News Article

A retreat for those who love God and God’s creation will be held from 7:30-9 p.m., Friday Feb. 17, and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18 at St. John’s Cathedral, presented by Gonzaga University’s religious studies department with the Episcopal Diocesan Center for Spirituality.

The two-part retreat led by futurist Sister Paula Gonzàlez, Ph.D., will focus on the ecological and social realities facing the world today, or “reading the signs of the times.” Retreat participants may attend one or both sessions. Cost for the Friday session is $15. The cost for the session Saturday is $30 and includes lunch. While the two sessions are related, each one stands alone so the cost to attend both is $45.

Gonzàlez has freelanced as a futurist and environmentalist since 1972, giving more than 1,500 retreats, seminars and workshops on various aspects of the global future, as well as building two solar buildings, and writing several book chapters and other articles. Gonzàlez, a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, also has taught biology for 25 years.

“Through deep interconnectedness with all the natural systems, early people experienced the inherent sacredness of every creature in the universe,” Gonzàlez writes. “For 250 years, modern industrial humans have increasingly lost this sense of the holy. This alienation from our true nature as ‘earthlings’ leaves us feeling separated from nature, from one another – and thus from Divine Mystery.”

The deadline for registration is Feb. 3. For further information, contact Gail Jennings at (509) 323-6782, or via e-mail at jennings@gonzaga.edu