A pastor for 28 years, we spent 12 of those wonderful years in Charlottesville, Virginia, where I was the founding pastor of All Souls in Charlottesville, Virginia. An Episcopal priest, I now teach pastoral theology and direct the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, as well as directing a small group of friends known as The Genesis Project.
I received my PhD. in Religion & Literature from the University of Virginia, where I explored the sacramental vision of Wendell Berry’s fiction. I’ve written five books (most recently the epistolary novel Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Smalltown Church and A Burning in My Bones, the biography of Eugene Peterson), and I’m currently banging out sentences for what’s coming next. I’ve written for numerous periodicals, including Christian Century, Christianity Today, and Washington Post.
My wife Miska is a spiritual director and yoga teacher, and we have two adult sons as well as a rollicking dog Gus (short for St. Augustine).
Would You Subscribe?
Writing is never truly a solitary act. Writing, at its best, is part of a conversation with others (others’ ideas, or the concerns of a community or tradition, or a story emerging from our common humanity). Writing that’s tied to conversations with particular people is so much more (and better) than the mechanical and ultimately banal thing the business calls “content creation.” Content creation strikes me as a cold exchange, but writing — genuine writing, to real people with real joys and tears, hopes and sorrows — now, we’re getting close to the fire.
So, here’s my ask: please subscribe. When you subscribe, you become, even if in a silent way, part of the conversation. You help stoke the fire.
And by subscribing, you are actively supporting my writing amid an impersonal, dehumanizing age overwhelmed by Big Box powers. Of course, your support is immensely tangible if you choose to be a paid subscriber, but you are still contributing a great deal by only reading along. I welcome you either way.
Most of what I offer is completely open and no charge. If you desire to support my writing, make it available for others who can’t afford it, and would like a few extras, please consider the options below:
Free Subscribers
Access to all primary content posts
Ability to comment on all primary content posts
Access to a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features via the Substack app
Paid Subscribers
Everything free subscribers receive plus:
“The Writing Shed” notes reflecting on my ongoing writing and books before public information, as well as other work and thoughts that are more in process
Audio version of posts
Annual Zoom conversation about whatever might be on our minds
My heart-full gratitude for supporting my work
If you’d like full access but are unable to afford it, please send a note to substackhelp@winncollier.com. No questions asked. I’m happy to do it.
The Patron’s Circle
Everything all subscribers above receive plus:
A personal note and signed copy of my new books in years one is released — or some other personalized author gift in other years
The joy of knowing you are helping to underwrite this space and offset the cost for others who cannot afford a subscription
