The Spiritual Formation Retreat is designed for the entire Northeastern Seminary community. Whether you're new to spiritual formation or have been on this journey for years, this retreat offers a welcoming environment for everyone to deepen their connection with God and grow in their faith. It provides a space for personal reflection, growth, and community, open to all who seek to strengthen their spiritual life.
This spring’s theme is “Seeking the Holy amid the More-Than-Human: Ecology, Creation, and Spiritual Formation” led by speaker Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner.
Particularly in the cold winter months, it is easy to insulate ourselves in the warmth of four walls, fall into the rabbit holes of our screens, and disconnect from the beauty and work of creation. In this spiritual formation retreat, we will consider what it means to be attentive to our relationship to the more-than-human of creation, open to how it might offer us new ways to connect with God and our communities. Through considering our creatureliness and relationship to the larger creation, engaging honest reflection and lament over ecological degradation, and listening more intently to the voice of the Earth in and beyond Scripture, we will seek to ground ourselves in God’s creative and creating work.
We look forward to this opportunity to fellowship, grow in faith, and thrive together.
*The retreat will be virtual only.*
Schedule
Saturday, February 21, 2026
TBD
To request an ASL interpreter or other accessibility needs please contact Melodie VelazquezSoto velazquezsoto_m@roberts.edu
Leading the Retreat
The Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner serves as the Assistant Professor of Preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary. She received a B.S. in Secondary Life Science Education from Miami University (OH), a M.Div. from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and her Ph.D. from the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University. Though she has served among the Lutherans and was educated among United Methodists, Dr. Wagner is ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Previous experience on the pastoral staff of a PCUSA congregation in Virginia helps fuel and inform her present scholarship and teaching. She is passionate about supporting students’ formation and helping clergy and communities navigate the realities of an ever-changing world and church. Her writing and work focus on preaching and ministry in the midst and wake of trauma, particularly thinking about collective trauma, the role of the preacher, and the resources of our Scriptures and faith to respond to these moments. Dr. Wagner’s book, Fractured Ground: Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma (Westminster John Knox Press, 2023), offers guidance for preaching in the aftermath of communal trauma, including mass violence, natural disasters, and public health crises. Dr. Wagner’s upcoming publications focus on ecotrauma and ecoanxiety, thinking about how the ecological crises and injustices impact communities and how preachers and leaders might faithfully respond.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Spiritual Formation Retreat
No.
This retreat will be held virtually.
Who can I contact with more questions?
Please contact Melodie VelazquezSoto at velazquezsoto_m@roberts.edu