2025 Annual Conference
Embracing Change
Tuesday, May 6, 2025-Friday, May 9, 2025!
All are welcome to join us at Kanuga for an immersive experience in "Embracing Change". We will be sharing our stories, learning new ways to use our pastoral skills within our congregations and communities, delving into curriculum revisions, and celebrating the 30th anniversary of Community of Hope International. We will offer a variety of spaces and ways to include creative & contemplative practices, weaving in nature, Benedictine spirituality, and community.
REGISTER HERE
We are thrilled to announce our amazing speakers! Check out their bios below!
Sophfronia Scott is a novelist, essayist, and leading contemplative thinker whose work has received a 2020 Artist Fellowship Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. Her book The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton won the 2021 Thomas Merton “Louie” Award from the International Thomas Merton Society. She grew up in Lorain, Ohio, a hometown she shares with author Toni Morrison. She holds a BA in English from Harvard and an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She began her career as an award-winning magazine journalist for Time, where she co-authored the groundbreaking cover story “Twentysomething,” the first study identifying the demographic group known as Generation X, and People. When her first novel, All I Need to Get By, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2004 Sophfronia was nominated for best new author at the African American Literary Awards and hailed by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. as “potentially one of the best writers of her generation.”
Her latest book is the bestselling Wild, Beautiful, and Free, a historical novel set during the Civil War. Sophfronia’s other books include Unforgivable Love, Love’s Long Line, Doing Business By the Book, and This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World, co-written with her son Tain. Her essays, short stories, and articles have appeared in numerous publications including Yankee Magazine, The Christian Century, North American Review, NewYorkTimes.com, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Her essays “Hope On Any Given Day,” “The Legs On Which I Move,” and “Why I Didn’t Go to the Firehouse” are listed among the Notables in the Best American Essays series.
Sophfronia is a popular public speaker and has delivered workshops and keynotes for the Episcopal House of Bishops, the Meditatio Center in London, the International Thomas Merton Society, the Mark Twain House & Museum, the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop, and the Glen Workshop. As the founding director of Alma College’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, a low-residency graduate program based in Alma, Michigan, she curates a vibrant, artistic community for aspiring writers. Sophfronia lives in East Lansing, Michigan and is a PhD in Creative Writing candidate at Bath Spa University.
Roger is a best-selling author, illustrator, and multi-talented creative communicator. He is also a lay ministry leader in the Episcopal Church. Roger is known for his compassionate work with children affected by tragedy, and for his openness about his personal journey with ADHD, anxiety, and depression. His writing, art, and photography aim to bring healing and hope to a world in need. Additionally, Roger is an award-winning photographer with a focus on nature photography, and his work is displayed at Houston's St. Luke's Hospital. He also serves as the Director of Children's and Youth Ministries at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston, TX.
Rooms will be ready by 4pm on Tuesday, May. 6th. You are welcome to arrive earlier to get acquainted with the beautiful space.
Conference ends after lunch on Friday, May 9th
More information about the beautiful Kanuga Conference Center can be found HERE