Contemplative Prayer Walk and Tea Ceremony
Saturday, May 17, 2025 - 8:30 am - 12 noon
Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle, IL

Are you noticing signs of life all around outside? Already in the Chicago area, the forsythia forerunners are nearly finished, the blue squill is carpeting open wooded spaces, and the magnolia buds are catching fingers of light in their delicate fuzz. Many signs of spiritual life are subtle—inner shifts. Budding growth. Where have the inner shifts been this season? Have they been? Is your body or mind too busy to notice a tiny green invitation quietly opening today? Here is an invitation. Perhaps it’s for you.

Simply being present in the natural world, with all our senses fully alive, can have [a profound] effect . . . and an antidote to our nature-starved lives that can heal our relationship with the more-than-human world.

— from M. Amos Clifford’s book Your Guide to Forest Bathing

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

— from Psalm 34:8

Join others in the Chicago area for a guided walk at the Morton Arboretum, with all our senses alive to the gentle invitations of spring and of the Holy Spirit. Drawing on both “forest therapy” and contemplative prayer practices, including Scripture meditation, we will receive several invitations together to simply be in the presence of God and creation. Experience includes several short, meditative walks with nature- and prayer-related prompts, pauses for quiet reflection, and an outdoor tea ceremony to conclude. You might think of it as a short prayer retreat in the company of trees (by mid-May, perhaps the crabapples or the redbuds will be in their element). Nothing formal or arduous, and no prior experience required. Comfortable weather-appropriate clothing and walking shoes recommended. Light refreshment (GF/DF) to accompany the tea.

This event is about presence.
It is an invitation to be present
to the woods, to yourself, to the mystery of God—
the source of life.
There is so much goodness.

Contemplative Prayer Walk and Tea Ceremony
Saturday, May 17, 2025 - 8:30 am - 12 noon
Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle, IL
Cost: $45* Limit: 12 participants

Deadline to register is May 9. Please review our cancellation policy.

*Note: Fee includes discounted one-time entrance to the arboretum for the entire day. (We are not able to accommodate further discounts for Morton Arboretum members.) Participants are welcome to stay afterward and enjoy the extensive grounds and facilities, including The Ginkgo Room café. More specific information via email following registration.

Facilitator: Cara Peterson was trained as a spiritual director by Christos Center for Spiritual Formation and as a tea sommelier by the International Tea Masters Association, and she has been practicing prayer and drinking tea all her life. She visits the forest preserves of DuPage County in all seasons, tea flask in her pack.