SpiritPlay Classes in Seattle!
SpiritPlay has become a staple of Seattle’s InterPlay offerings! Now in our 25th 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 of every month | 9:45am – 12:00pm at St. Joseph Parish Center
New series begins October 2026
Online Classes
Many online spirituality classes are presented in partnership with Abbey of the Arts and are available for registration. I have created movement meditations for all of these classes, and you can dance and pray with me in the comfort of your own home. Join us!
Upcoming Classes
Please check the Abbey of the Arts Calendar for upcoming, online programs offered in partnership with the Abbey.
Self-Study Courses
Birthing the Holy: Wisdom of Mary
Join us in celebrating Mary and the sacred feminine. This retreat is a companion to Christine’s book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal (book recommended but not included with registration fee). In her book, Christine explores 31 of Mary’s names and titles as poetic and mythic ways of entering into the gifts she offers to us and invites us to consider within ourselves. Learn more.
Creative Flourishing with St Hildegard of Bingen
St. Hildegard of Bingen, who in 2012 was canonized and made a Doctor of the Church, was a visionary leader of extraordinary creative power. Benedictine Abbess, healer, artist, musician, preacher, spiritual director, prophet, poet, the list goes on and on. She has left us with a tremendous legacy. One of her great gifts was insight into viriditas, or the greening power of God, the life force at work in all of creation. This central creative principle was key for Hildegard in sustaining her soul and her work. Learn more.
Journey with the Desert Fathers and Mothers
We invite you to take a pilgrimage to the desert and in the process journey to your own deepest self. This online retreat invites you to explore and engage with the insights of the desert mothers and fathers of fourth and fifth century Egypt. These men and women of God went to the desert to live out a simple but challenging spirituality that still resonates strongly for us today. Learn more.
The Love of Thousands: Angels, Saints, and Ancestors
Stand on the threshold between worlds, courting connection with all those well and wise ones who dwell beneath the surface of everyday awareness. In Celtic and many other indigenous traditions, the belief is that we are part of a great communion of beings who live in the Otherworld. Angels, saints, and ancestors are sacred presences we can call upon and develop intimacy with, just like any human friendship. By cultivating this practice of connection, we are nourished with tremendous resources of emotional and spiritual support for the challenging times of our lives. This retreat is a companion to Christine Valters Paintner’s book The Love of Thousands: How Angels, Saints, and Ancestors Walk With Us Toward Holiness. Learn more.
Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone
You will be invited to listen deeply for the ways that air, fire, water, and earth can support you in becoming a feather on the breath of God, in discerning new ways to kindle your passions, in hearing your call to follow the flow, and in becoming deeply rooted and nourished. Each week offers a feast of creative pathways to encounter the richness waiting within you as you move more deeply into the cave of your heart. Learn more.
Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
The Celtic Wheel of the Year is an ancient way of understanding the unfolding of the seasons and the slow turning of the earth. These eight hinges have ancient, pre-Christian roots, and link us to a cyclical rhythm, rather than a linear one. A closer intimacy with the rhythms of creation offers us a wisdom about the patterns of rise and fall, fullness and emptiness in our lives. A great attentiveness to the liturgical rhythm connects us to an ancient way of praying through story and narrative. Learn more.
Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
Everything around us seems to move at faster and faster speeds, summoning us to keep up. Sacred time is time governed by the rhythms of creation, rhythms that incorporate times of rest as essential to our own unfolding. Sacred time is being present to the moments of eternity available to us at any time we choose to pause and breathe. This retreat is an invitation into an intentional way of life, one governed by presence, attention, spaciousness, slowness, and love. Learn more.
The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred
Journey and explore the gifts of Celtic Christian spirituality, practices unique to this ancient tradition, inspiring stories of Irish saints, scripture reflections, plus creative invitations into writing and photography. As you explore an alternate way of discerning a spiritual path—one which honors the moment-by-moment invitations and the soul’s seasonal rhythms—you engage a retreat experience that will help you become more aligned with creativity and wholeness. Learn more.
A Spirituality of Blessing: A 21-Day Self-Study Retreat
This self-study retreat cultivates a spirituality of blessing and nurtures gratitude, joy, hope, and delight in the beauty of our lives in the midst of a hurting world. We won’t be denying or bypassing that woundedness but resourcing ourselves with a sense of abundance at the heart of things. We will resist a culture that strives to wear us down and leave us feeling hopeless.Blessings bring us present to the grace of each moment. The word comes from the Latin, benedicere, which means to speak well of. Blessings help to remind us of the love and beauty of the Holy One in our lives and assist us to take nothing for granted. They act as maps to navigate our human experience, orienting us back to gratefulness and praise. Learn more.
The Wisdom of the Body: A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
Imagine journeying through a season committed to exploration, curiosity, tenderness, and delight. Imagine breathing deeply and feeling intimacy with an old and wise friend. Imagine, as Buddhist writer Reginald Ray says, to discover the last unexplored wilderness, which is the body. Whether your body is already an old friend and companion with whom you want to grow more intimate, or whether the whole idea of embodiment feels distant and foreign, or somewhere in between you are most welcome here. Learn more.
Virtual Celtic Pilgrimage: The Wisdom of the Irish Saints Kevin, Ita, and Enda
You are invited on a journey of the heart. In the Celtic imagination, the portal to cross thresholds into other realms is as close as our breath, as near as the pulse of our aliveness. You are invited onto a pilgrimage where you might physically walk only a few steps, but your soul can travel vast distances. We explore the gifts and invitations that Saints Kevin, Ita, and Enda have for us. Each day we consider a different theme connected to their life and vision. Learn more.
Virtual Celtic Pilgrimage: The Wisdom of the Irish Saints Colman, Sourney, and Patrick
You are invited on a journey of the heart. In the Celtic imagination, the portal to cross thresholds into other realms is as close as our breath, as near as the pulse of our aliveness. You are invited onto a pilgrimage where you might physically walk only a few steps, but your soul can travel vast distances. We will be exploring the gifts and invitations that Saints Sourney, Colman, and Patrick have for us along with the wider wisdom of the Celtic tradition. Each day we will explore a different theme connected to their life and vision. Learn more.
Virtual Celtic Pilgrimage: The Wisdom of the Irish Saints Brigid, Ciaran & Gobnait
You are invited on a journey of the heart. In the Celtic imagination, the portal to cross thresholds into other realms is as close as our breath, as near as the pulse of our aliveness. You are invited onto a pilgrimage where you might physically walk only a few steps, but your soul can travel vast distances. We will be exploring the gifts and invitations that Saints Brigid, Ciaran, and Gobnait have for us. Each day we will explore a different theme connected to their life and vision. Learn more.