About CATHRYN THE GRATEFUL

FOUNDER, A LIVING TEMPLE (2020)

A LIVING TEMPLE celebrates creation. An interfaith church located in Charleston SC, we cultivate and honor the divine feminine and sacred masculine through fellowship, song, dance, prayer, nourishment and meditation. We practice daily prayer, weekly circles, divine dance, mystery schools and honoring the cycles of our bodies, our earth, and our communities. Our goal is to slow down, sense our deep gladness, share it freely and cultivate connection to the living temples across the globe. Everyone has their own path, and we honor the sacred spiritual traditions rooted in love, compassion, and justice, whose rituals and sacred texts inspire and inform the Temple -- along with a healthy dose of merry making!

FOUNDER, JOYFUL REVOLUTION (2018)

The Joyful Revolution is a movement for planet, people & pleasure, inspired by the visionary work of adrianne maree brown (Emergent Stratgey & Pleasure Activism), Octavia Butler (Earthseed), and Tom Robbins. We are driven by people united to honor the sanctity and interconnectivity of everything on this planet. We oppose the commodification of the Earth by challenging archaic notions that lead to ecological disaster and advance racism, sexism, classism, ageism, and all “othering” methodologies. We are possibilitarians, inspired by poets, artists, philosophers, spiritual visionaries and leaders who joyfully serve our planet. (www.joyfulrevolution.org),

MINISTER OF MOVEMENT (2018)

Raised at Jubilee! Community Church in Asheville, NC, Rev Cathryn the Grateful was ordained a Minister of Movement in 2018, Based in Creation Spirituality (Rev Dr. Matthew Fox) and the writings of Starhawk, and poetry of Rumi and Hafiz, Cathryn has preached, danced, and celebrated marriages, deaths, and births with congregations across America -- her love of community, creativity, and the Earth continues to grow and flourish.

DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER

An award-winning feature documentary filmmaker of FULLY AWAKE (2007), a film about the experimental school BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE that birthed the American Avant-Garde in the 1950s.

BIOGRAPHY

Born to Jan & Steve Davis on the ancient mounds in Macon, GA, Cathryn was raised in Asheville, NC by an artist mama and psychologist daddy. She trained as a clown in her teens (clown name: CELEBRATE), and was active in theater and debate in high school. After graduating UNC-Chapel Hill in Cultural Studies, Cathryn moved to New York where she created FULLY AWAKE, a feature documentary about the legendary Black Mountain College (1933-1957) an experiment in education that birthed the American Avant Garde. The film has screened worldwide from MoMA to film festivals to community centers.

Cathryn began her civic work as a 13 year old volunteer for Senate candidate Harvey Gantt (running against Jesse Helms) and worked on two campaigns in NC, planting a lifelong interest in politics. Aware of the deeply entrenched evils of unfettered capitalism and systemic racism, Cathryn has taken part in more bold actions, as part of Occupy Wall Street, a lawsuit against Monsanto, part of the SC Poor People’s Campaign, as well as creating a WAKE THE NATION documentary film series and other awareness-raising campaigns for justice issues.

A graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in NYC, Cathryn is a committed practitioner of sacred ecology, producing public television shows about permaculture for Growing a Greener World and working for an open-pollinated seed company, Sow True Seed.

As a sacred activist, Cathryn strongly believes in the importance of creativity, storytelling, and community as we co-create a just world for all. For over five years she served as the Executive Director of Enough Pie, a non-profit in Charleston’s Upper Peninsula that uses creativity to connect and empower our community. Enough Pie works with community members to look at gentrification and co-create creative, out-of-the-box ideas and partnerships that embolden people to take action. Most recently she has served as a Commissioner on the Board at CCHRA, the Charleston County Housing & Redevelopment Association, serving low-income elders & disabled community members to have affordable housing.

Cathryn’s primary joy generator is movement as medicine – dancing through life. She has a dance sanctuary in her home on James Island near Charleston, SC where she hosts global DIVINE DANCE PARTY as well as intimate group dance and individual movement healing. She is a brown belt in NIA and has studied 5Rhythms with Founder Gabrielle Roth, along with ecstatic dance. Her spiritual journey has taken her across the globe, from dancing with the Hindu Goddesses in India to chanting in Buddhist monasteries in Korea to seminary in Creation Spirituality in Boulder, CO. She maintains her commitment with a daily altar practice and work with several sacred elders across spiritual traditions (Cherokee, Fellowship of Isis, Divine Mother Healing) to continue evolving consciousness. It is a practice she is passionately committed to.