Writer-in-Residence
Christie Purifoy is a writer and gardener who loves to grow flowers and community. She has worshiped at The Church of the Good Samaritan since 2013. Christie is the author of two memoirs, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons (Revell 2016) and Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace (Zondervan 2019). A book of essays and photographs celebrating the garden called Seedtime and Harvest: How Gardens Grow Roots, Connection, Wholeness and Hope was released by Harvest House Publishers in March 2024, completing her trilogy of gardening gift books that began with Garden Maker (2022) and A Home in Bloom (2023).
Christie earned a PhD in English Literature from the University of Chicago. Eventually she traded the classroom for an old farmhouse called Maplehurst in West Grove, Pennsylvania where she and her husband Jonathan Purifoy are raising two sons and two daughters. Jonathan is a member of the Good Sam Vestry. Today, Christie teaches and cultivates conversations rooted in Christian faith and the arts locally at the Maplehurst Black Barn and globally in the Black Barn Online (blackbarnonline.com).
With her longtime friend and fellow author, Lisa-Jo Baker, Christie has co-hosted the _Out of the Ordinary_ podcast weekly for the past five years. Learn more about Christie’s work through her website (christiepurifoy.com) or connect with her on Instagram (@christiepurifoy), where she extends the hospitality of Maplehurst through photography.