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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Dancing with Peter Pan

Aaargh and shiver me timbers! It’s been a whole summer since I’ve written to you! And during this season you can see that I had a powerful encounter with Captain Hook! As you may remember, it is part of my family tradition to create video productions with my grandnieces/nephews during our summer stay in Michigan together. This year brought forth the story of Peter Pan! What an amazing adventure to enter this story with 7 of my family little ones from 3-13 years old. Not only that, but seven of our adults also jumped in as pirates, plus a brother as videographer and sister as co-director. Woohoo! 

The gift of Peter Pan as the emblem of the child within us who remains forever young is such a beautiful image. Creating with my kids is an amazing opportunity to allow the child in me to come out in full creative force! And to tell you the truth, that creative spark is what guides me in all my dancing adventures … and leads me deep into prayer as well as into playful and joyous community. 

I hope you, too, have had a chance to enter some revelry in the sweet gifts of summer! I’ll save a few stories for future newsletters … but for now, please take a look at some of the adventures I have planned for the coming year … it would be so good to share some dancing time with you! 

For a treat, I invite you to enter into the adventures of Peter Pan. The whole production is 45 minutes … but if you’d just like to see a few high-points, here is your list:

5:00 Tink & Peter Pan 

12:20 Kids Flying 

16:00 Pirates Entrance 

24:30 I Won’t Grow Up 

29:30 Capture of Kids 

34:28 Captain Hook’s Song! 

SpiritPlay Class in Seattle!

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. 
Begins October 10th!
 

Email me for imformation
details and registration

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

October 16th, 10-11am PST

Exciting news! Here at Abbey of the Arts we have a new Book, CD and Prayer Cycle to celebrate! It is always such a rich process to commission and assemble songs to help enflesh the material in Christine Paintner’s publications! The themes of Angels, Saints and Ancestors are also quite poignant and potent as we move into the fall. As producer, I am overseeing the finishing touches on the audio files and CD artwork right now! I am so jazzed to share this new album of 21 songs by 17 different artists! Come join Christine and a number of our artists to celebrate our newest release!

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!

Details and registration

Awakening the Creative Spirit Returns!

April 21-26th, 2024
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! 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

New book by InterPlay co-founder, 
Cynthia Winton-Henry!

One of my most treasured teachers in the world of dance, art, and soul is Cynthia Winton-Henry! I have spent decades dancing with her in InterPlay settings and being guided by her genius of bodywisdom. Just as Cynthia was getting ready to launch this book, I ended up offering my proof-reading/editing skills to support her in this awesome publication and work of art!

Peruse or order a copy of the book

Celebrating InterPlay Seattle 30 years!

Speaking of InterPlay, it’s now been 30 years since we’ve been building creative community through InterPlay in Seattle. What an amazing and luscious time it’s been! Our home community in this region has fostered so much joy in my life, and so we wanted to celebrate with a slide show honoring the gifts of these 30 years. I was able to bring my video editing skills to this project … here’s a retrospective to give you a taste of this love! I send you off with a dash of play, and a bit of pixie dust to help you learn to breathe, dance, and sing in ways that make your heart soar!

Love and blessings,

Betsey

Posted: September 11, 2023 by

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Embodying Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope you are finding signs of new life sprouting in your soul’s garden! I must say that the journey to this Easter has been a bit challenging for our St. Patrick’s community after undergoing a death of sorts to leave our own church behind. And yet, new seeds of beauty are coming to life in our St. Joseph community. I had the joy of collaborating with a wonderful artist and new friend at St. Joe’s (Eloisa Cardona) to proclaim the Genesis reading at Easter Vigil. Because I was so used to having a dozen or so St. Pat’s members dance this reading with me, I devised a surprise way to include them in our new St. Joe’s version of the story, which was such a delight! 

Below I’m including three videos to share the Triduum journey of Good Friday (which I spent at Edmonds Lutheran Church), Easter Vigil, and Easter morning with my sweet little ones. You can catch a glimpse of any of them that are calling to you!

