a snowy January at The Trees
On Saturday 17th of January, approximately 30 people came together for our first Winter Workday to care for our property. Here at The Trees we are incorporating a practice of sacred tending. The idea is that everything we do from unloading the dishwasher to blowing the trails, to picking up limbs and sweeping acorns is an opportunity to practice connecting with the Divine Presence. In the words of St. Benedict, “Let him regard all the utensils of the monastery and the whole property as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar.” The sacred is always trying to break through, the work is just to be present enough to notice it.
On Saturday, amongst all the other tasks that were going on… I was present enough to notice the Sacred breaking through and that presence gave me so much hope.
I observed:
The arrival of neighbors and strangers who showed up to help.
The presence of the mom and her children who hustled back and forth from dance class drop off and pick up (in town) to help.
The crew who worked TOGETHER to make our outdoor gathering space a true circle with stable benches.
The young and older who patiently cut, hauled, and cut and hauled again.
The sharing of supplies… ”We’ve got an extra wheelbarrow, you can use ours…”
The patient ones who gently lifted out rocks, filled holes, or tended our fires on a windy day.
Soup and chili that was shared and the three pots that somehow fed us all with 0 remaining.
The willingness to do whatever was suggested… leaving the warmth of the fire to share a story and even creating art from limbs?
Tween girls who worked with the experienced one to set up lunch, clean up lunch, and mop the floor while maintaining such a cheerful presence and even singing.
The way they worked TOGETHER to hold the ladder for him.
The girls who sat and listened eagerly to a story while sharing their rich childhood imaginations.
So many regular ordinary people showing up to tend the sacred. In these days of dreariness and even despair, we have to work extra hard to notice and attend to the Holy and the hope that is stirring all around us. The days are slowly lengthening, the ice is starting to melt, and the bulbs are starting to send up sprouts… let’s just all try to pay attention.
In gratitude,
In anxious times, we stoke the embers of hope. Together.
Featured Events
Quiet Day
Tuesday, February 3 10:00 am - 2:30 pm
February’s Quiet Day postponed due to winter weather. Join us on Tuesday, March 3.
(every first Tuesday of the month)
Contemplation is not a spiritual vacation, not a way to numb ourselves or escape the world. We do not pray to get away from our lives. We pray in them, in our fear, our grief, our anger, our confusion, and we bring all of it into stillness. To sit in contemplation is to open ourselves to the Living Presence at the heart of everything, a quiet but insistent movement toward wholeness, toward justice, toward communion. –Father Adam Bucko
A Contemplative Path Through Lent with A Different Kind of Fast
Tuesdays, starting February 24
two timeslots:
mornings 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
evenings 5:30-6:30 pm
Are you feeling like you would like this Lenten season to be different? Is the way of the Desert Fathers and Mothers who modeled silence, detachment, and stepping away in order to deepen and clarify calling to you this year? Using the book, A Different Kind of Fast by Christine Valters Paintner we will explore practical contemplative practices while we consider letting go of endless distractions and busyness. In the words of Paintner, “As we fast from rushing, planning, being strong, holding it all together, seeking certainty, and control, we can softly reorient ourselves toward that which nourishes and fulfills us, for the reflective Lenten season and beyond.” There will be opportunities for practicing, sharing, reflecting, and journaling. Using the book for daily practice is recommended but not required.
Sign up HERE
Full Day Women's Retreat with Olynda:
Shining the Light Inward
Saturday, February 28 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
This sweet day will be both a day of rest and a day of invitation into a deep practice of self-compassion.
Every step we take towards this reality of showing loving-compassion to ourselves brings ease, resilience, vitality, health, wellness and joy. And, of course, this inner light ripples out to all those around us. Self-kindness can help fuel us and support us in dark times. Yet, the deep practice of kindness and care towards ourselves is often a challenging one. Luckily, we have a beautiful set of practices to help us clear away old patterns and replace them with the light of our own self-compassion and love. Winter is the perfect time to gather in community and use these practices to ignite our inner flame of self-compassion.
Our day will include an all-levels yoga practice, free time to be in nature together, and a sound bath from guest teacher Maia Rhenish. Full info here.
Click Here to register. Space is limited!
Weekly Offerings
Beloved Community Worship Service
Sundays 4:45 pm
Prayer of the Anglican rosary, followed by a worship service with Eucharist. A simple supper is served afterwards.
Learn more hereYoga Class: Poetry, Power & Plenty of Rest
Thursdays 9:00 - 10:15 am
Our practices will be inspired by the words of poets and mystics from various traditions. Info here. Email [email protected] to register for any of these events or with questions.Nature Journaling with Liz
Fridays 10:30 - 11:30 am
Slow down and observe the changing of the seasons with a nature journaling practice. No experience needed – you don't need to be "good" at drawing to enjoy tuning in to nature!
no sign up neededPrayers and Poetry
Fridays 12:00 - 1:15 pm
Experience the beauty of prayers, poetry and nature at The Trees.
no sign up needed
The Beloved Community at the Trees is an Episcopal faith community exploring together what a life of faith "outside of a church" may be.
Weekly worship, support groups and fellowship activities. All are welcome.
Visit our website to
learn more about The Trees,
see the full schedule of offerings,
and register for events.
Looking Ahead
Bake and Pray Lenten retreat with Kendall Vanderslice
Rescheduled for March 28 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Are you looking for an opportunity to slow down this Lent, in preparation for Holy Week? Kendall is a baker as well as a food and theology scholar who helps others meet God in the kitchen. Over the course of our time together, you will learn to bake a simple loaf of bread—along the way, though, you will learn how to use your time in the kitchen as an opportunity to meet with God, and you will explore the ways God is revealed to us through bread, both in Scripture and in Christian tradition.
Your registration fee includes access to the event, two meals, a signed copy of Bake & Pray, and some additional fun Edible Theology swag!
Event is appropriate for ages 12+. Sign up HERE. Please reach out to Kendall at [email protected] if you have any questions.
Holy Week @ The Trees
Station of the Cross Walking Trail (dates and times coming soon)
Guided Shared Silence Retreat on Holy Saturday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm facilitated by Tim Hinton with extended hours for Stations of the Cross.
With Gratitude
We are so filled with abundance, trust, and deep hope here at The Trees. We are grateful for all donations to The Trees or gifts in honor or memory of a friend. This is a growing ministry and all resources are used to care for the house and the land. Gifts are tax deductible. Please let us know if you'd like your donation to support a particular project.
In Closing
Sacred Ground
And if, as I now know, the closet
is sacred and the bare room
is sacred and the sidewalk
and classroom and the ER
are sacred, then I trip
into the teaching
that everywhere is sacred—
not only the church, but
the alley. Not only the mosque,
but the bench.
Not only the places in candlelight
where the air is pungent
and woody with myrrh.
I want to worship
at the shrine of everywhere,
want to know every inch
of this earth as an altar—
every walk, a pilgrimage.
Every step, a step
from holy to holy
to holy.
– Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
