Discover your story at the Spiritual Life Writing Online Retreat: POSTPONED to Jan 24-25, 2026

Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Spiritual Life Writing Online Retreat has been postponed to January 24–25, 2026. If you have any questions, please contact Debra Donohue at [email protected].

By Lana Cullis, Co-Author of The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook: From Concept to Bookshelf

What’s your story? I started attending Community of Christ (then RLDS) in the late 1980s as a first-year university student. I attended regularly, despite being decades younger than most of the other participants. I partied with my friends on the weekends and yet felt welcomed and affirmed at Sunday morning services and mid-week prayer meetings.

I responded to the simple yet powerful ritual of sharing our troubles on Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. No matter how frayed or frantic I felt walking into the sanctuary, I felt calm and restored walking out.

Matthew 18:20 is often quoted within our faith community: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (KJV) There is something ancient, compelling, prophetic, and sacred about witnessing concerns turned into prayer.

As a spiritual life writer, I believe the act of sharing stories is transformative; it is how we, as humans, move from isolation into belonging. As a minister, I believe that sharing in this way both transforms and connects us to one another—just like the sacrament of communion, just like the miracle of turning water to wine.

This past Friday, I had the honour of teaching spiritual life writing to a group of bereaved parents attending a Compassionate Friends Retreat held in Nanaimo. Compassionate Friends was founded in 1969 by two families who felt alone in their bereavement. It is now an international organization.

Bereaved parents have amazing stories to tell, yet often wrestle with how and when to tell them. They also struggle with how to avoid becoming overwhelmed when sharing about life, love, death, and loss.

During our 90 minutes together, I guided retreat participants to remember, draft, and share three-sentence stories about their children and their bereavement. We explored memories tinged with grief and memories infused with joy. Participants also learned how this brief type of storytelling can be adapted to tackle the hard-to-answer (and often insensitive) questions directed towards grieving parents.

For me, the experience of sharing stories with Compassionate Friends affirmed how sustaining and vital it is to recognize, form, and share personal stories of great meaning: experiences that challenge and transform, experiences steeped in faith or tinged with doubt, and especially those experiences we might label spiritual and/or religious.

Susan Scott, Sharon Hines, special guest Traci Skuce, and I invite you to attend the “What’s Your Story?” Nurturing Spirit Retreat on October 18–19. 

The retreat sessions are designed to be welcoming and inclusive—regardless of spiritual beliefs and regardless of writing experience. Please draw your circle of invitation wide, with both your in-person and your online friends.

If you are not yet sure the retreat is a fit for you, reach out to Debra Donohue, Lana Cullis, Susan Scott, or Sharon Hines. We are happy to answer questions.

Early bird registration is now open for this two-day retreat hosted by Creating Connection and featuring authors Susan Scott, Lana Cullis, and Sharon S. Hines, with special guest author Traci Skuce.

As part of your registration, you’ll receive a Kindle copy of The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook: From Concept to Bookshelf, written by Susan, Lana, and Sharon.
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​Dates: Saturday, October 18 & Sunday, October 19 – 10 a.m.–5 p.m. PDT each day
Hosted on Zoom – link sent one week prior
​Early bird rate: $60 CAD (regular $75)

Register Here