by Kimberly Phinney and Sarah Steele
MASTHEAD
Sarah Steele, senior editor
Ashley Whittemore, editor
Kimberly Kralovic, editor
Heather Lobe Johnson, editor
Kimberly Phinney, editor-in-chief
A Letter from the Editors
Dear Reader,
It’s a fair critique to say that modernity has led to a restlessness, a sort of uprootedness, if you will. The messaging of hyper-individualism is ubiquitous. Institutions, in many ways, have failed us. The rise of AI and other dubious technological advances has left us unmoored and rightfully fearful over what the near future may hold. Political divisions and wars—and the rumors of wars—have torn us asunder, as we raise our eyes to the heavens and cry, “Help us, oh Lord!”
It is this uncertainty that we are stepping into with this fall’s offering—carrying our literary lanterns into the dark nights, offering our healing balm for what ails the soul, carrying a message of eternal rootedness that cannot be uprooted, even by the most savage of storms.
“How could this possibly be?” you might ask. “The world is falling apart! The odds are against us! It’s a fool’s errand to try to stop the ships that are running us aground…”
By the world’s terms, you’d be right. But, you see, we serve a God who redeems the wretched, who works beauty from ashes, and who said with his life, “I am making all things new!” The true myth, as C.S. Lewis called it, is this: Even in the face of persecution, devastation, and crucifixion, there is always, always, always a Resurrection. These supernatural roots run deep. They cannot be ripped up by the winds of change or the floods of disaster. The raging fires cannot touch us at the depths to which we have rooted.
And in the most impossible set of circumstances, the faithful choose to fruit. As creatives and writers, we know that our most important work happens in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. It happens at Gethsemane and Golgotha. It is in the ninth hour when the artist gets to work.
***
The prophet Jeremiah experienced this phenomenon as well, living in a time with high political tensions, widespread syncretistic worship, and a fatal habit of relying on pragmatism to survive. The metaphor of a tree planted by a stream would resonate deeply with Judean farmers who intimately knew what survival required of them through harsh Middle Eastern heatwaves and regular seasons of drought—it required a root system traveling deep enough to reach the hidden, reliable water source beneath the arid surface.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.
As Jeremiah urged Judah to anchor their security in God rather than crumbling human empires, we are now offering you the same exhortation through the writing from within our own community. In this fall’s journal, you have brought us your rooted work and offered up your budding and ripened fruit. You have set a table this fall with the thanksgiving of your poetry, stories, essays, photos, and fine art. There are at least one million ways to celebrate the Christian’s rooted life in the years of drought. We are bringing you fifty-three of them.
***
This idea of being rooted in an uprooted world is the vision for our literary journal’s 2026 Fall Collection: Rooted.
We pride ourselves on being a community journal that provides soul-care and creative excellence to our writers and artists, so you will find faithful creatives who are quite established with many publications and awards alongside emerging creatives who are just beginning their journey. We celebrate and love them all as God’s image-bearers!
So, please read deeply, comment widely, and connect richly, as we celebrate this timely offering of beauty to a world in need. We want to hear from you and connect with you.
You belong here,
Kimberly Phinney and Sarah Steele
From Our Senior Editor, Sarah Steele:
As I considered this year’s theme, Rooted, for the Cultivate Retreat, I was struck by its connection to the work I do as a Village Poet. I knew I wanted to create a spoken word offering for our community, but I also knew it wasn’t something I should do alone. A Village Poet works not only within but also with her community. No solo acts here!
So, I reached out to the first person who entered my mind for his spoken word prowess: Edward Holmes! Throughout spring and early summer, we passed a Google Doc back and forth, exploring the idea of rootedness in Scripture, literature, and the rhythms of everyday life. The result is this spoken word duet, created especially for you.
May we all reach our roots deep into our communities,
Sarah Steele
* “A Rooted Village Poet” was first performed at the Cultivate Retreat 2026 by Edward Holmes and Sarah Steele.
Join us! Won’t you deepen your roots with us? May this literary digging strengthen your soul in the rains and droughts of life.
Godspeed to you, good pilgrim!
TIP: Reading the journal on your computer or tablet is the best experience due to the formatting issues you might experience on your phone.
KIMBERLY PHINNEY
Kimberly Phinney is a writer, professor, counselor, publisher, and editor. She’s been published in Christianity Today, Ekstasis, Fathom, Solum Literary Press, The Dewdrop, Humana Obscura, Calla Press, and more. She is the founder of www.TheWayBack2Ourselves.com. Her poetry is award-winning. “Exalted Ground” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2024. Her poem “An Ode to Hard, Dark Nights” won the Audience Choice Award in the Bright Wings Poetry Contest with Ekstasis and Makers and Mystics in 2024. Her small collection of poetry from Of Wings and Dirt won runner-up in Fathom Magazine’s Poetry Contest in 2023.
A doctoral candidate in Community Care and Counseling, Kimberly holds an M.Ed. in English and studied at Goddard’s Creative Writing MFA program. She was featured on Good Morning America for a national award and for teaching through critical illness. Her poetry collection, Of Wings and Dirt, was a bestseller on the Amazon Charts throughout 2024. Her second book of poetry, Exalted Ground: Poems of Praise and Lament for the Living, debuted as a bestseller and #1 in Christian Poetry Charts in April of 2025.
She is writing a book on art, faith, and belonging, which will be published with Baker Books in 2027, as well as her third collection of poetry.
Find her and The Way Back to Ourselves community on Instagram @thewayback2ourselves and on Substack: TheWayBack2Ourselves.substack.com.