Experiencing Creation as CREATION

This outdoor-focused retreat aims to give participants the experience of God’s presence in the natural world. The retreat journey starts by introducing Franciscan (Catholic) theology, which emphasizes God’s immanence in the world. From there, we use a variety of indoor and outdoor exercises to build an attitude of gratitude for and mindfulness of the natural world, culminating in an outdoor exercise that leads participants to “step into Creation.” On the final retreat day, we use exercises based on Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si, to examine the implications of God’s immanence in Creation on our actions.

The retreat is timed to coincide with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower and new moon, and will include an option for sleeping outdoors for one night to view the meteor shower and to experience the natural world at night with a dark sky. (Participants may opt instead to view the meteor shower for a couple of hours, then return to their rooms for the rest of the night.) The retreat includes two significant solo outdoor exercises that ask participants to walk slowly and sit quietly outdoors, away from the human-built environment, for at least two hours. Participants should be comfortable being alone in a natural environment and be able to walk at least 500 feet across uneven ground in order to complete the outdoor exercises