Explore different classes, workshops, and retreats that author Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew offers during the year. Some of these are in collaboration with Eye of the Heart Center, a non-profit that gather seekers and creatives of all generations to explore, express, and honor divine Mystery through vibrant experiences of the arts and grounded contemplative practices that transform self and world.
Bring your creativity, doubts, questions, and willingness to connect into an online community that names the world as gift. Creation thrives in a flow of giving and receiving. In this space, we orient our hearts toward the gifts of writing–insight, healing, growth, and meaningful presence. Each of us is a gift to the whole, and our best gifts to others are hearts widened by creativity.
The Eye of the Heart’s writing programs tend to both writer and writing, trusting that the fruits of creative endeavors nourish both our lives and the wider world. Because we do our most effective work within a caring community, all programs build connections between participants. There are many in-person Minneapolis events and groups, as well as online options. Stay up-to-date by subscribing to Eye of the Heart’s newsletter!
Want a taste of Eye of the Heart’s Writing Programs? Try out a FREE writing class with us.
I created a short, 90-minute micro-course, called “The Gifts of Writing.” This online writing course orients our online writing community to the gift economy and will teach you how to flourish in your writing. Although it is a self-paced class, you will be able to share your reflections with others in a private forum who are also taking the course! *You will be directed to the Eye of the Heart’s online community, which you will join (it’s free) to enter the course, but there is no obligation to stay after you take the course. I can’t wait to see you there!
If you haven’t been able to attend the Writing Your Sacred journey classes in the past, now you can take them at your own pace, online, and with the option to join an online writing community oriented around the same inspiration and themes. You can view all the asynchronous classes here.
Writing the Sacred Journey: Introductory Workshop on Spiritual Memoir
During this self-paced, two-and-a-half-week independent study, writers can view Elizabeth’s video lectures, respond to writing prompts, and immerse themselves in the genre and practice of spiritual memoir through readings and a community forum.
Your Story as Scripture: An Introduction to Writing Spiritual Memoir
Your experiences are unique, significant, and shot through with holiness. Writing down memories is a way to nurture the sacred dimension of your life, participate in the creation of your identity, and offer others through your presence and stories the blessing of your evolving truth. This 75 minute sampler will introduce you to the art and practice of writing spiritual memoir.
Writing the Sacred Journey: Introductory Workshop on Spiritual Memoir–In-Person, Two-Day Workshop in Minneapolis, May 2025
In this two-part introductory class, we’ll ask, “What is memoir, and how is it different from autobiography? What makes memoir spiritual? How can the practice of writing memoir, either for an audience or for no audience, support spiritual growth?” Using writing exercises and readings from model writers, we will get started with the basics. We will also discuss how to sustain spiritual memoir writing moving forward.
The Release: How Writing in an Economy of Gifts Liberates Writers–Virtual, Sept. 29th
The spiritual toll of writing in a capitalist society begins long before our pages go to print. What writer hasn’t felt fraudulent, feared rejection, or self-censored for fear of what an audience might think? We imagine our work’s value (or even our own) is determined by its reception. Inspired co-creations slowly, imperceptibly, morph into commercial products. Our spirits suffer. Is there an alternative? For writers of faith, writing is a chance to practice a God-centered orientation. Creativity thrives—and the Spirit moves—when we turn our hearts toward the gifts moving in and through our writing. This workshop introduces the writing process as gift exchange, helping writers lift our heads out of the product-oriented sandbox to find a freer, Spirit-led way to play.
Join Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew to explore the art and practice of spiritual memoir writing. Each session will give participants the opportunity to write, time for conversation, inspiration from model writers, and insights about craft, content, and practice. These monthly practice sessions are meant for writers of all levels, including absolute beginners. New participants are encouraged to take Elizabeth’s introduction to spiritual memoir workshop or read Writing the Sacred Journey. Because practice sessions are not consecutive, you can drop in as you’d like. Over three years, the curriculum covers the significant aspects of the craft of writing memoir, common themes, and the invitations to transformation inherent in the practice.
In Person: Monthly on Fridays: 1/31, 2/21, 3/21, 4/18, 5/23, 6/27 at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Online: Monthly on Mondays from 6:00-8:00 p.m. CT: 1/27, 2/24, 3/24, 4/21, 5/19, 6/23
Writing, when understood as a spiritual practice, invites us into a new relationship with hope—away from hope for an outcome toward hope as a wellspring. Together we’ll harvest memories of this more mystical experience of hope and cultivate healthy, hopeful writing practices to sustain us through difficult times.
February: Art as Theft: Imitation Writing
Pablo Picasso famously said that all art is theft. We’ll test the boundaries of plagiarism by fearlessly borrowing gifted authors’ ideas, trying on a variety of voices, and imitating skillful techniques.
March: Compassion
When we exercise compassion we take hurt seriously, treating it as worthy of our loving attention. We’ll explore memoir writing as an act of compassion—toward our younger selves, our present-day selves, our readers, and humanity as a whole.
April: Writing Mystical Experiences
When the veil between worlds thins, we’re often left speechless and confounded. What’s a writer to do? We’ll explore literary tricks that help us receive, integrate, recreate, and find the broader context for such encounters with Mystery.
May: Dialogue
“How can I write dialogue if I don’t remember what was said?” Come find out! We’ll learn to represent past conversations honestly, bowing to the truth of our experiences while lending voice to those who people our stories.
June: Community and Revision
Stephen King says, “Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open”—but we can open that door slowly and deliberately. We’ll explore sharing writing as one life-giving way to “see it again”. How can we preserve our sense of safety, freedom, and exploration while facing an audience? Might sharing memoirs deepen our connections with others?
Writing Your Sacred Journey Retreat at the Well Spirituality Center, La Grange Park, IL – or Online!
Join Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew to explore memoir as a spiritual practice. Whether you write as a form of private prayer, as a gift for family and friends, or for publication, this week-long retreat welcomes you into the transformational possibilities of writing. We’ll introduce spiritual memoir, reflect on memory as a sacred faculty, address the challenges and hazards of writing from memory, and learn how to sustain and deepen the practice. There will be ample time for solitude.
November 7-9: Writing About Transformation, Transforming Our Writing, at the Episcopal House of Prayer, Collegeville, MN
Writers often find inspiration in experiences of surprising, radical, or gradual personal change. How can these moments become dynamic agents, changing us as we write and changing others as they read? Together we will generate narratives about transformations both profound and ordinary. We will learn practical techniques to bring potential readers along on an experiential ride, and we’ll practice opening our hearts to inspiration’s movement in the writing process. This retreat is for beginning and intermediate writers of creative prose and poetry.
