When was the last time you truly felt awe and wonder? Can you access that feeling in your mind and form the image? Was it while on a recent vacation, perhaps while holding a baby’s tiny hand, maybe noticing a sunset on your evening walk, or looking at the images from the Artemis II crew? For me, it was while watching the butterflies dance in our light-filled tree canopy during Earth Day Forest Bathing with Elizabeth.
Seeking moments of wonder is good for our health. According to neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, vigilance (that state in which we often find ourselves these days) is metabolically expensive and taxing on our body’s energy systems.* Being in a constant state of chronic alertness keeps stress hormones activated and drains attention. In short, this way of being wears us down quickly! How do we counterbalance the drain of always standing on guard? One suggestion is to seek moments of wonder in our everyday lives, to find moments of awe inspired by nature, art, and even the mundane.
Here at The Trees we are not about escapism but about offering space for recovery and refueling in our fast-paced world. That is why we are excited about our Wonder in the Woods series that will occur one Saturday a month May thru October. Think of this series as a counterbalance to the heavy and hard that we are experiencing in our world right now. Cole Arthur Riley in her book This Here Flesh says, “My faith is held together by wonder - by every defiant commitment to presence and paying attention.” Could this slowing down to pay attention and attuning ourselves to wonder and Mystery hold together our faith in these days of division and heartache? The early church continues to inspire and encourage us here at The Trees and we see in Acts 2 that it was “filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs.” Join us in these months ahead–it will be good for our bodies, minds, and spirits.
With hope,
We are so pleased to announce our new website!
Join us online to see all our offerings and register for events.
Featured Events
Monthly Quiet Day
First Tuesday (May 5)
10 am - 2:30 pm
Open to all, no sign up needed.
The simplest spiritual discipline is some degree of solitude and silence. To be with our own thoughts and feelings is probably the most courageous act most of us will ever do.
– Radical Grace CAC Daily Meditations
Come join us for quiet and centering surrounded by the trees. The house and trails are all open and available. At noon, we will offer Simple Presence, a shared time of silence for 10 minutes.
We hope you will take a break from the demands of your normal routine, listen to your deepest self, and that you will go back into the world with clarity towards right action.
Beautiful Things Open House
Thursday, May 14
12 noon - 6 pm
RSVP HERE
“Everything is on fire, but everyone I love is doing beautiful things
And trying to make life worth living,
And I know I don’t have to believe everything, but I do believe in that.”
-Nikita Gill
Mark your calendars and join us as we celebrate all of the Beautiful Things God is doing here at The Trees! Friends from The Beloved Community, LEAP, Prayers & Poetry, Nature Journaling, Forest Bathing, & yoga will be around and offering drop-in experiences. Our new website will be launched and new merchandise will be on display. Drop in and try all of the Beautiful Things happening at The Trees.
Schedule:
12:00 Shared Silence and prayers for the Earth
1:00 mini Forest Bathing Walk
2:00 mini Nature Journaling session
3:00 mini open mic Poetry Reading with Prayers and Poetry friends
4:00 games and crafts offered by LEAP friends
5:00 mini Drumming session
We look forward to seeing you!
Reorienting to Wonder:
A SoulCollage® Day Apart
with Becky Hambrick, M.ED
Saturday, May 16
9:30 am - 1:30 pm
sliding scale: $30 - $95
SoulCollage® is a contemplative, creative practice that invites us to slow down, listen deeply, and connect with self, others, and God in the quiet places of our own soul. Using images arranged on 5x8 cards, we explore the many aspects of our inner life—our gifts, our questions, our joys, and more. This playful process helps us access the intuition and wisdom within us, creating a personal deck of cards that can support reflection, discernment, and spiritual growth.
No artistic ability is needed—only an open heart and a willingness to be gently led by soul and Spirit. At the heart of SoulCollage® is an invitation to play. This introduction to SoulCollage® workshop will cover the key concepts and practices of the SoulCollage® method. Whether a beginner or active practitioner, this workshop offers a meaningful and creative day of connection and community.
Welcome Summer!
All Creation Service
Sunday, June 21
5:00 pm
Join us on the Longest Day of the Year for our first All Creation Service in partnership with The Beloved Community.
Curious about faith but uneasy in a traditional church? You are welcome here where nature is our sanctuary. Join us as we experience God through creation, community, and embodied spiritual practice including Eucharist.
