We want to encourage women to find their own voices, to write and to share their words with others. We offer:

• weeklong writing retreats at the beach

• workshops, classes, and monthly writing groups in Durham, NC, and

• an annual essay contest.

The writing program began in 2002 when Nancy Peeler Keppel came to us with an idea. She wanted us to start a program on creativity and spirituality focused on writing and offered us seed money to get it started. Additional funding for the program has come in the form of generous grants from the Clifford A. and Lillian C. Peeler Family Foundation.

Nancy was a tireless worker for justice for women, for gay and lesbian people, for the poor, and for the world. She wrote commentaries that aired on WUNC, a local NPR affiliate. Nancy died in December 2004. Her energy remains with us, asking questions, being impatient, pushing us along, and making us better than we thought we could be.

WRITING RETREATS

Our writing retreats at the beach have been an enormous success, providing unstructured time for small groups of women to gather and write.

Two or three times a year, we reserve a house at the beach and sponsor a week of silence and writing for a group of about nine women. These are not workshops but provide unstructured time for women to write in a supportive environment. Participants can talk with one another over meals and share their writing in the evenings. First priority is given to women who want to come for the whole time. The 2006 writing retreats are as follows.

SPRING WEEK OF QUIET AND WRITING learn more
May 2-9, 2008
Trinity Center, near Morehead City, NC
RCWMS has reserved Pelican House, the retreat house on the beach at Trinity Center, for an unstructured week of writing for women.
Sponsor: RCWMS
Cost: $660, includes room and meals
Contact: RCWMS, 919-683-1236, rcwmsnc@aol.com

FALL WEEK OF QUIET AND WRITING learn more
September 26-October 3, 2008
Trinity Center, near Morehead City, NC
RCWMS has reserved Pelican House, the retreat house on the beach at Trinity Center, for an unstructured week of writing for women.
Sponsor: RCWMS
Cost: $660, includes room and meals
Contact: RCWMS, 919-683-1236, rcwmsnc@aol.com

WINTER WEEK OF QUIET AND WRITING 2009 learn more
January 4-11, 2009
Trinity Center, near Morehead City, NC
RCWMS has reserved Pelican House, the retreat house on the beach at Trinity Center, for an unstructured week of writing for women. Come for all or part of this week.
Cost: about $660, includes room and meals
Sponsor/Contact: RCWMS, 919-683-1236, rcwmsnc@aol.com, rcwmsnc@aol.com

SPRING WEEK OF QUIET AND WRITING 2009
May 1-8, 2009
Trinity Center, near Morehead City, NC

FALL WEEK OF QUIET AND WRITING 2009
September 20-27, 2009
Trinity Center, near Morehead City, NC

WORKSHOPS, CLASSES, AND WRITING GROUPS

RCWMS offers workshops and classes on writing. Topics for these have included how to write more and better, memoir writing, writing from the heart, and writing over sixty. Watch our calendar for events.

We currently run monthly groups for women who want to write and read to others, who are trying to publish their work, or who want to talk about the business of writing. If you are a woman writer looking for support, please be in touch with us.

ESSAY CONTEST >> learn more

RCWMS sponsors an annual essay contest for women eighteen years of age and older. Essay topics have included women's lives, feminist perspectives on spirituality and daily life, grace, and women's experience of God. Prizes total $500 and the winning essay is published in our newsletter, South of the Garden