Spiritual writing can immerse readers in the complex interior of another person's faith--their rituals, community, convictions, and questions--and turn a polarizing topic like religion into an opportunity for empathy and discovery. This week's Wednesdays on the Stoop explores the genre of spiritual writing, with readings from exemplars in the form and prompts for trying some spiritual writing of our own. Participants are encouraged to bring a favorite passage of spiritual fiction, nonfiction, or poetry written in reference to any religious or philosophical tradition. We'll swap readings of our favorite passages, then write together in silence using prompts about spiritual experience and practice.

Catherine Ricketts is an essayist and songwriter. Her nonfiction on the arts, grief, joy, and spirituality appears or is forthcoming in the Kenyon Review Online, the Ploughshares blog, The Christian Century, Image, The Millions, Paste, and WXPN's The Key. She studied writing at the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MFA in nonfiction from Seattle Pacific University. She is at work on two nonfiction books: the first about grief and beauty, and the second about motherhood and artistic practice. Find her on Instagram at @bycatherinericketts or at www.catherinedanaricketts.com.