What Is Saving Your Life Now?
In her 2009 book, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith, Barbara Brown Taylor remembers being asked once to talk about what was saving her life now. As we gather in autumn of 2023, we consider what might save our human lives now within a wider lens that embraces what might save the wide interconnected web of life now. In another voice, Howard Thurman could inquire about what makes us (and the wide web of creation) come truly alive.
During this retreat, we will gently immerse ourselves in the common challenge we face—to be still; the common call we receive—to be co-creators; and the common crisis of our lives—to accept life’s ongoing and spiraling cycle of life, death, and life beyond death. Indoors and outdoors, as weather allows, our time together will be resourced with a handful of spiritual/contemplative practices and the wisdom of the earth. We will step away into a beautiful place, in the company of one another, with both traditional and emerging practices, to perceive the next right steps in our unfolding lives.
This retreat is underwritten with generous support from the Ashley Endowment of the Minnesota Conference UCC. Additional scholarships are available. Please contact Rev. Kevin Brown, Associate Conference Minister for Faith Formation, to inquire about scholarships or for more information about the retreat.
Retreat Leadership
Rev. Dr. Martha Brunell is an experienced UCC pastor. Her current ministry includes work as a spiritual director, a retreat and workshop leader, and a writer and writing group convener. She is an advanced certified labyrinth facilitator with Veriditas, a SoulCollage® facilitator, a forest therapy guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT), and a grief educator. Martha’s life is animated at the intersection of earth wisdom and spiritual/contemplative practice. Her ministry of presence, programs, and practices is called Oak Leaf Oasis and is home based in Chicago. She works in person, on-line, and by phone in varied scattered locations. You can reach her at 314.607.4852 or at mb.listening@gmail.com.