an amazing adventure! I am so blessed that the project was supported by my new parish, St. Joseph, and that we had the opportunity to stage the play in our former church sanctuary of St. Patrick’s. What an awesome story of resurrection for our St. Pat’s community and building. For two sold-out nights, we brought together Latin chants & Gospel music, nuns & drums, dancers, actors, & choirs to embody the dynamic gifts of Sr. Thea Bowman, African American nun and energizing gift to our church and world! (As you may remember, she is being considered for candidacy for sainthood in the Catholic Church. May it be so!) 

When I looked out to see a full house both nights, with audience members beaming with music, laughter, tears, and raucous song, I truly felt that I had a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. There is definitely gonna be some dancing in heaven ... and not all those angels are “white!” And besides the joy of performance, it was also a significant step for me to become producer of such a large event with engagement from three different parishes, Seattle University and the Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center. My heart is full of gratitude! 

You can catch a glimpse of “Sing When the Spirit Says Sing!” in the video below. We hope to schedule an online viewing of the whole show sometime this fall, so folks everywhere can partake! In the meantime, if you are in the Seattle area, please check out our in person Video Party below! 

Read on for a few more sweet stories, and opportunities. And whatever the challenges facing you in this moment, may the gifts of color, beauty, dance & embodiment give you a taste of dancing into new dreams on the way!

If you are in Seattle, I hope you can join us for our video showing (with popcorn!) of our Thea Bowman production! Please email me to RSVP, or with questions!

The Soul of a Pilgrim Prayer Cycle

Exciting news! Here at Abbey of the Arts we have a new Prayer Cycle launching! In these 14 visual and audio podcasts, you can dive into the practice of pilgrimage through prayers of song, word, dance, gesture, & silence. You can pray with a whole host of prayer/dance videos for free – woohoo! Two new podcasts are released each week for 7 weeks. Such a blessing to share. 

To partake of our morning & evening prayers, click here.

Article on Dance & Spiritual Direction

I had the honor of writing an article for the Canadian magazine, “Journey”. This issue is about Creativity in Spiritual Direction, and it has a wealth of information about the arts! My article is entitled: “Dancing Our Way to the Divine” (first page pictured below.) If you’d like to download a pdf of the whole magazine, click here!

Awakening the Creative Spirit ~ We Did It!

St. Andrew’s Retreat House, Pacific Northwest with Kayce Hughlett & Betsey Beckman

This LIVE experiential retreat is one of our signature courses at Abbey of the Arts! We had an awesome group this year! Do you think you might be up for jumping in next year? It is such an honor to lead this program with my friend and colleague, Kayce Hughlett. We are considering offering this (or possibly another retreat next spring.) Let us know if you are would be interested, and stay tuned! 

To read about the program or for inspiration, click here.

In Closing

Celebrating 50 Years!

The first play I ever performed in during high school was Cyrano de Bergerac, directed by my now long-time friend, Michael Sparough, SJ.  It was a stunning production, and in it I played Mme. de Cuigy (with the lace hat!) as well as a page/ pastrycook dancer, and a nun. We performed it in the chapel of St. X High School in Cincinnati … and this all took place exactly 50 years ago, May 3-5, 1974. This past week, I hosted a Zoom 50 year reunion of the key players, and we had an amazing time reflecting on the gifts from that shared experience and how they have continued to travel with us through time (not to mention that I just completed yet another full stage production in a former church sanctuary!) I hope you might enjoy a few images from the start of my career 50 years ago!  

Blessings of the dance, now and forever!

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: May 9, 2024 by

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Dancing with a Prophetic Voice

Blessings of Lent to you! And blessings of Black History Month too! I’m sending out a quick note to you to invite you to two events celebrating the life of Sr. Thea Bowman, an amazing woman of faith and prophetic voice! She is one of six African Americans who are on the journey to sainthood in the Catholic Church. And to bring Thea Bowman to life, I introduce to you my beloved friend, ValLimar Jansen, a dynamic playwright, storyteller and amazing singer.

