“Ruminate was created for every person who has paused over a good word, a real story, a perfect brushstroke, longing for the significance they point us toward,” according to its mission statement.
The art of religion is often lost on a campus engrossed with faith, reason and justice.
Yet, for one who finds himself or herself expressing their faith through literature and art, Ruminate magazine may be a viable solution.
Ruminate is a new magazine that has just hit the Eastern bookstore.
It is released quarterly, and the above mission statement reflects a magazine that is designed for artists who use short stories, poetry and visual art to express the Christian faith.
Each individual issue has its own theme. As one flips open the cover, the reader is hit with the above mission statement, as well as fan mail from adoring readers.
“I love compiling the ‘notes from you’ section of the magazine because it is fun to see what people are saying about Ruminate. In fact, this is one of my favorite parts of any magazine because I think that it reveals community around and within the pages,” Editor-in-Chief Brianna van Dyke said.
Readers are also met with drawings, poetry and several short stories.
Each section also has a short blurb about the author or artist, showcasing other works they have done and the meaning behind their work.
“I started Ruminate because I had written a short story in the hopes of getting it published, but I was surprised to find that there were only a couple of faith-based literature pubs out there,” van Dyke said.
The magazine itself is very plain, filled with black and white pages.
Readers may feel as though this captures the image of each work more powerfully; colorful objects are not distracting from the intended subject.
Production of each issue involves time and hard work.
“It is a three month process full of many late nights. The staff of Ruminate is working for next to nothing because our budget is so small, and yet everyone invests their time and energy wholeheartedly,” van Dyke said.
The visual artwork may be in question for readers. One may have a hard time viewing sketches that look like they were done by a kindergartener with their eyes closed.
For those interested in submitting work to the magazine, Van Dyke said that they “accept submissions via email year – round. After visiting our website’s submission guidelines, considering the theme for the upcoming issue and hopefully reading a copy of the magazine, artists and writers are encouraged to submit their work to editor@ruminatemagazine.com,” van Dyke said.
The second issue of the magazine can currently be purchased at the Eastern bookstore.
Mikaela Brown 
Sophia Hunter 
Jayme Fisher