The Rabbit Room

Why My Children Sit Through Church

Near the end of his life, Pope John Paul II was seated on his chair at the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. He was in his eighties and suffering from Parkinson’s. He had trouble sitting up straight, and even holding up his head was a chore. Yet there he was, in front of hundreds of parishioners and visitors who filled the cathedral to capacity. Thousands, indeed millions more watched him on television outside in the square and around the world. He looked tired and rather glum—not an office-holder of stature, but an old man hunched by the many failings of his body.

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As Weak

In the afterglow of Hutchmoot 2018’s dizzying cascade of several dozens of wonderful and meaningful conversations, I can no longer remember who requested copies of the poem I read during Rebecca Reynolds’ and my tag team session on “the holy, hidden potential of human weakness.”

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An Interview with Leif Enger about Virgil Wander

A few years ago, Leif Enger came to speak at Hutchmoot, the annual Rabbit Room conference. That year, he and I had both gone through sudden medical crises. We bonded then over recovery stories and continued that friendship in the form of a fairly regular correspondence. When I was preparing to release Struck, a memoir about my experience, I asked Leif if he might be willing to read it and write an endorsement. He graciously obliged, providing one of the true high points in my career as an author—support from a literary hero.

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Thursday Night Meal: Cassoulet

[Editor’s note: This year at Hutchmoot, John Cal not only fed us with delicious food; he nourished us with beautiful stories, providing context for each meal and what it meant to him. What follows is the first of his speeches, given a week ago today—we will be posting the others, one by one, over the next couple weeks. Enjoy.]

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North Wind Manor and the Power of Place

Since the inception of the Rabbit Room community, we’ve believed that real relationship requires more than merely an online exchange of ideas. The last decade of creative work has taught us that an exchange of ideas needs to be accompanied by shared laughter, by the satisfaction of a shared meal, by the joy of friendship. We’ve realized the power of bringing big ideas into three-dimensional space inhabited by flesh and blood people.

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Hutchmoot 2018: Re-entry

Let us now collectively exhale.

If you’ve taken three or four spontaneous naps since this weekend, please know you’re not alone. I write from North Wind Manor after our weekly staff meeting—I believe all our eyelids are a little heavier than they were a week ago, but our hearts are full to overflowing.

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Convene the Hutchmoot (2018)

The food is cooking. The sessions are set. The soundcheck is underway. Folders are printed. Art and books and other fine wares are on display. Surprises are in store. There’s a Hutchmoot at hand.

Travel safely. Arrive in good cheer. We’re going to have a fine weekend. Read More ›

Hutchmoot 2018: To Begin A Purposeful Gathering

At Hutchmoot, there are so many ways that we offer ourselves to one another: through stories, songs, conversations in the hallway, listening intently, and sharing meals, to name only a few.

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