One of the results of my full schedule these past few months is that my hip is very cranky … so I need to rest up a bit to recoup! (Didn’t Jacob walk with a limp after his encounter with an angel?) In any case, if you are in Seattle, consider joining us for our Mary Magdalene evening in the spirit of Resurrection! Just no “Hippity Hopping” for me! Send some good prayers for gentle healing grace!

Embodying Easter! Praying with Mary Magdalene

Thursday, April 27th | 7-8:30 pm at St. Joseph Parish Center, Arrupe Room, Seattle, WA

Mary Magdalene is one of Jesus’ most beloved companions, who walked closely with him – in life, through death, and into resurrection. Through Visio Divina, come share an evening to witness her story (as beautifully filmed in Seattle), reflect on how she speaks to us today, and join in a guided movement meditation to imagine your own encounter with the Risen Christ. 

Let Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles, guide us to the gift of embodying Easter!

Email me to register

Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry: Honoring Our History and Legacy

Closing Celebration June 2-3, 2023

We here in the Northwest are heart-broken that our School of Theology and Ministry which has educated and uplifted so many (including me!) in spiritual leadership, is closing its doors. I have been invited to be on the team to create an honoring ritual evening of stories and prayers on Friday, June 2nd.

If you are an alum or interested to partake, please reserve your spot here.

In Closing: Carnegie Adventures!

Well, dancing at Carnegie Hall was truly a highlight of my performing career! And here’s an amazing story … a few years after college, I had the opportunity to dance at Carnegie Recital Hall with the Greg Reynolds Dance Quintet. I got curious about the date of that show, so I went digging in my boxes … and I found the program for my first time at Carnegie … it was …

February 19th, 1983… 

exactly 40 years TO THE DATE of my return to the big stage on 

February 19th, 2023!! 

I am truly amazed at how Spirit guides our lives and surprises us with gifts beyond our imagining. I am so grateful for this beauty! Also, since there are no official videos from Carnegie, here is a small collage of images to enjoy! 

Love and blessings, dear friends. Keep dancing into Easter!

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: April 18, 2023 by

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Dancing with the Black Madonna

New year blessings! Hope you had a joyous Christmas season and are opening your arms to the newness of 2023 unfolding. (For a sweet look back to dancing Christmas, you can scroll to the bottom of the email!) 

As we round the corner into February and the Feast of St. Brigid, we are also entering Black History Month. As I pondered how we might dance through this month, I suddenly realized this is the perfect invitation for me to share about my journey with the Black Madonna! 

I grew up with the quiet statue of Mary as a pretty big influence in my Catholic household, but it was only after I left behind her white-washed prim piety that I rediscovered Mary as a powerful, courageous, earthy presence in my life. And one of the ways she has become present to me is in the gift of the Black Madonna. Perhaps you have seen images and statues across Europe that depict Mary with dark skin and have attracted pilgrims throughout the ages? She is mysterious, deep, calling us into the presence of the earth-rich sacred feminine as an aspect of God’s wholeness. 

In our ongoing work at Abbey of the Arts and through the book – Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal, we have been exploring many different names and images of Mary. As I open to Mary’s archetypal presence in the form of the Black Madonna, I have discovered she has so many invitations for me to step out of my comfy corner of a white world and to collaborate with various black artists and friends. Not just step out, but dance out whole-heartedly indeed! 

So the first piece I’d like to share is a stirring new video we have come up with to celebrate the Black Madonna … a song and dance written and performed by my beloved sister-friend, Soyinka Rahim. (I actually call Soyinka my own personal Black Madonna!) As she and I collaborated on the project, I was inspired to invite our friends in Uganda at the Friends of Hope Cultural Centre in Tororo to collaborate in the video. With their joyous “yes!” and rehearsals over zoom, the result is such a moving cross-cultural dance calling on the Black Madonna to enliven us all! (See below.)

