Retreat Recap: Wild Sanctuary Overnight Retreat

The Wild Sanctuary Retreat began long before anyone arrived at St. Mary’s in Sewanee.
It began in the quiet stirring of a soul who sensed her need for a sacred pause—a time-out from the swirl of daily demands. It began with the longing to feel grounded again on the earth, to re-center her heart on Christ, to rest and be renewed.

It took form with a simple, courageous yes.

And it became real the moment she pulled away—loosening her grip on the endless to-do’s,
feeling the weight lift as she wound her way up the mountain. With every turn, she felt the peace rising to meet her. Down the quiet lane toward St. Mary’s, the world softened, and a gentle stillness began to settle in. 

By the time she arrived at the sanctuary on the bluff, she had already entered into retreat—already coming home to herself.  

We Gather…

The Wild Sanctuary Retreat Welcome Circle began by quite literally flipping the script—turning our familiar ways of being, upside down. With our backs on the floor and our feet resting in the chair, we took long, grounding exhales and allowed the rhythm of breath to remind us: sanctuary begins in surrender. This gentle inversion set the tone for the sacred rhythm that followed—one of slowing down, releasing control, and opening to the wild and loving presence of God.

As the sun sank into the horizon, we gathered for Sunset Charcuterie, savoring the beauty of creation and the gift of community. As daylight melted from dusk into darkness, our mats, bolsters, candles, and cozy blankets beckoned us to come and rest beneath a sky shimmering with stars.

Starlight, Stillness, and Unity…

There, we moved through Yoga Under the Stars—a gentle practice of somatic sensing, restorative shapes, and Visio Divina—exploring the Wild Sanctuary of God in the Creation. Beneath the vast expanse of night, we felt the spaciousness of divine love mirrored in the cosmos above us.

In that sacred stillness, we opened the ears of our hearts to ancient words:

“I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry.
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?”
— Psalm 8:3–4, The Message

We reflected on the wisdom of John Scotus Eriugena, the great Irish theologian of the 9th century, who saw no separation between the sacred and the material. He taught that spiritual truth and physical truth are one—that the energies stirring in our depths are the same forces that move the planets. The microcosm and the macrocosm are expressions of the same sacred reality. The part and the whole are forever intertwined. Truth is both intimate and immense—personal and vast. And wisdom, Eriugena reminds us, is always unitive—seeking the oneness and interrelatedness that underlie all things. We noticed how the wild and uncontainable celestial realms shine God’s glory and remembered that the same God who names each star, names each of us ‘beloved daughter’ and chooses our frame as a sanctuary for His Light.

Later, the warmth of a bonfire drew us together in laughter, stillness and even a few hymns, before we rested deeply in our cozy lodge style rooms. Morning greeted us with an optional Sunrise Yoga and Meditation, as the first light invited us to awaken to the sanctuary of a new day.

Born with the Wildness Within …

After a yummy breakfast, enjoyed at our leisure, we gathered for Soul Care Yoga, turning inward—discovering The Wild Sanctuary of God Within. Words hold meaning. When we take a pause to notice how ideas of the ‘being made wild’ and ‘being made of the wild’ stir within us in a contemplative, prayer-filled space, we begin to uncover how these ideas reveal more about our current relationship with God and our understanding of our faith. As we alternated between movement and breathwork, and intentional reflection, we let the rhythm of the flow of breath and body get us out of our heads and tuned in more to what our body, heart, and soul were saying. The same elements that formed the stars we laid under the night before flow through our veins—all of this lovingly formed by the hands of God.

We spent time considering the beauty of all the wildness and sanctuary within us— the wild of creation and the wild part of us that desires to love God and others wildly and deeply, but also the sanctuary of Spirit within, our bodies as temples of the Spirit.  The session closed as we asked God to nurture the wild within us, and to remind us that sanctuary isn’t just ‘out there’ but is found within our beautiful, God-created selves.

Inhale, I am wild. Exhale, Sanctuary is within. 

A set time for Silence offered space for intentional rest and reflection, with optional guided practices of a Walking Meditation or Creative Prayer for those who desired a focus. We then nourished body and soul with a delicious lunch, free time, hiking, and even a playful dance party—a joyful reminder that wild sanctuary can also be a celebration.

Fully Alive, Fully Present…

Our final yoga session was an exploration of Chair Yoga (a first for most) and exploring the Wild Sanctuary in our Everyday Living. Wild Sanctuary is not an either/or; but a both/and.  It’s not about resisting the wildness of our human condition; and striving for divine union—because let’s face it, it’s wild being human—it’s about holding both. To live Wild Sanctuary is to live awake and real: to honor our humanity, as Jesus does; and to rest in our created identity; God’s good image within us.

It’s the invitation to be fully alive, yet deeply at peace; be raw and real, yet rooted in love; and to bring our untamed hearts into the sanctuary of God’s presence; to keep company with Jesus, and let Christ do the transforming work in our lives. In this way, every breath, every moment, every ordinary day of grocery shopping, folding laundry, and managing the demands of life can become a sanctuary space.

As the final hours of the day unfolded, we gathered for an Autumn Tea Ceremony—a gentle ritual steeped in reflection and release. At the beginning of our time together, each of us had been invited to gather small tokens of autumn—a fallen leaf, an acorn, a pinecone—and place them upon the altar throughout the retreat. These offerings became symbols of the incarnate God who speaks through the tangible beauty of creation, through the ordinary things and seasons of our lives.

Now, with steaming cups of herbal tea—lovingly blended with autumn in mind by Wilding Roots—we settled into stillness once more. As the earthy aroma rose around us, we listened to the quiet invitation of the trees: to let go. With hearts attuned to that holy rhythm, we each wrote a longing of release on a single leaf, surrendering what no longer needs to be carried.

Reflect, Respond, Retreat…

Our final practice was an invitation to Pray the Examen.  To quietly review our time together with a spirit of gratitude, noticing our greatest and least moments of awareness of the Loving Presence of God—a practice to carry with us into our daily lives.

Our Closing Circle was oh so sweet—a tender gathering of gratitude as we shared our highlights, takeaways, and the quiet ways God had spoken to our hearts. With one hand resting on the front of our own heart and the other on the back of our neighbor’s, we breathed together—an embodied prayer of connection and praise. In that shared stillness, we gave thanks for the ways God met us here—with rest, with renewal, and with the gentle reminder that wild sanctuary isn’t just out there or just in here, it’s a way of being in the world as followers of Christ.

This retreat was a true expression of Wild Sanctuary Retreats. Our namesake offering that we plan to revisit year after year, inviting each attendee into new depth of the wild sanctuary of God that exists in the grandeur of a landscape, the miniscule of dirt and leaves, and the wonder of it all held within us, as we remember that in the seeming tension of ‘wild’ and ‘sanctuary’, both are expressed within all of God’s creation as a testament to the wonderful mystery of God that us— and all of creation across all space and time— are enfolded into. 

The next Wild Sanctuary Overnight Retreat will be coming Autumn 2026.On a sun-soaked, mid-September Saturday, we had the joy of hosting our very first Wild Sanctuary Retreat. A Mini Yoga & Contemplation Retreat, Yoga & Flowers, at Nash Creek Farms—and what a beautiful beginning it was!