How can new writers learn about poetry? How can hungry people get a hot meal?

For Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science English teacher and lifelong First Presbyterian Church member Thomas Richardson, both of those questions had a pretty straightforward answer: starting a faith-based poetry class at his church.

“I wanted to give people a chance to write for themselves,” Richardson said. “And at the same time, this church was becoming part of a subset of Presbyterian churches under this Matthew 25 initiative. … The Matthew 25 initiative is kind of a doubling down of the church’s forward or outward facing ministries.”

Since February, a class of about 16 poets of all ages have met every Sunday evening at First Presbyterian Church to learn the basics of poetry, discuss theological topics and raise money for the meal service group Loaves and Fishes, Richardson said.

The class tuition, $200 for adults and $100 for high school and college students, goes toward the meal service organization, Richardson said, though some funding has been donated by members of the congregation not participating in the class. At the end of the class’ eight sessions, the group’s work will also be put together as an anthology, the sales of which will be put toward publishing costs and also benefit Loaves and Fishes.

Several of the attendees of the class had never written poetry before they walked through the door. Richardson said he started the first class session teaching a lesson on how to write a bad poem, to help the new poets “rip the Band Aid off” before learning more about composition.

“I think letting people dive into it lets them see that it’s not really all that threatening an experience, and some of the intimidation has eased from the first week,” he said.

One of those new poets is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, B.J. Chain. He said he had never written a poem before walking into the class. Getting to write poems, and not just sermons, has helped him to express himself in new ways.

“In the Bible, we have a whole lot of creative expression of prophets … and some ordinary people expressing themselves however they see fit,” Chain said. “Specifically in the context of a poetry class, you know, the Psalms and Lamentations are good examples where you have psalms that are really optimistic about everything that’s happening, but you also have to explore the negative feelings you have toward the world and toward God, and poetry is just one way to do that.”

Besides theology, Richardson said the new poets have also learned about poetic devices, like strong imagery, contrasts in writing, changes in tone and more. Each class session also involves a time where group members pass around their work to receive positive notes or neutral questions, helping to strengthen their writing.

Hope DeVenney has been a member of First Presbyterian Church for six years. Before she started the class, she hadn’t written poetry before.

But the class, she said, has exposed her to people of all ages and helped her to work through some of her feelings in real life.

“The poetry for me has been a way to explore things going on in my heart and my life more,” DeVenney said.

But the class is not just open to church members. Alicia Vickers heard about the class through Richardson, since he was her high school English teacher. She said she has been enjoying the class since it started.

“In church culture, a lot of times the psalms, hymns and poetry are a big part of it. We recite it through psalms and out loud, but we don’t create much with our own experiences. … So I think that’s neat, getting to be a creator and not a reiterator.”

Outside of the poetry class, Vickers works as a therapist. She said the poetry has helped her to process some of her own feelings, while giving her new ideas for her practice.

“I actually have given a client or two one of these prompts,” Vickers said.

One aspect of poetry that Chain has enjoyed the most, he said, is how it helps to shift your perspective to see things differently. One of his favorite poems he’s written so far was from the perspective of Christ’s mother, Mary.

“I’m not a mom, obviously, but being able to take a step back and take what I know of Mary and of Jesus and sort of put myself in her shoes and look through her eyes, how she might interpret those things, and so give Mary a little more purchase in my own theology than I have in the past,” Chain said.

The class is taking a break for the week of Easter, but will be holding two more poetry sessions in the weeks following. For more information, follow First Presbyterian Church Columbus, Mississippi on Facebook.

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