2026 Festival of Faith and Writing: Full Schedule

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

8:00am EDT

Matins with Jess Ray

Friday April 17, 2026 8:00am - 8:30am EDT

Chapel

Join Jess Ray for an early‑morning Matins performance—a 30‑minute gathering of song and quiet attention that invites participants into a grounded, contemplative start to the Festival day.

Speakers

Jess Ray

Jess Ray is a singer-songwriter, producer, and creative supernova based in her beloved home state of North Carolina. Crafting a new wave of music for those seeking God, Jess blends fresh sonic style with timeless truths, delicately weaving it all together with the realities of the human experience... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 8:00am - 8:30am EDT
Chapel

Matins

11:45am EDT

A Conversation with Ariel Lawhon

Friday April 17, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT

Chapel

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex

Speakers

Ariel Lawhon

Ariel Lawhon is the New York Times bestselling author of The Frozen River as well as several other works of historical fiction, including I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène. The Frozen River was an instant paperback bestseller, rapidly ascending the New York Times bestseller... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Interview

2:30pm EDT

Finding Faith in Traditionally Published Children's Books

Friday April 17, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT

Chapel

Karina Yan Glaser, the New York Times bestselling children’s book author of The Vanderbeeker series and the Newbery Honor-winning The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli, reflects on how faith informs her work and guides the creation of the characters in her stories. 

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex

Speakers

Karina Yan Glaser

Karina Yan Glaser is the New York Times bestselling author of the Vanderbeeker series, the standalone middle grade novel A Duet for Home, the chapter book Poppy Song Bakes A Way (part of the multi-author series The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class), and the Newbery Honor-winning historical... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

4:00pm EDT

Making and Meaning: The Creative Rhythm of Courage and Reflection

Friday April 17, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Chapel

In conversation, artist Scott Erickson and scholar Lanta Davis explore the essential interplay between creating and pausing, making and discerning, considering why creative work demands both bold action and thoughtful reflection–and how holding these modes together can deepen our art, our faith, and our capacity to see the world with clarity.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex

Speakers

Lanta Davis

Lanta Davis writes and teaches about the sacramental imagination, beauty, and character formation. Her book, Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation, was named one of Christianity Today's best books of the year, and her writing has also appeared... Read More →

Scott Erickson

Scott Erickson is a touring painter, performance speaker, creative curate, and author. Scott's work has appeared on CNN, National Geographic, and in various magazines and newspaper outlets. He is the author of Say Yes: Discover the Surprising Life Beyond the Death of a Dream, Hon... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Conversation

8:00pm EDT

Jess Ray in Concert

Friday April 17, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm EDT

Chapel

Join us for an evening concert with Jess Ray and Band, whose “friendly folk” blends indie pop textures with spiritually rich, lyric-driven storytelling. Rooted in faith and experience, her music creates space for reflection, hope, and connection through songs exploring devotion and everyday grace.

Speakers

Jess Ray

Friday April 17, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm EDT
Chapel

Evening Activity, Concert

8:00am EDT

Matins with Jess Ray

Saturday April 18, 2026 8:00am - 8:30am EDT

Chapel

Join Jess Ray for an early‑morning Matins performance—a 30‑minute gathering of song and quiet attention that invites participants into a grounded, contemplative start to the Festival day.

Speakers

Jess Ray

Saturday April 18, 2026 8:00am - 8:30am EDT
Chapel

Matins

9:00am EDT

Christian Advocacy for the Common Good: Loving Our Neighbors in Public

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT

Chapel

Advocacy for social justice can be viewed by people of faith as either dangerously radical or pityingly naive. Meyaard-Schaap has spent years pushing Christians to see it differently. By tracing its lineage through Christian history, he shares how faith-rooted advocacy through storytelling, writing, and direct action is more than merely a political act, but a public act of love for our neighbors.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex 

Speakers

Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

Rev. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap is the Executive Director of the Association for a More Just Society-US. His work has been featured in news outlets such as PBS, NPR, CNN, NBC News, the New York Times, and more. He was named a Yale Public Voices Fellow on the Climate Crisis in 2020 and to the Grist 50 Fixers cohort in 2022 or for his work on climate change education and advocacy... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

10:30am EDT

Listening Across Distance

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT

Chapel

In an era of division, how do we meaningfully talk—and truly listen—to people we don’t agree with? Drawing from years of reporting and firsthand encounters, Astead Herndon reflects on how curiosity, dignity, and empathy open doors across disagreement, and explores what it means to listen without yielding truth, build trust where none seems possible, and reimagine how dialogue can shape healthier communities.

Speakers

Astead Herndon

Journalist Astead W. Herndon is a host and editorial director at Vox, where he helps lead politics coverage across text, video, audio, and social media platforms. Previously at The New York Times, he distinguished himself as a sharp, accessible voice on American politics, hosti... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

11:45am EDT

A Conversation with Leyla K. King

Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT

Chapel

In this interview, Leyla K. King explores the layered, often tender work of telling a life shaped by multiple cultures, identities, and spiritual landscapes.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex

Speakers

Leyla K. King

Leyla K. King is a Palestinian-American Episcopal priest and author. She is a founding member of both Palestinian Anglicans and Clergy Allies (www.palestiniananglicans.org) and The Small Churches Big Impact Collective. She writes about her experiences as a Palestinian, a clergywo... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Interview

2:30pm EDT

Witnessing What’s There: Writing Attention in a Wounded World

Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT

Chapel

Daniel José Camacho and Alejandra Oliva explore writing as an act of paying attention—especially in places marked by structural suffering. In this conversation, they consider how faithful witnessing becomes a moral and spiritual practice, inviting writers to see clearly, name truthfully, and cultivate a gaze that honors both human dignity and the possibility of repair.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex

Speakers

Daniel José Camacho

Daniel José Camacho is currently working on a book about Bartolomé de las Casas with Avid Reader Press. Previously an editor at Sojourners and Fortress Press, he won a Robert B. Silvers Foundation Grant for his essay "Saint Augustine's Slave Play," which became one of the top-t... Read More →

Alejandra Oliva

Alejandra Oliva is an essayist, embroiderer and translator. Her book, Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration, was published by Astra House, and received a Whiting Nonfiction Grant. She was the Yale Whitney Humanities Center Franke Visiting Fellow in Spring 2022... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Conversation

4:00pm EDT

Sacred Traces: Writing the Texture of Religious Experience

Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Chapel

In conversation, Aaliyah Bilal and Melody Gee explore how writers draw from lived religious experience—its rituals, questions, inheritances, and contradictions—to craft resonant stories.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex

Speakers

Aaliyah Bilal

Aaliyah Bilal is a fiction and nonfiction writer who focuses on the Black American Muslim experience and stories that connect Chinese and Afro-Diasporic peoples. She has experience as a director and producer of short films and she has published stories and essays with The Michiga... Read More →

Melody S. Gee

Melody S. Gee is the author of We Carry Smoke and Paper: Essays on the Grief and Hope of Conversion (University of Iowa Press, October 2024) and three books of poetry. She is the recipient of Kundiman fellowships in poetry and fiction, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, and Artist Support Grants from the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Chapel

Concurrent Session, Conversation

2:30pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

8:00am EDT

11:45am EDT

2:30pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

8:00pm EDT

8:00am EDT

9:00am EDT

10:30am EDT

11:45am EDT

2:30pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

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