TRAVEL DATES: Monday, May 20 to Sunday, May 26 This course will explore the context of nature as a foundation for spiritual practice. Readings from a variety of faith traditions, including Celtic Christianity and Native American spirituality, will provide the theological grounding for the course. Emphasis will be placed on experiencing and developing individual and communal practices that connect persons to the Holy in and through nature. Students will be guided in experiencing nature as sacred subject rather than object; as teacher, spiritual guide, companion, and neighbor. The settings for this course will be Boston and the Alcyon Center, a spiritual life center in Seal Cove, Maine, just outside the bounds of Acadia National Park, that hosts nature-based retreat experiences (www.alcyoncenter.org) . Four Boston-based sessions will be held on Fridays prior to the travel portion of the course. These sessions will offer theoretical and theological foundations for the travel portion of the course as well as an opportunity to connect with nature in non-wilderness settings. The week after graduation, the class will travel to the Alcyon Center for several days exploring holistic approaches to grounding spiritual practices in nature. With Acadia National Park as a context, students will be led in hikes, nature walks, and other activities exploring how to facilitate such experiences as spiritual practices. Students will also be given the opportunity to reflect upon and engage in the practices and operations of the Alcyon Center, which are based in a rhythm of holy living grounded in nature. These experiences will provide insight into how spiritual traditions can impact more than just programming in such settings. Other class sessions will consider environmental stewardship and sustainability as individual and communal spiritual practices with local resource persons and Alcyon Center staff providing assistance. A follow up session will be held at STH at the beginning of June. Please note: * Each day in Acadia will involve 2-4 miles of hiking, most of which will be easy, but one or two of which could be considered moderately strenuous depending upon one's ability. We will do our best to accommodate persons with differing ability levels, but students should be prepared to undertake this level of activity. * Meals at the Alcyon Center are mostly vegetarian (some chicken and fish) with a good number of gluten-free options (though not prepared in a dedicated GF kitchen). There is ample refrigerator space for students needing to tend to food needs that fall outside these parameters.

Note that this information may change at any time. Please visit the MyBU Student Portal for the most up-to-date course information.