When Spirit taps you on the shoulder with an inspiration, you sometimes just go for it! That’s what happened for me in bringing ValLimar to Seattle with the musical she wrote on Thea Bowman. I have never taken on the role of producer for such a sizable project! How amazing to be bringing parishes, Gospel choirs, dancers and actors together to create this beauty. Not only that, we are staging the play in our former church, St. Patrick’s, which was closed over a year ago, and new life is being born in our beloved sanctuary! 

There are two offerings below … one online and one in Seattle! Please read below and join us in body or spirit for our upcoming adventures!

Abbey of the Arts Retreat on Thea Bowman

Friday February 23rd | 8-10am Pacific | 11-1 Eastern

Online offering!

ValLimar Jansen will be guiding us in this engaging, participatory mini-retreat for Abbey of the Arts. You don’t have to leave home to be infused with a bit of Thea Bowman’s joyous & prayerful inspiration.

Information and registration

Thea Bowman Musical!

March 1-2 Seattle

ValLimar Jansen, is not only a gifted singer, but also a playwright with a call to create community through the arts. She has written this musical about Thea Bowman, and with the help of various communities, we are bringing this show in Seattle! 

In the play, we follow Thea’s journey from Canton, Mississippi, to the all-white community of La Crosse, Wisconsin, 

where she became a nun and eventually a world-renowned pioneer of intercultural awareness, unity and acceptance. 

Near the end of Sr. Thea’s life, she addressed the Conference of American Bishops and delivered a stirring message, including moving all the Bishops to join in singing and swaying with her. Some say it was her first miracle! 

ValLimar plays Sr. Thea, and the musical includes 14 beloved Spirituals, four classic Gregorian Chants, with a talented cast bringing to life the story of Sr. Thea.

And of course, I’ll be dancing! 

Hope you can join us!

Listen to a radio interview with ValLimar & me about our show!

Get Tickets

In Closing

Here am I telling the story to spread the news for our upcoming show. Catch a glimpse of some of the beauty! And please keep us in your prayer. May we walk with Sr. Thea into a world of beauty, courage, cultural diversity and dancing the way of peace.

Blessings!

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: February 22, 2024 by

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Dancing with the Dawning Light

Happy New Year! And happy 9th Day of Christmas! As we move towards the feast of Epiphany I love this magical time of light birthed in the darkness, when life slows down and we pause to we enter the new year, reflecting on all that was, and all that is to come. 

This season, I once again had the opportunity to work with the youth for Christmas Eve Mass, which gives me special joy. As they dance about the sanctuary embodying the ancient images, the story awakens and I feel myself as one of the glorious angels announcing the beauty of birth. Then I blink and find myself bumbling about like one of the playful shepherds on their way to the manger. Each one of us has our own style of dancing with the light! 

I must say that I am so grateful for all the opportunities of 2023. One of my cherished highlights was the opportunity to dance at Carnegie Hall in February. I am still in awe that I got to share the light in such a radiant way! Also, traveling with my new community of St. Joseph Church has brought some challenges, but also new invitations to grow and to be an agent of grace in blending communities. You can read below about our upcoming production about the life of Thea Bowman that I am working hard on producing with St. Joes. I hope you can join us for some of our joyous offerings in the new year!

Sacred Dance Guild presents: Sacred Sunday Evening Hour with Betsey Beckman

Birthing the Holy: Dancing with Mary and the Sacred Feminine – on Zoom!

January 21st 4:30 -5:30pm Pacific

Did you miss our Abbey of the Arts release party in Advent? Come explore our newest offering of dances honoring Mary & the Sacred Feminine, sponsored by the Sacred Dance Guild! 

At this zoom gathering, you are invited to meet Mary for the first time or deepen your connection to her as potent sister-guide through the gift of dance. Learn some simple choreography, and dance along with a handful of prayers that transport you to beautiful sacred spaces that honor Mary! 