This special service will feature liturgy and music inspired by the Iona Community in Scotland with special guest musician, Sally Ann Morris, summer music leader at the Iona Abbey.
Looking Ahead
Wonder in the Woods Series
May – October
A series of retreats designed to help us reconnect with our innate and holy sense of wonder.
We believe that transformation opportunities belong to everyone and are committed to reducing financial barriers to participation. Thanks to support from St. Philip’s and other donors we are able to offer these events on a sliding scale.
Standard $50, Reduced $30,
Pay It Forward $95+.
Wonder with Words
with Jodi Belcher
Saturday, June 27
9:30 am - 1:30 pm
This day of retreat is an opportunity to wonder with words through writing. It will include time for solitary writing, conversation with fellow writers, prompts and self-guided activities to inspire your creativity, and time to enjoy nature at The Trees. This writing retreat is for anyone who wants to write, whether in a specific genre or as a spiritual or meditative practice, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned author.
Approaching the Divine with Wonder
with Nancy and David Stoller
Saturday, July 25
9:30 am - 1:30 pm
We will approach the Divine with Wonder through the four-step practice of Opening, Noticing, Focusing, and Reflecting.
This retreat day will offer multiple opportunities for creative expression as well as mindful walking, ritual, gratitude, and awe to the Creator.
Wonder in the Woods for our Younger Friends
in partnership with St. Philip's Children & Family Ministries
Thursday, June 11 – Saturday, June 13
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
$100
Open to children who are in preschool (age 4+ and potty trained by June 11, 2026) through those who will have completed 5th Grade.
More information & Registration HERE
Partner Offerings
Refresh & Reconnect Retreat
Saturday, May 9
10:30 am - 4:00 pm
Sliding scale $95-150
You’re invited to a day retreat at The Trees led by Lindsay Voorhees, an occupational therapist and Kripalu yoga teacher. With a balance of group and individual time, you'll have space to reconnect with yourself and notice what is emerging in you (or even ready to bloom). This retreat is open to all seeking intentional rest and reflection; folks navigating life with health challenges are especially welcome.
The retreat flow:
~ Opening circle with gentle movement & meditation
~ Reflective journaling & intention-setting
~ Lunch gathering with vegetarian & vegan options
~ Solo time for being in nature, yoga, creative/crafty play, etc.
~ Closing circle for sharing and integrating the experience
Nurturing the Nurturer: A Restorative Retreat for Mothers
Sunday, June 14
9:30 am - 2:30 pm
Join us for a half-day, mind-body integrative retreat designed to hold and support mothers amongst nature and community. Led by a somatic psychologist & trained yoga teacher and a reproductive psychologist, this day is designed to help nurturers slow down, reconnect, restore and receive nourishment in a beautiful natural setting.
This five-hour immersion will include practices like gentle yoga, ritual and ceremony, guided journaling, self-compassion practice, mindful movement, community connection and self-guided free time to rest, connect, walk the trails, or simply be in nature. Our intention is for this to be a place where each nurturer can feel held, seen, and can take care of their nervous system and spirit.
Please email us to sign up: [email protected] or [email protected]
Mother’s Day Bouquets
preorder &
pickup Friday, May 8, 1 - 4 pm
Spring Forth Farm Mother's Day bouquets are being offered through The Trees this Mother's Day. Spring Forth Farm is a small family-run flower farm and homestead in Hurdle Mills, NC. Owners Megan and Jonathan Leiss are deeply committed to caring for God's creation through careful and loving cultivation of the land and surrounding biodiversity and ecosystems.
10% of Mother's Day Bouquet sales will be donated to the South Elementary School Garden Club in Roxboro, NC.
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 hereMorning Yoga with Olynda
Fridays 9:00 - 10:15 amThis Spring our practices will be inspired by the words of poets and mystics from various traditions. Physically, Olynda will make sure to include some exciting strength work and twists alongside our work of increasing mobility. This will help us stay strong, centered, grounded and yet still receptive, flexible and open. This class is open to all levels of yoga students! Olynda gives many options so all can get the right practice for them!
$220 for all 13 classes * includes recordings & options for make ups if needed.
$20 for drop in for registration: olyndasmith.com/yoga
Nature Journaling with Liz
Fridays 10:30 - 11:30 am (not April 3, May 29)
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.
In Closing
If I had influence with the good angel who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world would be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life as an unfailing antidote against boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.
– Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder
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.
