The Nature of Hope: A Winter Wisdom Retreat

Join us for a day-long celebration of nature as spiritual practice. We'll be joined by three extraordinarily talented and thoughtful members of the MEEC community - Dr. Vince Miller, the Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture at the University of Dayton; Methodist Deaconess Beth Vanoli, facilitator of Miami Valley Wild Church, and Christine Middleton, a lay Marianist and nature artist. 

Vince will provide a keynote entitled Passionate Hoping WITH our Sibling Creatures. St. Francis' image of all elements of the universe forming a family shapes contemporary, faith-based calls to integral ecology. Vince will bring insight from another towering figure in our tradition, St. Thomas Aquinas, who conceived of hope as a passion of struggle, engaged with the world, viscerally aware of difficulties and obstacles, rousing the senses and powers to find and achieve a good. This emotional range of hope goes beyond feelings of assurance or clarity to include turmoil, frustration and determination. This also provides a creative way of re-imagining solidarity among species.

Through guided medition, Beth will open us to the liturgy of Creation unfolding all around us and provide spiritual practices to listen to the homily of our souls in conversation with the divine. Christine will share techniques honed from years of artistic nature journaling to help us encounter creation more deeply and to see more clearly. Together, their wisdom and practical techniques will prepare us for our own extended time in the Marianist Nature Preserve observing, listening and being renewed.

$50 ($40 for Friends of MEEC) includes materials, lunch, snacks and art supplies.