May 15-17, 2026
Prairiewoods
120 E Boyson Rd
Hiawatha, IA, USA
3 ways to engage:
- Friday - Sunday Retreat
- Day-long Virtual
- Day-long In Person
Register here.
Loving the Wild: Earth Centering Our Spirituality with Rev. Dr. Lisa Dahill
At a moment when many people feel disconnected—from the earth, from one another, and from themselves—Rev. Dr. Lisa Dahill is inviting participants to step into a different way of seeing and living: a world alive with sacred presence.
Prairiewoods is pleased to announce our 2026 Spirituality in the 21st Century event: Loving the Wild: Earth Centering Our Spirituality; a day/weekend gathering led by Rev. Dr. Lisa Dahill, theologian, Lutheran pastor, and widely respected voice at the intersection of Christian faith, ecology, and contemplative practice. The event will take place on May 15 – 17 at Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center in Hiawatha Iowa. The event is open to everyone.
Drawing on Christian theology, mysticism, ecological science, and embodied spiritual practice, Dr. Dahill invites participants to encounter the “more-than-human world”—land, creatures, wind, and water—not as backdrop or resource, but as a living revelation of the Divine.
“Many of us have been taught, often unconsciously, that what is holy is separate from the world,” says Dahill. “But the Christian tradition, at its heart, proclaims something far more radical: in Christ, God and world are not two realities, but one.”
Throughout the gathering, participants will be guided through reflection, discussion, and indoor and outdoor contemplative practices that explore what it means to experience the world itself as sacred. Rather than abstract ideas alone, the event emphasizes lived, embodied experience—grounding spiritual insight in sensory connection, shared ritual, and attentive presence.
In a culture shaped by constant stimulation, screens, and urgency, Dr. Dahill’s work speaks directly to widespread feelings of burnout, loneliness, and disorientation. By reconnecting with the deep kinship that binds humans to all life, participants are invited to rediscover awe, intimacy, and hope—resources essential not only for personal well-being, but for faithful action in the world.
“This is about learning to live in reality,” Dahill explains. “A reality that is astonishingly beautiful, deeply interconnected, and alive with divine presence.”
The event will include opportunities for conversation and community, offering participants space to reflect together, listen deeply, and carry practical spiritual practices back into daily life, ministry, and leadership.
