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.

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