Earth and Soul Retreat in Wyoming
Sacred Earth Sacred Soul - Celtic Wisdom 2
The second of a three-part series of annual retreats led by the Celtic teacher John Philip Newell and his colleague Cami Twilling in which we explore the sacred flow of the divine in all life, the sacred light of sun, moon, and stars, and the sacred work of ecological awareness and action.
May 3-5, 2024
$620 per person
(all inclusive)
Experience the beauty of the west!
2673 U.S. Hwy 14 East, Sheridan/Buffalo, WY 82835
John Philip Newell
Cami Twilling
In 2016 John Philip Newell began a teaching initiative of annual retreats to help reawaken awareness of the sacred in all things through the recovery of Celtic wisdom for today and to help translate this awareness into compassionate action in our lives and world.
Celtic Wisdom 2 is the second of a three-part series of annual retreats led by the Celtic teacher John Philip Newell and his colleague Cami Twilling in which we explore the sacred flow of the divine in all life, the sacred light of sun, moon, and stars, and the sacred work of ecological awareness and action.
The teachings of this retreat are based on John Philip’s award-winning book Sacred Earth Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What Our Souls Know and Healing the World (especially Chapters 3, 4, and 6 drawing on the wisdom of John Scotus Eriugena, the Carmina Gadelica, and John Muir).
The essential text for the three-year Celtic Wisdom program is John Philip Newell’s Sacred Earth Sacred Soul. The shared prayer book for this program is Sounds of the Eternal: A Celtic Psalter.
Celtic Wisdom 2 can be taken as a stand-alone retreat or in conjunction with Celtic Wisdom 1 and Celtic Wisdom 3 which can be attended in any order and at any of our retreat centers across the country or online.
What to expect at the Wyoming Earth and Soul Retreat.
The WY Earth and Soul Retreat is a weekend retreat of teaching and spiritual practice events. Each day begins and ends with meditative prayer and chant. In the morning and early evening, John Philip teaches from the wisdom of Celtic prophets over the centuries, applying this ancient wisdom to today's most critical challenges. In the early afternoon, there is silence and free time for resting and walking. In the late afternoon, there is spiritual practice before the evening meal, bringing one’s inner attention to the presence of the sacred within us and within all things. Meals are shared in common, and on the evening of the second day, there is a celebration of time together at the retreat. On the final morning before lunch, there is a closing service of thanksgiving.
​
The retreat will be held at the magnificently beautiful Ranch at UCross, nestled in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountain Range. Just a half day’s drive from the Black Hills and Yellowstone National Park, the setting is perfect for experiencing Wyoming’s wildlife, recreation and environmental heritage. All rooms at The Ranch at UCross offer an authentic sense of place, embracing their surroundings with majestic views of the surrounding Wyoming countryside. ​​ Located approximately 17 miles northwest of Buffalo, WY or 27 miles southeast of Sheridan, WY, the Ranch’s breathtaking landscapes can be enjoyed through a range of outdoor activities that include hiking, fishing, horseback riding, bird watching or simply relaxing by the river.
Endorsements for Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul
"JP Newell has been leading the way for a number of years now, giving us a clear and hopeful direction for the future. I'm convinced that we've only begun to see just how far and wide his voice is going to be heard." (Rob Bell, New York Times bestselling author of Love Wins)
“John Philip Newell offered me a new creation story for Christian faith. I commend Sacred Earth Sacred Soul to anyone who is ready to be born again.” (Barbara Brown Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World)
“Many of us have been indebted to John Philip Newell’s writings for years but, in this book, he reaches new depths in his vision of the earth and the human journey. We need this Celtic wisdom among us urgently.” (Richard Rohr, New York Times bestselling author of The Universal Christ)
“In this wonderful new book, John Philip Newell dives deeply into the life-affirming wisdom of the Celtic tradition to deliver a powerful message of hope to our frightened and disoriented world.”
(Cynthia Bourgeault, author of The Wisdom Way of Knowing)
John Philip Newell is a Celtic teacher and author of spirituality who calls the modern world to reawaken to the sacredness of Earth and every human being.
​
Canadian by birth, and a citizen also of Scotland, he resides with his family in Edinburgh and works on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2016 he began the Earth & Soul initiative and teaches regularly in the United States and Canada as well as leading international pilgrimage weeks on Iona in the Western Isles of Scotland.
John Philip Newell
His PhD is from the University of Edinburgh and he has authored over fifteen books, including his latest award-winning publication, Sacred Earth Sacred Soul, which was the 2022 Gold Winner of the Nautilus Book Award for Spirituality and Religious Thought of the West. His forthcoming book (August 2024), also with Harper One, is The Great Search, in which he looks at the great spiritual yearnings of humanity today in the context of the decline of religion as we have known it.
Newell speaks of himself as ‘a wandering teacher’ following the ancient path of many lone teachers before him in the Celtic tradition, seeking the wellbeing of the world. He has been described as having ‘the heart of a Celtic bard and the mind of a Celtic scholar’, combining in his teachings the poetic and the intellectual, the head as well as the heart, and spiritual awareness as well as political and ecological concern.