Also … I must say that in my own inner being, the big deal about February is that soon I will be at Carnegie Hall! My dear friend, Val Jansen invited me … and she is an amazing soul who dedicates much of her life to lifting up the voices of Black folk in spirit, story and song. In particular, the six songs she will offer at Carnegie are dedicated to the six Black Catholics who are currently on the journey to sainthood. (See her story of Thea Bowman below that has also called me to the dance!) 

And finally, at Abbey of the Arts, we are launching a new collaboration with the truly gifted singer, Melanie de More, who will be offering a workshop for us on February 13th. See details below! 

My friends, may your journey through this newsletter be an inspiration to join me in dancing with Mary into new places of connection. And may the Black Madonna bless and enliven you (and our world) with peace, love, joy, happiness, health, grace and ease!

Black Madonna

Carnegie Hall – Feb. 19th!

Woohoo -it’s time!  I am so blessed to be friends with talented, grace-filled musicians, who sometimes open doors to unexpected places! As I mentioned earlier, I’m so grateful to my friend, ValLimar Jansen (and the whole team) for inviting me to help animate the stage in one of New York’s most special places.

It would be so fun to share with you! There will be a 250 voice choir, and I will find any empty spots on stage to share my dancing light! Let me know if I will see you in the audience! 

Who says 65 is too old to dance? Whee! Click here to purchase tickets

Coming to NYC?

Join the dancing tribe on Feb 18th for some InterPlay fun! 3:30 – 5:30pm Abrons Art Center

The radiant Soyinka Rahim will be leading an InterPlay workshop with Libby Mislan. Get your dancing boots on! Click here to purchase tickets.

Sending You Light with Melanie DeMore

Monday, Feb. 13th | Online – 11 am Pacific

Join us at Abbey of the Arts for a soul-stirring mini-retreat with vocalist Melanie de More. Her Sending You Light song will be on our forthcoming CD … Register Here!

Sr. Thea Bowman with ValLimar Jansen

March 30, 7:00 p.m. | Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI

& Betsey Beckman as guest artist!

Sr. Thea Bowman was an amazing light in our world and is now on her journey to being canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church. ValLimar Jansen carries so much of Sr. Thea’s spirit! 

Val just called this week to ask me to help bring this musical on the life of Sr. Thea to life. I’m hoping this works in my schedule, so wanted to give you a heads up!

Seattle University School of Theology & Ministry

Honoring Our History and Legacy Closing Celebration 

June 2-3, 2023

We here in the Northwest are heart-broken that our School of Theology and Ministry which has educated and uplifted so many (including me!) in spiritual leadership, is closing its doors. I have been invited to be on the team to create an honoring ritual evening of stories and prayers on Friday, June 2nd. 

If you are an alum or interested to partake, please reserve your spot here.

Shrines of Spain Pilgrimage!

Black Madonna of Montserrat

June 12 – 23, 2023

As we emerge from our COVID cocoons, do you feel the Black Madonna calling you? I will be co-leading this pilgrimage to Spain with my dear friend, Fr. Michael Sparough, SJ,who got me started in arts ministry 45 years ago! I have been deeply nourished by the Jesuit charisms of praying with the imagination, and we will be following in the footsteps of St. Ignatius Loyola from Burgos to Barcelona, from Madrid to Montserrat, where Loyola surrendured his sword to the Black Madonna. I personally am so excited to visit Montserrat again … such a powerful presence of the Black Madonna there! Only 7 spots left! 

To download a flyer, click here. To register, click here.

In Closing

Nativity Blessings! 

Before we leave Christmas behind, I wanted to share this joyous video of my first Christmas at St. Joseph parish, reflecting how much fun I had working with 12 kids to proclaim the Nativity Gospel! 

May the gift of Mary, Black Madonna, Bearer of Life, Seat of Wisdom bless you abundantly! (And please send a prayer that I can dance gracefully & passionately across the stage of Carnegie Hall!)

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: February 7, 2023 by

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