To register for Jan. 21st, Click here!

To view the trailer or enjoy the whole collection, Click here!

Save the Date! March 1-2 in Seattle – Thea Bowman Musical!

Speaking of courageous women who give birth to the light, I would like to introduce you to Sr. Thea Bowman! Sr. Thea was an amazingly dynamic Black Catholic nun who is now on her journey to sainthood. 

To tell her story, I bring you my friend, ValLimar Jansen, who invited me to dance at Carnegie Hall in February a year ago. ValLimar is not only a gifted singer, but also a playwright with a call to create community through the arts. She has written this musical about Thea Bowman, and with the help of various communities, I’m arranging to bring the show to Seattle! 

In the play, we follow Thea’s journey from Canton, Mississippi, to the all-white community of La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she became a nun and eventually a world-renowned pioneer of intercultural awareness, unity and acceptance. 

ValLimar plays Sr. Thea, and the musical includes 14 beloved Spirituals, four classic Gregorian Chants, with a talented cast bringing to life the story of Sr. Thea.

Tickets available in a couple weeks! 

Also, if you feel called to join our team to help host the play in Seattle, I need lots of help! Please let me know! 🙂

To get acquainted with the gifted ValLimar Jansen, here is a little story we shared during the Christmas season together. Enjoy this collaboration as a foretaste of what’s to come in March!

Retreat for the New Year!

Join Abbey of the Arts for our upcoming retreat

The Love of Thousands: Honoring Angels, Saints and Ancestors – A Companion Retreat to the Book

January 15 – April 29, 2024 (Online)

with Christine Valters Paintner and an awesome assembly of guest teachers for the season!

I am so proud of our latest collection! Join this retreat to explore the beautiful connection to those loved ones who are so close to us on the other side of the veil. Journey with our Abbey of the Arts community, and experience our newest offering … with new dances hot off the press! 

More info & register here.

Listen to the CD here.

In Closing

Raven & Seagull

At the last minute, Dcn. Steve at St. Joes came up with an idea of sharing a Native American story as part of the Christmas Eve homily for the kids … and he invited me to jump in to help – yay! I had the distinct joy of embodying both Seagull and Raven in this engaging Creation story. I hope you will enjoy this little reminder to share your light! 

Love and blessings for the new year!

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: January 4, 2024 by

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Birthing the Holy

It’s almost Thanksgiving! In the midst of the challenges of our world, I hope you are finding a joyous path to giving thanks. All the world’s spiritual traditions teach us the fundamental practice of counting our blessings, and living in gratitude for the gift of our daily lives. Some days are easier than others, but always an invitation!

As we move towards Advent, I am grateful and excited to share with you my latest creation! As you may remember, last year, we at Abbey of the Arts published a beautiful book and CD entitled Birthing the Holy, exploring Mary in her many different facets. Now I have finally put the finishing touch on the Video Dance Collection to accompany these offerings! (See details below.) 

Along these lines, I often find myself contemplating Mary in the season of Advent. What did it take for the young Mary to bring the holy to birth in a stable? And to commit her life to nurturing a whole new world order? What courage, stamina, and dynamic generosity! Valerie Kaur, renowned Civil Rights leader and spiritual visionary speaks about the moment within the birthing process called “transition.” She says this – 

“Transition is both a noun and a verb. Transition is the fiery process that is required to move from one reality into another. To transition is to summon the courage to stay in the labors of love and justice, even when we want to give up. It requires us to draw upon collective wisdom to birth something new together. “

Can we call up collective wisdom to bring to birth something new together? My personal call is to continue dancing as a force of love, beauty and justice in our world, and I know you have your version of this call as well! 

This Thanksgiving, I pray that each one of us can be filled up with the gifts of beloved family and community so that we can have the courage to bring God to birth, each in our unique ways in the world. Below are some opportunities for embodying this sacred call with me in the coming months. I give thanks for you, dear friends!

Birthing the Holy Prayer~Dance~Video Release Party!

