Earth, Our Original Monastery Lent Retreat 2026
A 7-Week Companion Retreat to the Book
with Christine and John Valters Paintner, Betsey Beckman, Cassidhe Hart, and Polly Paton-Brown
Forum facilitators Aisling Richmond and Polly Paton-Brown
February 18 – April 11, 2026
Live opening gathering on Zoom on Ash Wednesday, February 18th
3:30-5pm Ireland
10:30am-12pm Eastern
7:30-9am Pacific
Do you long to deepen your intimacy with nature?
Are you seeking a set of Earth-cherishing practices inspired by the mystics?
Have you experienced Earth as your primary place of connection to the divine?
Do you want to immerse yourself in a revolution of love to help transform ourselves and our communities?
Program Description
Earth is our original monastery. Our original cathedral. And our original scripture, saints, spiritual director, icon, sacrament, and liturgy.
Through the wisdom of monks and mystics, as well as scriptures, we discover a vital strand of the Christian tradition which deeply honors Earth as the place of sanctuary and revelation, of guidance, and witness to celebration.
Christine Valters Paintner’s book Earth, Our Original Monastery invites you to not just read and digest, but to enter into and immerse yourself in a set of practices that help to embody a renewed way of being in relation to the natural world. Filled with reflections on how contemplative practice and creative expression can break open the divine presence in new ways and deepen our love for Earth.
Christine will lead an opening retreat on Ash Wednesday. Dena Jennings will join us and share her gift of song.
The rest of the retreat is asynchronous and includes a weekly pre-recorded session on the spirituality of trees, Earth Psalter explorations, a series of songs that accompany each theme with movement prayers, and audio guidance from Christine for visual art-making and poetry writing.
You have lifetime access to all online programs.
Weekly Themes
Week 1: Earth as the Original Cathedral
Earth has multiple terrains, as does the soul. Becoming familiar with the outer landscape reveals dimensions to us of our inner ones as well. Recognizing which territories enliven our souls and which ones challenge us brings us closer to discovering who we most deeply are and what we long for.
Week 2: Earth as the Original Scriptures
The words of scripture offer us one kind of insight into God’s Word, and the physical dimension offers another. God is in all things and is the true essence of all things. One of the philosopher Eriugena’s favorite words is theophany, which means “something that reveals the divine nature.” For him, the world and all of creation is a theophany.
Week 3: Earth as the Original Saints
The trees and flowers do not try to be other than they were created to be. They teach us how to live out our own sainthood by no longer refusing our true nature. To become a saint means to embrace our essential nature, which is the vessel through which we carry out our callings.
Week 4: Earth as the Original Spiritual Directors
We might be tempted to think that creation cannot speak to us in language and so it has nothing of importance to say. Rather than speak about nature, we might consider addressing our speech to elements and creatures, knowing that they will respond in their own form of communication.
Week 5: Earth as the Original Icon
Nature is a holy text for many of us, and an icon is a window to the Divine Presence at work in the world. Creation is therefore the original icon, the primordial place of our encounter with God, the Great Artist, who is continually at work in the world around us. When we gaze upon this holy image, we are also invited into the practice of lament for all that has been lost.
Week 6: Earth as the Original Sacrament
When viewed through this expansive lens, we discover that the more we cultivate intimacy with the natural world, the more we discover about God’s presence. All of our interactions with nature can be sacramental, and all the ways nature extends herself to us are sacramental as well.
Week 7: Earth as the Original Liturgy
Earth and her creatures teach us how to pray, how to worship and praise, but only if we listen and pay attention to their rhythms in this world. We are invited into their unending song of gratitude, to join them in their prayer of gratitude for all that is.
Weekly Rhythm of Content
Monday: Introduction to the week with Christine Valters Paintner and audio guidance for the meditation
Tuesday: Spirituality of Trees with Polly Paton-Brown
Wednesday: Earth Psalter with Cassidhe Hart
Thursday: Song and Movement Invitation with Betsey Beckman
Friday: Audio Guidance with Christine for the Visual Art Exploration
Saturday: Audio Guidance with Christine for Poetry Writing + Closing Blessing Video
Sunday: Sabbath rest and integration
Earth is the place where we learn our most fundamental prayers, hear the call of the wild arising at dawn that awakens us to a new day, participate in the primal liturgy of praise unfolding all around us, and experience the wisdom and guidance of the seasons.
What's Included
- Six days each week you receive an email with a link to the day’s content. The 7th day is a time for rest and integration. The materials are in written, video, and/or audio format which you can view and listen to at any time.
- A lovingly facilitated forum is also included in this live version of the retreat. Feel free to share what you are discovering with a community of kindred souls.
- We will turn on closed captioning during the live Zoom session (which you are able to turn off in your settings if you find distracting) as well as provide a video recording with closed captioning available and a text transcript of the session. Closed captions and transcripts will also be available for other pre-recorded material.
- The opening session on Zoom will be recorded for those who pre-register but are unable to attend at the scheduled time or who want to view again. You will be sent a notification when this is ready to view.
- You have lifetime access to all online programs.
Your Guides for the Journey
Christine Valters Paintner
Christine Valters Paintner is the online Abbess and director of AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery exploring contemplative practice, creative expression, and ways to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. She is a spiritual director, teacher, pilgrimage guide, Benedictine oblate, and author of numerous books on spirituality and the arts. Her deepest belief is that the earth is the original monastery–a wisdom guide and mentor in living a soulful and vibrant life. Visit the “About Christine” page for more information.
John Valters Paintner
John Valters Paintner studied education and earned a teaching certificate in his home state of California. John later went on to earn a Masters in Theological Studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. After working in parish ministry for several years, John returned to the classroom, teaching high school religion for twelve years. He now works as Prior of the Abbey of the Arts alongside his wife of thirty years, Abbess Christine. Visit the “About John” page for more information.
