Everything is Sacred
May 15, 2024 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm CDT
How This and Other Celtic Truths Can Help Us Heal the Planet and Connect Soul to Soul with John Philip Newell
“In Celtic wisdom the sacred is as present on earth as it is in heaven, as immanent as it is transcendent, as human as it is divine, as physical as it is spiritual. The sacred can be breathed in, tasted, touched, heard, and seen as much in the body of the earth and the body of another living being as in the body of religion. It is the true essence of all life.” –John Philip Newell, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul
In describing John Philip Newell’s latest book, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What Our Souls Know and Healing the World, his publisher makes a bold claim:
“The hidden tradition of Celtic spirituality can help us renew our faith, heal the earth, overcome our conflict, and reconnect with ourselves.”
What if this is true? What if hearing directly from one of the leading voices of Celtic spirituality today could transform your relationship with the earth, yourself, and others?
Come be inspired to live, work, and connect from a place deep within that recognizes one of the key underlying principles of Celtic wisdom: everything and everyone is sacred.
As Newell often shares, this is wisdom our souls recognize as truth. With his stories, historic examples, and understanding of Celtic spirituality, Newell can help you remember and liberate what you already know. And from this depth of knowing, awareness of how to heal the earth, strengthen your faith, and reconnect with yourself and others can arise.
If you’re grappling with what is mine to do in relation to the earth, needing to renew your faith in God, or seeking to bring your faith journey and your call to help the environment together, then this is the event for you. Join us!
Photo Courtesy of Rev. Brad Highum, taken while on sabbatical in Iona, Scotland.
Event Details:
Wednesday Evening, May 15th, 2024
7pm to 9pm
Abiding Love Lutheran Church Sanctuary
7210 Brush Country Dr. Austin, Texas 78749
(Book Signing Immediately Following)
Ticket Price TBD
Go Deeper…
Building on the theme Everything is Sacred, John Philip Newell will share with us the Celtic Wisdom that can direct our effort toward a healthier planet and reawakened soul and Cami Twilling, Director of Earth & Soul, will invite us into a soul-nourishing spiritual practice.
Thursday Morning, May 16th
8:30am* to Noon
Abiding Love Lutheran Church Activity Center
7210 Brush Country Dr. Austin, Texas 78749
Ticket Price TBD
*Free breakfast tacos, muffins, fruit, coffee, tea, and water are included with your registration thanks to the generous sponsorship of _______.
Note: John Philip Newell needs to depart promptly at noon, so we encourage all book signing to occur on Wednesday evening.
All attendees Wednesday evening and Thursday morning are invited and encouraged to attend free follow-up House Gatherings (up to 4 sessions) for reflection and support of each other’s spiritual & environmental healing journey.
ABOUT OUR FACILITATORS:
John Philip Newell
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 School of Earth and Soul and teaches regularly in the United States and Canada as well as leading international pilgrim-age weeks on Iona in the Western Isles of Scotland.
His PhD is from the University of Edinburgh and he has authored over fifteen books. His lat-est award-winning publication, Sacred Earth Sacred Soul, was the 2022 Gold Winner of the Nautilus Book Award for Spirituality and Religious Thought of the West. In 2022 he received the Sacred Universe Award from the Well Center for Spirituality in Chicago in recognition of his significant work in furthering humanity’s relationship with the sacredness of Earth.
Newell speaks of himself as ‘a wandering teacher’ following the ancient path of many lone teachers before him in the Celtic world, 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.
Cami Twilling
Cami Twilling, based in Colorado, is the Director of Earth & Soul (a Celtic initiative of study, spiritual practice and compassionate action inspired by the teachings of John Philip Newell). As well as heading up the overall work of Earth & Soul, she facilitates the spiritual practice component of the School of Earth & Soul. Previously she was the head of Contemplative Spirituality and Youth Ministry at Trinity UMC in downtown Denver. She has studied medita-tion in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition of Shambhala and received Spiritual Direction certifi-cation from the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to lead-ing mountain and urban retreats, she has led international pilgrimage groups to Iona in the Western Isles of Scotland and work teams to Guatemala to build houses in communities that have suffered from political strife and economic hardship. Cami is passionate about the re-lationship between spirituality and action and believes that spiritual vision and practice can play a vital role in helping to heal and transform our lives both individually and together.
“Newell reaches new depths in his vision of the earth and the human journey. We need this Celtic wisdom urgently.” – Richard Rohr, on Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul
The School of Earth & Soul
In 2016 John Philip Newell began a teaching initiative that is called The School of Earth & Soul. Its purpose is to 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. The School follows a three-year cycle of teaching in its annual retreats. Participants may join at any stage in the three-year cycle and attend any of the Earth & Soul venues across the country.
Our annual retreats, whether midweek or weekend, are three-day teaching and spiritual practice events. Each day begins and ends with meditative prayer and chant. John Philip teaches from the wisdom of Celtic prophets over the centuries, applying this ancient wisdom to the most critical challenges of today. Cami Twilling invites us into spiritual practice bringing our inner attention to the presence of the sacred within us and within all things. In the early afternoon, there is silence and free time for resting and walking. Our meals are shared in common and on the evening of the second day we have a party to celebrate our time together at the School. On the final morning before lunch, we share together in a closing ritual of thanksgiving.
Registration for the annual retreats is made directly with the hosting venues … (See the School Page on our Earth & Soul website www.earthandsoul.org)
