Pam Shellberg

Silence. Retrieving contemplative traditions from their roots with the earliest Christian monastics. Nature. Contemplation as a way to respond to environmental issues. Douglas Christie leads a retreat where you can learn, pray, rest, sink into silence and be catalyzed for deeper care for the earth. He invites us to explore the historical roots of the Christian contemplative tradition, to engage Benedictine spirituality more deeply, to practice with each other, to be renewed and to lean into the power of a contemplative ecology for our shared life together. This is not a silent retreat.        

Reflections on a Contemplative Ecology Event This public conversation with Douglas Christie culminates the retreat led by him, Cultivating a Sense of Place: The Practice of Contemplative Ecology, and as such widens out the conversation about contemplation as a way to respond to environmental issues and concerns. Douglas, an academic theologian, writer and contemplative explores the historical roots of the Christian contemplative tradition, engages Benedictine spirituality more deeply, teaches and leads practices and invites participants to lean into the power of a contemplative ecology for our shared life together and shared commitment to care for the earth.       ...

An Evening with Kaitlin Curtice invites us into Kaitlin’s complex and compelling personal story – as an enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi Citizen Band and as a Christian. Her passion for truth and justice, her deep grounding in Indigenous and Christian traditions promise to catalyze individual and communal reflections on identity, activism and spirituality. Kaitlin will give her presentation, take questions and then be available for a book signing. Her books will be available for purchase.

The Writing Workshop with Kaitlin Curtice invites writers of any kind, journalists, bloggers and poets to engage in creative writing as a way to process the ideas and questions Kaitlin has opened to them in her writing and speaking. Kaitlin will wear her writer’s cap this morning, offering one or more themes for reflection and conversation. There will be small breakout groups followed by time in and around the monastery for individual writing. The workshop concludes with a time to share each other’s work.