Spirituality and Ecology:  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry

Led by Prof Ursula King

Saturday 1 April

10.30 – 4.00 pm

Cost £30 Concessions £20

Please bring a packed lunch.  Coffee and tea provided

This retreat day will be concerned with the deep connections between ecology and spirituality as perceived by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry. Both men developed a new consciousness of the Earth and its people; both asked how a new Earth consciousness is intimately connected with the emergence of a new Earth community, but also what “road” we have to choose and what “great work” we need to engage in for this new world to arise.

Thomas Berry was deeply influenced by Teilhard and praised his achievements, but also went beyond them. He wrote on “Teilhard in an Ecological Age” and “The Great Work: Our Way into the Future”.

It is hoped that this introduction to Teilhard’s and Berry’s ecological spirituality and ecotheology of love will enable participants to share in the deeper way of “seeing” developed by these two men – a new approach that redirects our vision and deepens our awareness of the intimate presence of the Divine throughout all of creation. It has enormous potential for dynamizing our energies, increase our power to love and our reverence for the mystery of life, all of which call for more joint action and collaboration among all the people of the Earth.

Ursula King STL (Paris), MA (Delhi) PhD (London), FRSA, is Professor Emerita of

Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol, England. Educated in Germany, France, India and England, she has lectured all over the world, published widely and holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Edinburgh (1996), Oslo (2000), Dayton/Ohio (2003). Her publications include Spirit of Fire: The Life and Vision of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (2015), Teilhard de Chardin and Eastern Religions. Spirituality and Mysticism in an Evolutionary World (2011), The Search for Spirituality: Our Global Quest for a Spiritual Life (2009) and Christian Mystics (2001).

She has given many workshops and study days on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, most recently in different parts of the USA and Europe. A revised version of her 1996 Oxford Bampton lectures has just been republished: Christ in All Things. Exploring Spirituality with Pierre Teilhard de Chardin  (2016).