Glide Memorial Church is thrilled to announce the appointment of Ramona Laughing Brook Webb as the 2024 Janice Mirikitani “Poet Theologian in Residence”. This prestigious role, named in honor of the late Janice Mirikitani, a revered poet, leader, and activist; is a testament to Glide Church’s commitment to intertwining the arts, spirituality, and social justice.
A Year of Poetic and Theological Exploration
Ramona Webb, an accomplished poet and theologian, will embark on a year-long journey starting January 14, 2024, through January 14, 2025. Ramona Laughing Brook Webb (Mona Webb) is an Afro-Creek Muskogee Queer teaching and performing artist. Mona is the first Poet-in-Residence at the National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health and University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) Black Women’s Health and Livelihood Initiative; working at the intersections of art integration into healthcare practices, performance art, culture change, and improved communications around gender and racial/ethnic disparities and health disparities.
For 10 years Mona served as poetry Slam Master of San Francisco. Ramona is a conservatory-trained artist who writes and performs in “docu-ritual-drama” theater. “Latimer Lights” (working title) is her current poetic performance piece which chronicles the life, legacy, and poetry of Lewis Howard Latimer, inventor of the permanent carbon filament of the light bulb. Ramona’s pronouns are she, her, them, and they.
Her tenure will be marked by a series of enriching and transformative initiatives, including:
- Bi-Monthly Workship Sessions: Merging poetry, creative writing, and arts with worship. These sessions will delve into the realm of theo-poetics, offering a unique blend of artistic expression and spiritual exploration.
- Quarterly Poet Theologian Sermons: Webb will deliver inspiring sermons during the 9 am and 11 am Celebrations, sharing her profound insights and poetic prowess.
- She will create Poetry Readings and Art Exhibition installments. Curating two poetry readings and an art exhibition, Webb will honor and extend the legacy of Janice Mirikitani, reflecting her values, experiences, and impactful life’s work.
- Coordinate the Maya Angelou Room Relaunch of this iconic space, Webb will infuse it with new life and meaning.
- Sunday Writers Church Coordination: Webb will foster a nurturing environment for writers, collecting poems and providing creative prompts and journals.
- Poetry-Visual Arts-Graphic Exhibit: In the Glide Creative Space, Webb will showcase a fusion of poetry and visual arts, celebrating the voices of Black women and affinity groups.
- Community Engagement: Webb will engage with congregation members, community literary figures, and poets, including collaboration with Minister Marvin K. White, to deepen relationships and foster mutual learning.
- Linkages with Literary Communities: Working with the Center for Liberation, Community, and Empowerment (CLCE), Webb will create connections between Glide Church and the broader literary world.
- A Covenant of Creativity and Spirituality
This appointment represents a covenant between Glide Church and Ramona Webb, rooted in shared values and missions. It’s a commitment to nurturing leadership, creativity, and spiritual growth within the Glide Church community and beyond.