The Silence of God
Cole Arthur Riley

In this talk, Cole explores how individuals can maintain their faith in a seemingly silent God, particularly in times of suffering and distress. Cole delves into the complex relationship between trauma and spirituality. Cole suggests that, rather than losing belief, individuals can engage in practices that foster a deeper presence to both themselves and the world around them, even in the absence of clear signs of God’s presence.

Cole Arthur Riley is, more than most things, a writer. Born and for the most part raised in Pittsburgh, Cole studied writing at the University of Pittsburgh, but traces her love of words back to her father, who would bribe her and her siblings to write poems and stories to get out of chores, or for cold hard cash; and her gramma who was part writer, part sage.  


Cole is also the creator of Black Liturgies, a space that integrates spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black literature, and the Black body; and a project of The Center for Dignity and Contemplation where she serves as Curator.  


Some thinkers who have formed her include, Audre Lorde, Octavia Butler, James Baldwin, Thomas Merton, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Julian of Norwich.  


Cole’s debut book THIS HERE FLESH was an instant New York Times bestseller. 
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