Fostering a Slow Pace and a Thin Place: Creative and Spiritual Practices for Writers and Makers - Program

With David Hooker and Nicole Mazzarella

January 22 - 24, 2027

Date and Time Details: Check in begins at 3pm on the first day and the program concludes by 11am on the last day

Location: St. Mary's Sewanee: The Ayres Center for Spiritual Development

Address: 770 St Marys Ln, Sewanee, TN 37375, USA

Contact: The Reservations Team - Heather, Sophie, Mary Beth
Reservations@stmaryssewanee.org
931-598-5342

  • Anna House Motel Style Room – $680.89
  • SMH - Temp Controlled Room - Roommate Option – $515.89
  • SMH - Temperature Controlled Rooms – $575.89
  • St. Mary's Hall Dorm Style Room - Double Bed – $575.89
  • St. Mary's Hall Dorm Style King Room – $575.89
  • St. Mary's Hall Dorm Style Room – $575.89
  • St. Mary's Hall Dorm Style Single Room – $575.89
  • St. Mary's Hall Dorm Style Triple Room – $575.89
  • Anna House Motel Style Room – $595.89
  • St. Mary's Hall Dorm Style Room – $515.89
  • St. Mary's Hall Dorm Style Triple Room – $499.09
  • Commuter – $415.89
Register now
Register now

Fostering a Slow Pace and a Thin Place: Creative and Spiritual Practices for Writers and Makers

With David Hooker & Nicole Mazarella Friday–Sunday Retreat 

Slow down. Create. Discover the sacred at the intersection of art and faith.

This retreat invites writers, artists, and makers of all experience levels to find a quiet pocket of time for spiritual and creative practice — and a community to nourish both. Through Ignatian spiritual exercises, contemplative writing and art prompts, and days anchored by morning, noon, and evening prayer, participants will awaken to God’s presence in their creative work and discover how spiritual and creative practice can feed and sustain one another.

Led by David Hooker (Wheaton College) and Nicole Mazarella (Wheaton College), the weekend blends structured community time — prayer, teaching, and shared reflection — with open, unscripted hours for participants to write, paint, collage, rest, or connect at their own pace.

Includes: Friday and Saturday night lodging, five meals (Friday dinner through Sunday lunch), and access to dedicated prayer and art-making spaces.

Ideal for: Beginning through experienced writers and visual artists seeking a contemplative creative retreat.

Rest. Renew. Reconnect.

About the Leaders

David Hooker

David J. P. Hooker lives and works in the greater Chicago area, where he is an artist and Professor of Art at Wheaton College. He received an M.F.A. in Ceramics from Kent State University and a B.A. in English from Furman University. His artistic practice explores the inherent value of materials, objects, and places, hoping to […]

Learn more about David Hooker

Nicole Mazzarella

Novelist Nicole Mazzarella regularly leads small groups through Ignatian  Spiritual Exercises and brings a unique approach to cultivating spiritual practices that nourish artists and writers. Nicole has taught creative writing at Wheaton College for 25 years and lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three children.

Learn more about Nicole Mazzarella

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