Shall We Re-Gather At The River? Conference Highlights The Rev. A. Katherine Grieb, Ph.D. Conference Preacher The Rev. Dr. A. Katherine Grieb has taught New Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary since 1994. She is currently the Meade Professor in Biblical Interpretation. Previously, she taught for two years at Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine. She received her …
View course details “Richmond Conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians”

Immerse yourself in Flannery O’Connor’s world—bewildering and odd as it is—and walk away enchanted. Discover the method behind her madness by getting to know her work and life. Together we’ll read her collection of essays, Mystery and Manners, and then plunge into some of her best short stories. Along the way, we’ll learn about O’Connor’s life …
View course details “The Mysterious Manner of Flannery O’Connor”

This course studies the black gospel tradition, focusing on the genre’s distinctive combination of sound and belief. Music, movement, and conviction, the three expressions gospel holds together, will be explored through three interpretive lenses: exemplary performers, pivotal periods, and formal processes. This week’s work will bring material and approaches from the fields of musicology, music …
View course details “Black Gospel Music–Not for credit”

Can reading poetry be one way of thinking theologically, or even of ‘doing theology’? In this course we will study poetry as a source of theological reflection and insight through close readings of individual poems and poetic sequences by some of the best poets of the English language in modern times. As we proceed, we …
View course details “Reading Poetry Theologically–Not for credit”

Johann Sebastian Bach not only composed his two famous passions but he also created large scale oratorios for Christmas, Easter, and ascension day over a span of little more than ten years. This particularly prolific period came at a later point in the composer’s career and coincides with Bach’s increasing interest in and consumption of …
View course details “Bach’s Passions and Oratorios: The Life of Christ from a Composer’s Perspective–Not for credit”

Discover the vital role of the arts in times of precarity, examining artistic practices born amidst crises. Awaken yourself to the prophetic witness of the arts, asking why so many people turn to the arts during times of struggle. Together we’ll explore the lives and work of artists such as Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, the …
View course details “Art in a Time of Crisis”

OVERVIEW The psalms give voice to a range of human emotions, from despair to exultation. In this class we will study psalms (both classical / Biblical, and contemporary poems that function in similar ways) and then open our creative channels to write our own. Both the reading and the writing will enliven our relationship with …
View course details “Entering the Psalms: An Online Spiritual Formation Elective”

Join Chuck McCorkle and Margaret Benefiel during the six Sundays of Advent into Epiphany, spending a quiet hour on Zoom exploring the Christmas Story as told by the Italian master Giotto. Utilizing the contemplative practice of Visio Divina, we will move from head to heart and ever closer to the divine as we explore this …
View course details “A Contemplative Christmas: Visio Divina”

The NBSC offers monthly workshops and training events for a small fee, and makes them available after the fact in their online event library.

A retreat to explore the art and writing of Hildegard von Bingen,1098-1179, Benedictine Abbess, Christian Mystic, composer, philosopher, prophet, poet. Her themes of God’s energy in Creation will inspire and resonate with those finding a life-giving spiritual path in our own time. Facilitator: The Right Rev. Dr. Lynne McNaughton, Bishop of Kootenay Lynne has taught …
View course details ““All Verdant Greening” Retreat”