Poet, songwriter, emotional maximalist, Bible-nerd-who-swears-too-much, creative activator
Is there a chance you’re carrying questions or emotions that don’t fit inside Sunday morning? Maybe you appreciate podcasts and books on Christian deconstruction or spiritual trauma that offer helpful language for what you’re navigating—but it’s an isolating journey taking place in your headphones or social media feed, while your faith community carries on with church as usual. Or maybe those resources dive deep into academics and discourse, without the connection, beauty, and inspiration that only live performance art can usher in.
That’s where my work comes in. I create spiritual poetry and music for grief and faith, in a live performances that honour doubt, loss, catharsis, and wonder as much as faith. My work offers communal, creative rituals for deconstruction and messy places in between—for the ache of uncertainty, the anger of spiritual abuse, and the fragile beauty of what might still be possible.
I’m Amy Van Bergen, a progressive Christian artist, poet, and songwriter with over 14 years of experience weaving together music, liturgy, and story to help people feel seen and find hope in the places where life and faith collide. What began as ad hoc, private offerings of my own poetry about doubt and songs for spiritual healing became a series of requests to publish, record, and share with audiences who continuously responded with some version of “that’s exactly how I feel— I just couldn’t put it into words”.
I have a B.A. in Biblical Theology from Columbia Bible College and have directed a documentary (Common Territory) that screened at the 2024 Chilliwack Film Festival. I’ve been an organizer and community-based events curator across the Fraser Valley, hosting multi-lingual poetry events to foster intercultural storytelling to strengthen diversity and cohesion through the arts. In 2024, I was commissioned by the City of Mission to create and record an original piece, Ode to 26, that tells of the love story between the Fraser River and the municipal forest. My work offers expressive companions in a spiritual season of what Sarah Bessey has called, “an evolving faith”, creating common spaces for audiences to graciously encounter the corners of grief, faith, and belonging through the arts. I am grateful to be living alongside newly arrived refugees as a supportive housing volunteer in Surrey, BC with my husband.
