In a faith tradition that honors the free and responsible search for truth and meaning, poetry becomes a spiritual and mindfulness practice. It asks us to slow down. To listen beneath the noise. To notice what is stirring in the quiet. In this talk, Dr. Jennifer Gellock explores poetry not as a medium for performance, but as a pathway to presence. It is a way of paying attention to our inner lives, to one another, and to the sacred woven through ordinary moments. Through story and spoken word, she reflects on how poetry helps us tend to grief, celebrate joy, and remain awake to the dignity and worth of every person. Together, we’ll consider what it means to pay attention as an act of love and how returning to the heart by paying attention through poetry, again and again, might be its own form of ministry.

Dr. Jennifer Gellock is a hospital chaplain at Bozeman Health, poet, speaker, founder and CEO of Inward Athlete and former college professor who guides others through the sacred landscapes of grief, joy, and the in-between. Trained in the ministry of presence, she holds space as a soul care provider in all its complexity, planting seeds of hope and light when others are in the dark. Her work weaves together poetry, somatic practices, and spiritual care to help others return to the wisdom of their heart. Through writing, speaking, and sacred witnessing, she invites others into deeper connection with themselves, others, and the divine presence of their knowing.