Spirit of Place 2025: Experiences of Engaged Spirituality

WELCOME!

BONES OF THE EARTH (Registration Full)

Stone, Rock, and Spiritual Life

October 15 – 18. 2025

Thunder Bay Inn, Big Bay, Michigan

(4 P.M. Wednesday – 1 P.M. Saturday, EST)

** All meals, lodging, and travel locally to program sites are financially covered by the registration fees. **

PROGRAM:

This retreat explores the mystery of geology of the Northern Great Lakes Basin, shaped by the Canadian Shield, the largest exposed Precambrian rock on earth. Presentations by geologists, poets, musicians, and environmental activists provide the framework for this time together.

We’ll be connecting sacred writings with the legacy of precious minerals and valuable metals (gold, silver, nickel) in poetry, dreams, and rituals. We’ll be learning about the complex economic and environmental challenges facing the mining industry, hear from voices challenging extraction practices.

There will be time for solitude, prayer, and roaming beaches and exploring rock faces, and time to search for stones. During the closing morning of the retreat, interested participants will be invited to assist in planting 100 small cedar seedlings in the nearby Yellow Dog Community Forest. (www.yellowdogwatershed.org).

There will be a balance of informal and formal time together, along with unscheduled times for personal reflection, casual walks, and rest.

RETREAT FORMAT:

Participants have the option to begin each day, before breakfast, with an introduction to mindfulness and Tai Chi exercises. Our time together will be based at the historic Thunder Bay Inn in Big Bay,( a former retreat for Henry Ford).

Presentations and discussion will take place at the Inn, and at different nearby locations. Two of our three evening meals and discussions will take place at lakefront cabins near Lake Superior. Saunas and a swim are available for those who choose.

TRAVEL, MEALS, AND LODGING:

Retreat fees cover all meals (9) and overnight lodging for (3) nights. Private overnight rooms are set aside for each participant. The Cedar Tree Institute will provide and help arrange transportation to all off-site locations.

We will have breakfasts at the restaurant Inn, but the majority of meals will be prepared by Melanie Mottinger, who regularly serves as our Cedar Tree retreat chef. Meals are given careful attention to health and exceptional taste, using as many local products as possible.

Marquette, Michigan is located in the State’s Upper Peninsula, and in the Eastern Standard Time Zone. It can be accessed by airline via Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport, (a 25-minute drive from Marquette). Transportation will be provided to and from the airport for those traveling by plane. Big Bay is 30 miles north of the city of Marquette.

If choosing to travel by car, Marquette is a three-hour drive northeast from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and three-hour drive from Mackinac Island located at the East end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Transportation may also available via a van from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Email Ruth Almén if you’re interested in learning more about this option: ruth.almen@gmail.com

FACILITATORS AND RESOURCE PERSONS:

Chuck Thomas is a professional geologist who received his training at Michigan Technological University and served for the State of Michigan for over ten years as Supervisor overseeing public water resources in the Upper Peninsula.

Joseph Piccione is a theologian and ethicist. He holds degrees in theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC and St. Mary’s Seminary and University. He is the author of “Receiving God and Responding – In Breath Meditation.” (Crossroad Publishing, 2020)

Jeff Noble is a forester and retired wild land fire fighter.

Ruth Almén previously held leadership positions with hospice agencies and community mental health organizations serving the rural poor across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She currently serves as COO for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, a progressive faith community in Arlington Heights, Illinois, Ruth serves as our Institute’s logistics coordinator and will work with you on registration and transportation questions. She’s very proud of her rock and beach glass collection.

Kenton Fish is a retired ophthalmologist residing in West Texas. He is a leader in his faith community, a musician, and long-distance runner. Kent continues to assist in facilitating CTI retreats and trainings across North America.

Kathleen Heideman is one of the Upper Peninsula’s most beloved poets. A writer, artist and environmentalist, her newest collection of poetry is Psalms of the Early Anthropocene (Winter Cabin Books, 2017). www.orebody.com/about-2/

John Rosenberg is a Lutheran pastor, writer, and environmental activist living in Tumwater, Washington

Michael Waite is a local songwriter and musician lives in a remote cabin near Big Bay with his family. www.michaelwaitemusic.com

Jon Magnuson is the Director of The Cedar Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that initiates projects and provides services in the areas of mental health, interfaith collaboration, and the environment. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, he’s served as a parish pastor, social worker, campus pastor, and adjunct faculty member at the University of Washington.

Since its founding in 1995, The Cedar Tree Institute has sponsored 30 retreats and seminars across North America bringing together small groups to explore designed experiences of engaged spirituality. Participants are invited to explore topics that connect inner (personal) and external (social -political) landscapes. Retreats are held in monasteries, remote cabins, and on American Indian reservations.