PATRICIA RAYBON
Writing To Move Mountains
Writing To Move Mountains
Books. Articles. Essays. Life.
Writing by faith to find God's answers.
After speaking at a wonderful Women's Day worship service, Congregational Church of South Hempstead, Long Island, NY
After leading a great Women's Prayer Retreat Weekend near Estes Park, Colorado, with Women's Ministry of Dillon Community Church.
Presenting my talk "When Professors Dare to Pray" at Intervarsity's Graduate Christian Fellowship, University of Colorado at Boulder.
With the awesome Issachar Community, Denver, after our "Conversation on Race."
Book signing at The Tattered Cover, Denver's author-supporting independent book store.
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A LITTLE MORE ABOUT MEI've been writing since I could read. Half a minute past first grade, I started writing stories—but also looking for answers. That led me, past college, into newspaper journalism. So I left my home state of Colorado to earn a degree in journalism from Ohio State University. Soon after, however, I returned to Colorado where I landed my first professional job--a reporting position at The Denver Post, covering fires and crimes and such on the city desk. But in short time, I made my way to the paper’s features department, writing “human-interest” stories about people trying to live life, get over obstacles, create beauty, find healing and make sense of work, family and love. WINNING AWARDS Then along came awards. With feature writing as my specialty, I earned many writing honors for my articles--including the Sweepstakes Award from the Associated Press of Colorado, the first-place Helen Carringer Journalism Award from the National Mental Health Association, the first-place General Reporting Award from the Society of Professional Journalists' Colorado chapter and several awards for feature writing and reporting from National Press Women, Colorado Press Women, and Colorado Association of Black Journalists, among others. Along the way, I earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Then after working in features at Denver's beloved Rocky Mountain News, then returning to The Post as Sunday magazine editor, I joined the journalism faculty at CU-Boulder where I taught magazine writing and other print journalism skills to many wonderful graduate and undergraduate students. GETTING PERSONAL: MY ESSAYS Over the years, I started writing personal essays on faith, family and racial healing—getting published in The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, USA Today, USA Weekend, Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, the Charles Stanley Ministries In Touch Magazine and featured on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition. NEXT UP: BOOKS Then I started writing books. My first title, My First White Friend, a personal story on racial healing, won a Christopher Award for "artistic excellence affirming the highest values of the human spirit." My next book, I Told the Mountain to Move, about my journey as a Christian woman to learn how to pray, was a finalist in Christianity Today Magazine's 2006 Book of the Year contest in the "Spirituality" category. My lastest projects include a One Year devotional, God’s Great Blessings, covering 52 virtues that God blesses, and Bound for Glory, a collaboration honoring African American spirituals and featuring the art of renown calligrapher Timothy Botts, with my reflections on his art. WRITING TO TEACH My essay writing still sells, as well. My work has been reprinted in more than 20 college textbooks including The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, Guide to Writing Magazine Nonfiction, Models for Writers, The Writer's Selections, The Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition, The Writing Process, Short Takes: Model Essays for Composition, The Compact Reader: Short Essays by Theme and Form, among others. SPEAKING AND TEACHING As a lifelong Christian with much writing on healing under my belt, I’ve been blessed to present keynotes and motivational workshops to such groups as the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors, the Academy of Christian Editors, Women in Medicine and Dentistry, Texas Association of Family and Marriage Therapy, Teaching for a Change Conference, Women of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Native American Journalists, MOPS, National Diversity Conference on Youth, The January Series of Calvin College, among others. I’ve also appeared on NBC’s Today Show, PBS’ Tavis Smiley Show, NPR’s Talk of the Nation, NPR’s Weekend Edition, Pacifica Radio, the Moody Network, ABC Radio Network, American Urban Radio Network, DayStar Television and scores of other radio and television broadcasts to discuss matters of faith, race, family and writing. HOME FIRES Closer to home (near Denver), I’m a wife, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law and active member of the historic Shorter Community A.M.E. Church where I founded and lead the Writing Ministry. I also sing second alto in a wonderful community choir called The Spirituals Project. Married 35 amazing years to my husband Dan, I have two beautiful grown daughters, one awesome son-in-law and four wondrous grandchildren. In all of this, I seek to live in the spirit of one of my favorite Bible verses, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." (Romans 1:16, KJV) |
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