Elevating the Sacred In Our Writing Practice

In her work on Endarkened Feminist Epistemology (EFE), scholar Cynthia Dillard reminds us of the power of (re)membering through spiritual consciousness and sacred practice. For me, writing is one of those sacred practices. It calls me back to myself, helping me gather the pieces I have been seduced to forget. Through writing, I hear my innermost thoughts and prayers — voices I often cannot hear without pen in hand. Writing is my act of spiritual devotion; it is often in the stillness of writing that I hear the Divine most clearly.

To honor this practice, Aya Collective Publishing began gathering Black women once a month for Sacred Saturdays — a time for reflection, renewal, community building, and devotion. We started in 2021, meeting early Saturday mornings before the day’s demands could claim us.

By 2023, I began to wonder how we might deepen and grow this practice — not just Sacred Saturdays, but the practice of writing itself, and what it means for Black women. I wanted to explore the sacred essence of writing: how it births rich texts, yes, but also how it brings us back to ourselves, offering healing and transformation.

To begin, I invited three Black women — Theresa Thompson Nix, Marjorie Grevious, and Jessica Reed — to facilitate Sacred Saturdays during the summer of 2023. Their leadership reaffirmed for me the necessity of growing this work. So at the end of 2023, we put out a call inviting others to write with us on the theme: Writing as a Sacred Practice.

At first, the response was slow — painfully slow. It seemed few were interested. But we stayed patient, put the call out again, and by January 2024, six writers committed to the project. I’ll admit: at first, I was disappointed by the small number. But with time, I recognized the blessing. God was giving us the opportunity to begin small — to truly build community within the practice itself. And in a beautiful twist, all of the writers were local to the Twin Cities.

We began meeting in February 2024 — first at French Meadow (because the food is amazing!), then alternating between each other’s homes and online gatherings. In person, we broke bread; online, we made space for deep check-ins and shared writing time.

We started with discussions, dreaming together about what this project could become. Honestly, I wasn’t sure exactly where we were going — I wanted the what to emerge organically. Even as I wrestled with how to tell the story of twenty years of writing as a source of healing and knowledge in my own life, we kept moving. Writing. Meeting. Meeting. Writing. Checking in every other month on our progress.

What has emerged is something deeply beautiful. We not only have writing we are proud to share — we have practices that have been birthed and intensified through this writing journey.

On Saturday, May 3 we offered a small workshop to share what we have been working on with our community. We are excited to offer a full day workshop on Saturday, September 27 from 10 am – 2 pm. Here are two ways you can support this work:

Sign up for our newsletter so that you don’t miss this opportunity.

Donate to support the writers publishing their writing projects and to fund our space on the 27th.

Save the date so that you do not miss this opportunity. Registration information will be coming soon.

Introducing the Writers

Who are we? We are six Black women writers who gathered out of an initial desire to name and transcribe how writing lives as a sacred practice in each of our lives. Some of us have previously published with Aya Collective Publishing; others are new to publishing with us but not new to the community.

Meelah Crawford
Meelah first engaged with Aya Collective through Sacred Saturdays. Her debut work appeared in our recent anthology Finding the Voice Within, featuring a stunning collection of poetry — a true must-read.

Faith Dietz
Faith also connected with us through Sacred Saturdays and brings a fresh and vibrant voice to the Writing as Sacred Practice project.

Marjorie Grevious
A longtime participant in Aya Collective gatherings, Marjorie’s work includes the essay Child of Grace, recently published on our website. We are thrilled to feature more of her beautiful writing.

Elder Semerit Strachan
Elder Semerit, a beloved part of our collective, wrote the foreword for Finding the Voice Within and brings deep wisdom and ancestral insight to our project.

Theresa Thompson Nix
Theresa is twice published with Aya Collective Publishing, contributing essays to Let the Black Women Say Asé and Finding the Voice Within.

Ebony Aya (me)
Founder and writer at Aya Collective Publishing. My works include Incomplete Stories: On Loss, Love, and Hope and Reconsidering Eve: Towards a Deepened Consciousness.

Reflective Questions:
As you prepare to join us in September, we invite you to reflect on how writing might be a sacred practice for you as well:

How did you become a writer? What were the inciting incidents that led you to the page?
If you’re not a writer yet, what drew you to pick up this book? What will it take for you to claim this practice for yourself?
How does writing show up for you? Is it a sacred practice, a connection across generations? If so, how?
How do you ritualize your writing? What have you learned through it?
What does writing incite or awaken in you?
How does writing help you (re)member what you’ve been seduced to forget?
Beyond writing itself, what practices have emerged for you through your writing journey?

If you are so inclined, we would love to see how you reflected on some of these questions. Participate in our storytelling survey by August 15 which will give you an opportunity to share how writing is a sacred practice with others. Link to survey is here.