2026 Festival of Faith and Writing: Full Schedule

arrow_back View All Dates

2:30pm EDT

Thursday April 16, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT

Ayana Mathis reflects on the themes of freedom, idealism, and disappointment in her fiction, exploring how hope meets history and how storytelling makes space for both possibility and the truths that challenge it.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex

Speakers

Ayana Mathis

Mathis's bestselling debut, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, was an Oprah's Book Club selection. Her newest, The Unsettled, is a searing multi-generational novel set in a historically Black town in Alabama and racially and politically turbulent Philadelphia. Mathis was the first Black woman to be a permanent faculty member at the Iowa Writers' Workshop... Read More →

Thursday April 16, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

4:00pm EDT

Holding Both: Navigating Grief and Hope Together

Thursday April 16, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Chapel

In conversation, Hillary McBride and J.S. Park explore the tender, often difficult work of carrying grief and hope at the same time, inviting us to live honestly without abandoning the possibility of joy.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex

Speakers

Hillary McBride

Dr. Hillary McBride is a registered psychologist, a researcher, and podcaster, and mother, with expertise including trauma, embodiment, psychedelic psychotherapy, and the intersection of spirituality and mental health. Hillary makes her home in Victoria, Canada.

J. S. Park

J.S. Park is a hospital chaplain, published author, and online educator. He serves a 1000+ bed hospital and Level 1 Trauma Center, providing grief support and end-of-life care.

J.S. has been interviewed by CNN, CBS News, Good Morning America, and The Today Show for his work in dea... Read More →

Thursday April 16, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Conversation

2026 Festival of Faith and Writing

2:30pm EDT

Ayana Mathis

4:00pm EDT

Hillary McBride

J. S. Park

Get help with the event