Presbyterian theologian Belden Lane’s newest book, Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice, will be released this fall by Oxford University Press. For those who can’t wait, Lane will lead a program at Ghost Ranch Aug. 25-31 featuring themes from his upcoming book.
He will draw on his years of solo backpacking to suggest a pattern of wilderness spirituality that can be lived in everyday life. Participants will learn important life lessons from saints like Dag Hammarskjold, Thich Nhat Hanh, Martin Luther, Rumi and Thomas Merton. The retreat offers wilderness wanderings, exercises in meditation, small group work, storytelling and rituals drawn from the natural world.
Lane is perhaps best known for his spiritual classic, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality. He is professor emeritus of theological studies at St. Louis University.
Registration for the event is $595, which includes the program, meals and dorm-style lodging (double occupancy). Additional fees apply for semi-private or private lodging. Check-in begins at 3 p.m. Aug. 25. Shuttle service is available from Santa Fe to Ghost Ranch.
Ghost Ranch is a national education and retreat center of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Northern New Mexico. Its synergy of beauty, its scientific value, its cultural and historical traditions and its spirituality make it like no other place in the world.
For more information, contact Becky A. Chamberlain, faith community liaison, at beckyc@ghostranch.org or 505-685-4333, ext. 4156.