OUR OFFERINGS

Join us for this online retreat where we will explore the gift of Earth as our original monastery and the wisdom of wild grace.

In these days of climate crisis and global pandemic, how might we grow in intimacy with the elements and creatures? How might we listen more closely to Earth’s wisdom for us?

During this retreat, we will explore spiritual practices that help us to cultivate an Earth-cherishing consciousness and to fall more deeply in love with creation. We will tend to both the outer and inner wild.

Session includes teaching, reflection, song, meditation, poetry, creative exploration, gentle movement, small group and large group sharing, and time for questions and input.

The retreat materials will be drawn primarily from Christine’s two newest books - Earth, Our Original Monastery: Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude Through Intimacy with Nature (Ave Maria Press, 2020) and her second collection of poems, The Wisdom of Wild Grace (Paraclete Press, 2020). At the core of this collection are poems inspired by stories of kinship between saints and animals. They come mostly from the early Christian desert and Celtic traditions, but also feature later medieval saints such as Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Julian of Norwich.

Christine Valters Paintner is the online Abbess at AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery and global community offering a variety of programs in contemplative practice and creative expression. She is the author of 16 books on spirituality, contemplative practice and creative expression including two collections of poems. Christine earned her PhD in Christian spirituality and lives out her commitment as a Benedictine Oblate in Galway, Ireland.

For questions, email Laura Vaughan: laura@ingoodcompanyfoundation.org