Betsey Beckman
Betsey Beckman, MM is nationally acclaimed as a spirited dancer, storyteller, teacher of SpiritPlay and dancing Spiritual Director. With her extensive repertory of sacred storydances, she is regularly featured as artist/presenter at national conventions as well as local churches. She earned her Masters in Ministry degree from Seattle University, her certificate in Movement Therapy from the Institute for Transformational Movement, and is a certified InterPlay leader. As dancer, choreographer, author, mother, wife, teacher and spiritual director, she is passionate about living life fully and fostering creativity in all those with whom she shares life and ministry. Betsey’s publications include books (she is co-author ofAwakening the Creative Spirit: Bringing the Expressive Arts to Spiritual Direction), recordings – including producing the Abbey of the Arts CD collections, and The Dancing Word series of DVDs on embodied prayer, many of which companion the Abbey CDs. She offers the gift of playful improvisation whenever possible. Visit Betsey’s website here.
Cassidhe Hart
Cassidhe Hart, MDiv., wrote her first poem as a toddler with her mother’s help, dictating words onto a scrap of construction paper. She’s been writing ever since. As a poet and liturgist, she writes at the intersection of faith, ecology, community, and ritual to explore the ways we tell stories about our inner and outer worlds. She comes from a long line of settler-colonists and is committed to listening to systematically oppressed voices and to growing an anti-racist, decolonizing ethic in all her work. She has been commissioned to write prayers, liturgies, and songs for various worship and retreat contexts. In all her writing and facilitating, she seeks to cultivate a tender and radical attention to God’s presence among us. Her list of favorite things includes sunlight through tree leaves, children’s novels, jasmine tea, and her nephew’s drawings of rainbow narwhals.
You can visit her website here: CassidheHart.wordpress.com
Dena Jennings
Dena Jennings, D.O. is a luthier, musician, writer, Virginia Master Naturalist, and an Internal Medicine physician with certification in Ayurvedic practice. In addition to over 30 years of medical practice, she completed a 4-year apprenticeship with a sculptor and luthier in Ontario, Canada where she learned to design and built the gourd instruments of cultures around the world. In 2013 Dr. Jennings married her best friend Donald Jennings and moved to their organic herb farm and wildlife preserve in Nasons, VA which they lovingly call the Farmashramonastery. There, she practices medicine and counselling, hosts contemplative retreats, hikes, and meditation, and raises angora rabbits. You can reach her for bookings, consultations, and counselling by visiting ImaniWorks online.
Polly Paton-Brown
Polly Paton-Brown MA UKCP worked for many years as a psychotherapist and trainer in the field of trauma. More recently, Polly’s focus has been on helping people explore their spirituality and prayer, using creativity and connection with nature. Polly has a particular passion for creating healing dolls as a portal to transformation.
Always a lover of nature, horses and creativity Polly now integrates all of these into her practice. She has trained in Nature Based Practice and Eco-pychology, Environmental Arts, Expressive Arts and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy. She is a licenced facilitator of Chakradance, The Art of Allowing , Creative Awakenings and the Wild Soul Woman Programme. With roots in the contemplative and monastic traditions, Polly also draws wisdom from other spiritual paths such as Druidry and Sufism. She is passionate to help those wounded by the institutional church restore their image of God and themselves. Visit Polly’s website here.
Forum Facilitators
Aisling Richmond
Aisling Richmond is a Somatic Therapist and transformative guide who is deeply inspired by nature and the wisdom of the soul. Aisling is currently undertaking a PhD in Psychology and Transformative Leadership to work with cultural change. She shares a home with her partner in the rugged wildness of Donegal, North West Ireland. Aisling works as a therapist, supporting people to resolve trauma and life challenges through body-psyche-soul wisdom. She also mentors people in finding their deep soul purpose, and teaches a rich range of transformative programs online. Aisling is passionate about soul centred living, where nature and the feminine are deeply valued. Having worked collaboratively with many organisations including Amnesty International, Aisling has also been a guest lecturer with both Galway and Limerick Universities. Visit Aisling’s website here>>
Amber Andreasen
Amber Andreasen is a contemplative, ever desiring to deepen into and dance the rhythms of monk and artist. She has trained as a spiritual director, receiving her M.A. in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care from The Institute of Spiritual Formation at Talbot School of Theology. She has her B.S. and M.S. in Kinesiology and a Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition. She has also done training in BioSpiritual Focusing as a holistic approach to spiritual growth. Wherever she finds herself, she desires to nurture a compassionate space where others can be listened, beheld and loved into fuller being by the Beloved. She is continually awed by the body as sacred storyholder and storyteller and by dance and movement as conduits of deep interior silence, stillness and joy. Her heart beats loudly for the weaving together of creativity and spirituality in the discovering of what it means to live an embodied, fully human life in all its mystery and wonder.
We need to claim the great wisdom and teachings the scriptures and mystics have to offer to us about remembering the sacredness of all things. We need to live an incarnational theology that takes God’s presence seriously in all of creation. Only from this place of love will our hearts be transformed and a new way of being arise.
Registration
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$140
Reduced fee
- Includes partial scholarship
- Select this only if you require financial assistance
$180
Standard fee
- The standard fee for the program
- Keeps our programs sustainable
or
3 monthly payments of $60
$220
sponsorship fee
- Includes added donation to support scholarships
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or
If you are in need of additional financial assistance please fill out our Scholarship Request form.
Purchase the Companion Book
The book is not included in the registration fee. You may purchase the book at the links below or at your local book seller. Thank you for your support!
Terms and Conditions
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