Chelsey Hillyer
Jefferson City, MO
Nonfiction
Chelsey Hillyer (they/she) lives in Jefferson City, Missouri with their spouse, kiddo, and a dog named Popcorn. An Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, Chelsey received her Masters of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary. Their ministry focused on intersectional justice and non-violent spiritual practice until they left congregational ministry in 2019. Since then, Chelsey has offered non violent spiritual formation to individuals and groups as a coach, spiritual director, and Facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal.
Their creative work has appeared in The New Territory Magazine, Bending Genres, Fidelia Magazine, and Bearings Online, and they are an alum of the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference and Collegeville Institute Workshops. In Fall 2023, Chelsey will begin PhD studies at the University of Missouri, where they will pursue a degree in English Literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing.
Currently, Chelsey is working on a collection of lyric essays about the teachings seeds of plants native to the Midwestern-US hold for the human soul, and they are excited to deepen this work through as the 2023 Anne Bent Spiritual Writer Fellow with the Ragdale Foundation. To learn more about Chelsey or their work, visit www.amateurefforts.com or follow them @amateurefforts.