Upcoming Programs
Viridescence is the state of being or becoming green. In this 4-week course rooted in an online community, you will cultivate the mystical and justice-seeking vitality of viridescence through transformative spiritual and creative practices, a treasure trove of prophetic readings and materials, and a range of thoughtfully curated assignments and guided conversations. In Viridescence, we will come together to nurture the rich soil of our spirits and manifest the world we’re longing for.
Thursdays in May (5/1, 5/8, 5/15, 5/22), 6-8pm via Zoom.
Facilitators
Gianluca Avanzato is a writer, artist, and poet from Upstate New York. Gianluca holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, where he studied religion and spiritual care. He has engaged in interreligious dialogue trainings and sessions around the world and holds a Diploma in Interreligious Studies from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. Gianluca teaches writing and creativity as a spiritual practice and means of self-knowing. He has developed and led workshops, pilgrimages, and programming, including Sacred Writing Circles and Apothecary of the Word. As the executive producer and host of the podcast, Interfaith Passages, a professional writing coach, and a published writer, Gianluca strives to elevate the beauty of the everyday and the sacredness of all around us.
Madeline Bugeau-Heartt is a Maine-based writer, theater-maker, and organizer. She most recently completed her Masters of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School where she explored theater as a sacred space and transformational organizing in a climate-changed world. She spends her days working as a program associate at The BTS Center (a Portland-based non-profit serving at the crux of spiritual leadership and climate change), organizing and facilitating “good trouble” within the radical community of practice she co-founded (Wellkeepers), and making adventurous theater both as an independent performance artist as well a newly-minted member of the counter/current: collective in Belfast, Maine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have a religious affiliation or spiritual practice to join this course?
Viridescence is a spiritually-oriented course, but you do not have to arrive with any relationship with religion or spirituality. The course will draw on a variety of spiritual teachers and faith traditions. This is a space for individual and collective meaning making for people of all faith and non-faith backgrounds.
Everyone is welcome: no religious/spiritual affiliation nor creative writing experience necessary. A warm welcome is extended to LGBTQIA+ folks as well as those who have felt left out or cast out by traditional religious institutions.
Do I need to be a creative or writer to join this course?
No! The writing and creative exercises we have developed are designed for folks at all levels, and focused more on individual expression and discovery rather than craft or expertise.
What is the value of an online course experience?
An online platform allows us as teachers to co-create space that isn’t limited by our geography (Upstate NY and Maine). You can sign in globally and arrive without a commute! We will share engaging visual materials through a shared screen. Using a digital format enhances accessibility and availability to may different kinds of participants.
Will I have to share? (I feel scared and this is vulnerable!)
Sharing will always be done in a safe and respectful container. This is not a space for criticism or critique but rather meaningful and generative encounter, conversation, and fellowship. Your sharing will be a gift—both to yourself and others.
Course Content & Flow
Weeks:
1. Roots: Grounding and Belonging
2. Caves: Darkness and Release
3. Mycelium: Networks and Regrowth
4. Fields: Expansion and Envisioning
Teachers include:
Hildegard von Bingen, Bayo Akomalfe, Thich Nhat Hanh, Mary Oliver, Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Francis of Assisi, and more
Participants Reflect:
“The Sacred Writing Circle was simultaneously a breath of fresh air and a spiritual return home for me."
"The Sacred Writing Circle was a refreshing and challenging space. Gianluca cultivated an atmosphere of witnessing, mutual celebration, and bravery that led to some of the most vulnerable and powerful writing and sharing experiences I've been part of."
"Gianluca and the Sacred Writing Circle reinvigorated my love of writing as a reflective tool and put my relationship with the Divine on a healing journey. I highly encourage anyone even remotely interested to dedicate themselves to these sessions!”
“The Sacred Writing Circles made me see my own spirituality in a different light through art and poetry.”
“Gianluca creates a warm, spacious, safe container for writing, sharing, and connecting with others and with self. It was magical to feel held by community as I did the hard work of setting pen to page after so much writerly angst and anxiety over the past couple of years.”
“A wonderful experience that has left me a better, more spiritually engaged, writer.”
“Gianluca brings a feeling of lightness and comfort to the exploration of the spiritual through the Sacred Writing Circles. His inspiring prompts and lack of judgment encourages even the most timid to step away from their own perceived blocks.”