On Zoom | Thursday, November 30th at 10am Pacific

Come one, come all!  Join us at Abbey of the Arts for a Release Party celebrating our newest prayer-dance collection!

As the seasons turn toward the threshold of Advent, we enter the mystery of darkness as gestation time for the light within.  The time is ripe for Mother Mary to lead us into the dance of prayer as a practice of birthing the holy in our lives and our world! 

At this Zoom celebration, I’m excited to share my journey of creating these 12 dances to pray with Mary and the Sacred Feminine. Come learn a few gesture prayers and view some of our gorgeous movement meditations filmed in churches, oceansides, stables, and Ugandan hillsides. 

Meet special guests Lorraine Bayes, Soyinka Rahim, & Eloisa Cardona who bring their gifts to our journey of creative midwifing. 

The video collection will be available on Thinkific after our release party!

Register here

Save the Date! March 1-2 Seattle: Thea Bowman Musical

Speaking of courageous women who call us to action, I would like to introduce you to Sr. Thea Bowman! Sr. Thea was an amazingly dynamic Black Catholic nun who is now on her journey to sainthood. 

To tell her story, I bring you my friend, ValLimar Jansen, who invited me to dance at Carnegie Hall in February of this year. Val is not only a gifted singer, but also a playwright with a call to create community through the arts. She has written this musical about Thea Bowman, and with the help of various communities, I’m arranging to bring the show to Seattle! 

In the play, we follow Thea’s journey from Canton, Mississippi, to the all-white community of Lacrosse, Wisconsin, where she became a nun and eventually a world-renowned pioneer of intercultural awareness, unity and acceptance. 

Val plays Sr. Thea, and the Musical includes 14 beloved Spirituals, four classic Gregorian Chants, with a talented cast bringing to life the story of Sr. Thea.

Tickets available in 2024! 

For more information or to audition click here. 

Also, if you feel called to join our team to help host the play in Seattle, I need lots of help! Please let me know! 🙂

Advent & Christmas Opportunities

Join Abbey of the Arts for our upcoming retreat Give Me a Word: An Advent and Christmas Retreat to Usher in a New Season of Life

December 3, 2023 -January 6, 2024

with Christine Valters Paintner and an awesome collection of guest teachers for the season!

Information and registration

Will you be in Seattle for Christmas? Come join us at St. Joseph Church for Mass on Christmas Eve … Enjoy the Gospel coming to life with Angels & Shepherds dancing their way to the manger! A joy to share! 

St. Joseph Church | 4:00 December 24th Christmas Eve

732 18th Ave. E. Seattle, WA

Celebrating Those We Love

I’m still healing from my stem cell injection in my hips! So, I’m taking it a bit slow .. but finding gentle ways to celebrate life. Many of you have gotten to know my good friend, Lorraine Bayes (LorraineBow) who just turned 70 years old. We had such a joyous party to celebrate her child-like spirit! Just thought I’d share this sweet song (and rainbow dance) to cheer your heart. 

Love and blessings for the journey!

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: November 22, 2023 by

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Dancing for Peace

Blessings of October and the Feast Day of St. Teresa of Avila! (October 15th.) 

Summer days are behind us, and now that we have entered fall, there is so much to grapple with in our world. So much heartbreak, so much need for hope. Having traveled to Israel and Palestine in the past few years, my heart goes out to all those who are suffering trauma and the devastating effects of violence. 

We live our small lives, and at the same time, we are called to be part of our big world, and to dedicate our lives to the path of peace. Sometimes, we fail miserably! And yet, as people of faith, we come back to our practices that cultivate peace, and lead us to actions of solidarity that foster peace in our world. Dancing and song are our ancient practices of prayer. When I am at a loss, sometimes I just start singing the decades-old tune, “Peace is Flowing Like a River.” Or I join with St. Teresa in praying – “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, everything changes, God alone remains.” May peace flow through me, through us! 

