Our Team
Director & Associate Professor
Winn Collier
Winn loves the church and beauty and all the things that make up being human in God’s verdant, sacred world. A pastor for 28 years, Winn was the founding pastor of All Souls in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is an Episcopal priest. Winn also directs The Genesis Project, a small circle of friends who are pastors, writers, and minor troublemakers.
An associate professor at Western Theological Seminary, Winn’s teaching centers on pastoral theology, connecting the ancient streams of Christian wisdom to the grit and wonders of the parish. He’s also drawn to the intersections of sacramental theology, iconography, theology of place, and the writing craft. Winn holds a PhD. from the University of Virginia in Religion & Literature, where he explored the sacramental vision of Wendell Berry’s fiction.
He’s authored five books (theology, creative nonfiction, fiction, and biography): Restless Faith: Hanging on to a God Just Out of Reach; Let God: Spiritual Conversations with François Fénelon; Holy Curiosity: Encountering Jesus’ Provocative Questions; Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Small Town Church and A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson. Winn has also written for various outlets including Christian Century, Christianity Today, and the Washington Post.
Winn and his wife Miska (a spiritual director and yoga teacher) have two sons. You may read more of Winn’s work on his Substack or view more information on his writing site.
Associate
Director
Sam Gutierrez
A contemplative artist and pastor, Sam graduated with his MDiv from WTS in 2013. Sam has led faith formation work with the Christian Reformed Church, served as Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Granite Springs Church in Lincoln, CA, and most recently served as Pastor of Community and Discipleship at Alger Park Church in Grand Rapids, MI.
In addition to his multi-medium art (you can find his installation of the Stations of the Cross on the second floor of the seminary atrium), Sam has written three books of poetry (Godbirth, Read These Poems About David, and The Reason Love Reaches) and several volumes of faith formation curriculum (The Jesus Questions, Haiku Bible Study, and graphic illustrations for The Jesse Tree).
Sam shares life with his wife Kelly, a therapist. Much of Sam’s work can be found online at Print and Poem.