“WILD WOMB” Wilderness Spirituality Retreats

Wilderness Spirituality is a return to an important dimension of Biblical Spirituality. By this I mean that Wilderness areas were places in Biblical times in which people were formed, reformed, transformed, conformed and informed into agents of God’s story in their time.

It was especially in wilderness areas that individuals experienced God as the potter and they as the clay. It was in wilderness areas that some of the most profound encounters with God took place. It was precisely the very real human vulnerability in wilderness areas that humbled people into a state of awe and openness. Those who emerged as agents of God were often prepared for their role by spending time in the fierce landscapes of the wilderness areas of the Biblical lands. This applies to the people of Israel and individuals like Jacob, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus and many others.

In many Biblical examples we see that time in wilderness areas was not a once off event that set them on their path, but was an experience that they sought (or were pushed to) at various times in their life. In other words time out in a fierce landscape was vital for people who were God’s agents in the world.

Previous participants in the Wild Womb Wilderness Encounter Retreats typically say words similar to Jacob:

“Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28.16+17)

Wilderness Spirituality is also an important movement today as we face the global environmental crisis. The environmental crisis that we face is essentially an ecological crisis because humans have forgotten that we are part of nature. In Wilderness Spirituality nature is not viewed as an object like visiting an animal in the zoo, rather you join nature, live in nature and immerse yourself in nature. At the heart of this is the reality and profound experience that we are part of creation, we share the same Father and Mother, and we can really know each other and bless each other. As Ian Mc Callum says “To understand wildness is to discover the thread that binds us to all living things.”

I continuously plan new dates for “Wild Womb” retreats: The next “Wild Womb” retreat is for women only (24th to 26th March 2012).

Men only “Wild Womb” retreat (20th to 22nd April 2012).

Let me know if you are interested at john@rosebankmethodist.org.za or 021-6863271.

The Programme is facilitated by Rev. John Wessels and includes:

· A 4 hour hike on two days carrying your supplies.
· Spending one night together in a cave or cedar ‘forest’.
· Solo Time (Spending 24 hours on your own. Solo Time includes fasting.)
· Lots of time for silence
· Group sharing (when it is a women’s only retreat my wife Angela Wessels, a trained counsellor, facilitates the Group Sharing. I am not present during times of group sharing.)

COST is approximately R600 per person including Park fees and meals.

Travelling costs will be additional.

Feel free to pass this information on to any person you know may be interested. These retreats could be meaningful for those interested in: Contemplative Spirituality; Blending love of God and love of Creation; Men’s Work; Women’s Work; Team Building; People at critical stages of their life; Personal Growth; Those working with recovering addicts or rehabilitating criminals; Environmental crisis………..

“Whose permission are we waiting for to enter that ‘uncertain ground’ where the voice of our wild history can be heard? How long is it going to take to acknowledge that there is indeed a menagerie within each of us … a wolf, a hyena, a lion … a wild man and a wild woman.”
- Ian Mc Callum