Choreographer  ·  Writer  ·  Episcopal Priest
Mary
Barnett

I am the Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Middletown, Connecticut. Before ordination I founded and led In Good Company, a professional dance company, for twenty years, and hosted Dancing Out Loud — a popular and eclectic artist showcase in New Haven — for fifteen of them. I write literary essays about faith, memory, the body, and the mystical ordinary. My work has appeared in Tin House, the Yale Review, Commonweal, Letters Journal, and Christian Century.

Christian Century
My Fertility Journey with Mary
2022
Christian Century
The Poetic Space of the Liturgy
2024
Letters Journal
Be Thou My Vision Therapist
2018 · Buechner Prize
Writing
Literary essays on faith, memory, and the body
Christian Century
Yale Review
Hope
2018
Commonweal
Tin House
Room
Print only
2015
Letters Journal
Be Thou My Vision Therapist
Buechner Prize
2018
Dance

From 1985 to 2005, I founded and directed In Good Company, Inc., a professional dance company based in New England. Twenty years of making dances about the things that matter most — and fifteen years of hosting Dancing Out Loud, a popular and eclectic artist showcase in New Haven.

Mary Barnett performing solo
Mary BarnettPhoto by Bill Burkhart
Mary Barnett performing solo
Mary BarnettPhoto by Bill Burkhart

In Good Company performed original choreography throughout New England for two decades. The company's work explored the intersection of physical form and interior life — the body as a site of meaning.