An experienced writer, Bowie Snodgrass planned to lead three poetry, prayer and lyric-writing workshops for young people. Her goal was to encourage them to explore and share their faith, in their own words.
The first workshop was for youth, as part of the Creative Arts Camp at Calvary-St. George’s Episcopal Church. The second was a weekend retreat for young adults, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The final workshop was modified to include a service of Poetry Vespers in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at GTS, which featured the participants in an ongoing poetry and prayer-writing workshop which Snodgrass had coordinated over two academic years.
The grant work led the Rev. Snodgrass to a deeper exploration of the Anglican poetry tradition, an awareness of her own leadership gifts in this area, and the realization that writing and sharing poetry is a significant opportunity for spiritual growth, for those gifted with this form of expression. The Poetry Vespers service was attended by people of great diversity in church backgrounds, and she was impressed by the opportunity to bring them together in a church setting. She expects to continue to lead similar workshops in parish ministry, and imagines a church where a multitude of paths to deepening spirituality and witness are available.
