Sacred Earth Retreat – Francis…Thomas…Suzanne

To Love Our Sacred Earth Retreat

Francis of Assisi and Thomas Berry on Intimacy with Nature Meet Suzanne Simard on New Ways to See and Know a Forest

Friday, Oct 4
10 AM – 12 PM (CT)
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The “Love Our Sacred Earth Retreat” series explores teachings within the writings of cultural historian and geologian Thomas Berry as they interweave with the wisdom of nature-centered mystics and of nature-inspired scientists. You may register for any or all four sessions.

Each session is two hours long and includes a contemplative break. For those who participate in-person at The Well, you are welcome to stay the rest of the afternoon to process and reflect in a retreat style fashion, for an added cost.

Francis of Assisi and Thomas Berry on Intimacy with Nature Meet Suzanne Simard on New Ways to See and Know a Forest:

Features the intimacy with nature of Francis of Assisi and Thomas Berry, meeting Suzanne Simard (author of Finding the Mother Tree) on new ways to see and know a forest. Each encounter reveals growing bonds of intimacy and communion, intuitive and experiential knowing – even a sense of shamanic evocation – that strives to protect the intrinsic wisdom of nature.

Francis communes and prays within nature and writes his psalm of praise Canticle of the Creatures.

“Be praised my Lord through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.”  Francis of Assisi

Thomas has an early mystical experience in a meadow which shapes his orientation in life.

“It was an early afternoon in May when I first looked down over the scene and saw the meadow. The field was covered with lilies rising above the thick grass. A magic moment, this experience gave to my life something … that seems to explain my life at a more profound level than almost any other experience.”    Thomas Berry

Forest scientist, professor, Suzanne Simard pays deep attention to forests and discovers new understandings of their social network and hidden instructions for healing.

“This Mother Tree was the central hub that the saplings and seedlings nested around, with threads of different fungal species, of different colors and weights, linking them, layer upon layer, in a strong, complex web.”  Suzanne Simard

Register for other sessions/series of four

This retreat is In-Person and on Zoom. Retreat Director is on Zoom.

Zoom participants will receive Zoom sign-in information via email
upon registration + a reminder the day before the program.

For those attending the retreat in-person, you may choose to add $40 to stay after the session in retreat fashion, with lunch included and the use of a quiet space in The Well for the afternoon. 

Retreat Director: Maureen Wild, SC

Maureen Wild’s graduate studies focused on Living Cosmology and Sacred Ecology, leading her to create many educational programs and retreats. She served as Director of two spirituality-based ecological learning centers: Genesis Farm, NJ, and the Centre for Earth and Spirit, BC, which she co-founded. Maureen has helped foster the international network Sisters of Earth since 1994, and is among those featured in the book Green Sisters: A Spiritual Ecology (2007). Blessed with many great teachers, one most enduring influence was Thomas Berry, who challenged all to live a resolute life of Great Work that protects, rather than ruins, Earth.

Maureen is the 2023 recipient of The Well’s Sacred Universe Award.