Contributors
Melanie P. Moore
Melanie P. Moore is the Editor of Practicing Presence, The Abbey blog. A writer and editor in Austin, Texas, she is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Georgia State University. Previously, she founded and led Badgerdog Literary Publishing, where, with a talented team and key community support, she started Austin’s first writers-in-the-schools program (now a program of the Austin Public Library) and re-launched American Short Fiction after personally acquiring the defunct literary journal from the University of Texas Press in 2003. Her work has appeared in The Georgia Review, Atlanta Magazine, Creative Loafing, and Austin Travels Magazine, among other publications. She’s a member of St. David’s Episcopal Church where she Co-leads the Pickleball “ministry” and helps with Open Table, the LGBTQ+ ministry. She lives in Austin with her wife and two dogs.
Follow her on Instagram @faithindrag
I Was a Latter-day Towanda, Trapped in My Wetsuit
By Melanie P. Moore Attempting to assert my personal power over both the weather and my
On Staying ‘Awake’ in 2025
By Melanie P. Moore As we move through these first days of 2025, especially in the
Excited, Not Excited About Thanksgiving
By Melanie P. Moore (Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to include clarifying information.) I’m
Considering Alignment, and Weeding—Plus a Roundup of Light
By Melanie P. Moore Friends have checked in on me this week. A trusted soul friend
BIRD: A Solo Poet Shares the Path from Her First Word to the Moon and Stars
By Melanie P. Moore Marisa P. Clark’s poetry collection, BIRD, published by Unicorn Press, is a
Flamy Grant Swings through Texas before Headlining Wild Goose Festival This Summer
By Melanie P. Moore Flamy Grant, the first drag queen musician to top the iTunes Christian
Naming and Reclaiming Women’s Stories from the Gospels: A Conversation with Claire McKeever-Burgett
By Melanie P. Moore with Judy Beene Myers Claire McKeever-Burgett’s Blessed Are the Women: Naming and
Reflecting on a Year of Practicing Presence
By Melanie P. Moore This time last year, The Abbey had just redesigned the website and,
Following the Feast – A Gratitude Roundup
By Melanie P. Moore For your recovery day after turkey trots and tryptophan naps, here’s a
What Do You Do When Religion Haunts Your Faith?
By Hannah Gourgey and Melanie P. Moore The two of us have been selected to lead
Finding More Than Moose Droppings in Talkeetna
By Melanie P. Moore He told me his name was Dog. “When I’m in the south,
A Journey of Repair: Raising a Bigger Voice to Start a Revolution
By Melanie P. Moore Bess Hilpert is (and has been) many things—student, actress, runner, CEO, swimmer,
I Found Joy in the Days of Awe
By Melanie P. Moore I’ve learned that these ten days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur
That Time I Tried to Take My Spiritual Practice with Me on Vacation
Contemplating the Sea of Cortez with friends. (Photo credit: S.J. Reich) By Melanie P. Moore My
Hollywood’s Contribution to My Faith
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a “Double Feature” post sharing two perspectives on faith via some of
It Had Started So Well: #LentFail. Yes, already.
By Melanie P. Moore It really had started well. And by “started,” I mean I had
Telling Stories as a Spirituality of Liberation
By Melanie P. Moore “I used to think that Christian contemplation was reserved for white men
What a Year at The Abbey!
By Melanie P. Moore and Rebecca Hall It’s always interesting to see what things look like
Happy New Year! What’s Your Resolution?
By Melanie P. Moore Whether the holidays were everything you’d hoped for, nothing you’d ever hope
Searching and Clearing in Late December
By Melanie P. Moore During this in-between week of late December, when the old year is
Introducing Practicing Presence
By Melanie P. Moore Welcome to The Abbey Blog 2.0, so to speak. In addition to