This June, I had the opportunity to co-lead a pilgrimage to Spain, and to follow in the footsteps of St. Ignatius Loyola, while also visiting shrines of St. Dominic and St. Teresa of Avila. Being a pilgrim is a joy and a challenge. I came home from my dancing through Spain with a case of COVID! But, luckily, I was able to make it through without too much illness, and pray with gusto and beauty in such significant spots. 

To share a bit of the journey, I created a collage of dance-prayer images from our trip to Spain! The video includes a special Circle Dance for Peace that we led for all our pilgrims in Arevalo, (where St. Ignatius studied for war.) This dance was developed in 1980 by my dance mentor, Greg Reynolds, in Washington, DC and was first danced around the Washington Monument with people from all over the world! 

Please check out the offerings in the upcoming months in the newsletter below. And join us this Monday on Zoom for a special Book and CD release party!

(If you’d like to watch the full version of my preaching on St. Teresa while in Avila, that link is here.  But you’ll hear a snippet in the video below.)

May we all be Pilgrims for Peace!

The Love of Thousands Book, Album, and Prayer Cycle Launch

Exciting news! Here at Abbey of the Arts we have a new Book, CD, and Prayer Cycle to celebrate! I have the distinct honor of being the producer of our CD, and assembling songs to help enflesh the material in Christine Paintner’s publications. As we enter the fall, the theme of praying with Angels, Saints and Ancestors is quite poignant and potent! I am so jazzed to share this new album of 21 songs by 16 different composers. Christine and I were joined some of the talented musicians featured on the album for a sweet gathering of story and song.

Watch the recording here!

Also, stay tuned for the Birthing the Holy DVD premiering in December! Can’t wait to share some of my latest prayer dances that honor Mary and the Sacred Feminine with you!

Purchase the CD or DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

SpiritPlay Classes in Seattle – Still Room to Join Us!

SpiritPlay has become a staple of Seattle’s InterPlay offerings! Now in our 23rd year, we have developed a wonderful community of faith and foolishness. This monthly LIVE series is for those grounded in Christianity who so long for the spontaneity of InterPlay to help us navigate the wild and whacky, sometimes rocky, humble and holy journey of our lives. We’ll be diving into the lectionary, exploring sacred stories, dancing through the cycle of seasons, singing our souls and improvising in prayer.  Calling all angels – let’s dance, play and pray!

8 Sessions meeting the second Tuesday (mostly) of every month – 9:30 – 11:45 am. 

For more information or to register, email me or  click here.

Awakening the Creative Spirit Returns!

April 21-26, 2024 | St. Andrews Retreat House in Hood, WA

with Kayce Stevens Hughlett and Betsey Beckman

This LIVE experiential retreat is one of our signature courses at Abbey of the Arts! Do you have a calling to explore and deepen the skills to bring the arts to your soul-care ministry? This program gives you an immersion in various art-forms that build upon one another to help you explore and integrate the arts in your life and profession. 

It is such an honor to lead this program with my friend and colleague, Kayce Hughlett. We love to support you in diving in, laughing, crying, exploring, releasing, growing and witnessing. We love to coach, coax, teach, and help you discover and listen to the creative spirit in you! 

Details and Registration

BIBOLOVE: An Interplay Experience

November 17, 2024 | 8-10am Pacific

with Soyinka Rahim

Many of you have come to know my good friend, Soyinka Rahim from our dance and musical collaborations through the past few years. Come spend a couple hours being guided and uplifted by her special gifts of music, chant, and inspiration! I’ll be there to join in the playful and prayerful morning! 

Details and Registration

In Closing

Earlier this fall, I chose to do a stem cell injection for my hips! So, I’m taking it a bit slow in the next couple months to allow for some healing and regeneration for my osteoarthritis. Send some prayers for my dancing hips – whee! 

Meanwhile, I wanted to share this simple poem-dance from InterPlay Summer Camp with poet, Francine Walls. May we savor the simple things in the journey of life!

Love and blessings,

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: October 17, 2023 by

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