Join us on Saturday, September 13th for an evening of poetry with local writer Sarah Reardon as she introduces and reads select poems from her newly published chapbook, Home Songs. In this collection, Reardon explores the beauty and spiritual significance of “home” as a concept and a place—how to make a home on earth and love where you live while also seeking, in the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews, “a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” She draws especially on her experiences of marriage and motherhood.

Sarah Reardon studied at Grove City College, taught at a classical Christian school, and now lives in central Maryland with her family. Her collection of poems, Home Songs, was published by Wipf and Stock in 2025, and her essays have been published in First Things, National Review, Plough, and other magazines.

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Visual art and poetic verse intersect uniquely in ekphrasis, poetry composed about or in response to a piece of art. The dialogue between these two mediums offers us space to contemplate what it means to be human, to suffer, and to live in this beautiful and fragile world. By exploring how Auden responds to a Bruegel painting and Janie McCrary to a fresco by Masaccio, we in turn join their conversation about the human condition.

About the Speaker

Monica Godfrey is a Maryland native, classical educator, and lover of beautiful things. She has taught literature at Rockbridge Academy for ten years. Monica earned her BA in English and a certification in secondary education from Grove City College in 2013 and an MA in modern and contemporary literature and culture from the University of York, UK, in 2014.

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Join us on Saturday, November 1st for an evening of songs and stories with singer/songwriter and storyteller Matthew Clark.

Matthew Clark is a singer/songwriter and storyteller from Mississippi. He has recorded several full length albums, including a Bible walk-through called “Bright Came the Word from His Mouth” and “Beautiful Secret Life.” Matthew hosts a weekly podcast, “One Thousand Words – Stories on the Way”, featuring essays reflecting on faith-keeping. A touring musician and speaker, Matthew travels sharing songs and stories. Whether it’s a song, podcast, meal, or an essay, Matthew loves to “make things that make room for people to meet Jesus.”

“The Well Trilogy” is Matthew’s current project: 3 full-length album/book combos releasing over 3 years. Each installment is made up of 11 songs and a companion book of 13 essays written by a variety of contributors exploring themes around encountering Jesus, faith-keeping, and the return of Christ.Part One, “Only the Lover Sings,” Part Two, “A Tale of Two Trees,” and Part Three, “Where the River Goes” are available now.

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