Sunday 13th July – 10am to 5pm at St Barnabas Church, Brooking, Dartington TQ9 6DW. Join artist Simonetta Taylor and interfaith minister Rev Sam Wernham for a peaceful and creative day with the butterflies in our beautiful, wild churchyard.

Booking essential & offered on donation basis: £20 (supported), £40 (standard) and £60 (supporters). Places are limited, so to confirm yours please contact Sam at livingspirit3@gmail.com or msg 07979 057169

In the morning Sim will guide us into contemplative craft practice, as we gather natural materials for making a mandala in the church. We can also use inspiration from the butterflies, invertebrates and ecosystems of the Brooking wild meadows to create a community wall hanging or felt vessels to use in the church. Community crafting allows space to share reflections from our silent gathering time and from the experience of creating art outdoors.

Sim is inspired by the practice of creating morning altars and the use of community art in environmental activism and as a way of nature connection. She draws on her experience working with Schumacher College, which embodies the principles of head, hands and heart/art.

After lunch (please bring your own picnic) Sam will explore the science and symbolism of butterflies, as beings that take flight through processes of profound transformation. Drawing on embodied contemplative practice, art and teachings from different spiritual traditions (mainly Daoist and Christian), we will open to what butterflies can teach us about living through our own times of challenge and change.

This retreat opens the week which includes the beginning of the Big Butterfly Count (from July 18th to August 10th) – a UK wide citizen science survey. After the 2024 Count, Butterfly Conservation declared a butterfly emergency and butterflies need our help more than ever. Join Sam and others around the country in the Big Butterfly Count this year.

This is an inter-spiritual retreat for people of any sacred or secular orientation and will include times of silence & the option to share reflections. Booking is essential for this retreat day & it is offered on a donation basis. Contact Sam for more details:

livingspirit3@gmail.com

07979 057169

photo credit: Sim Taylor