God where have you been
where have you been?

There were times I lost faith
there were times I lost hope
where were you God?

There were times of depression
there were times of hate
but no sight of God

On a silent day, I heard a voice
the answer of God.

I am always near you
look beyond all the troubles you have.
The light so warm and bright burns away all darkness
hope rises.

This week we are proud to publish a poem created at our 2021 conference. Joann Renee led a workshop on poetry as a spiritual practice. Avi was attending the workshop and this was his first time writing poetry. He was brave enough to read it live at the conference, which was very moving. We want to create spaces where doubt and rawness are allowed. Where we can explore our spirituality, our concerns, and our hopes, with honesty.

A special thanks to Joann Renee Boswell for leading the workshop on poetry. We hope to expand these live meetings and create more workshops like these. Please let us know if you want to attend a live workshop or if you have poetry you want to submit for publishing.