Join us for a wonderful Sunday afternoon outing for you, your friends and family, members of your parish, community group or co-workers. See the amazing and peaceful wetlands, forests, trees, pastures, farm fields and vegetable gardens of Ignatius, and learn about wonderful and inspiring things in this place of peace. There is so much to see and visit including: Community Shared Agriculture, Organic Apple Orchards, Organic Farm and Community Gardens, Ecology Villa and Willowdome, and a walking tour upon request of the Old Mill Ruins and the Plant an Old Growth Forest Project. There will also be themed tours, upon request, on the history of the land and the Jesuits here on the property, farming practices at Ignatius, forest interpretive walks and nature and spirituality walks.

Retreatants will be encouraged to experience God's awe-inspiring presence and activity in Creation. This experience will offer inspiration and nurturing for hope-filled action expressing God's healing power.

Through the lens of food, retreatants will be encouraged to experience God's beauty in the farmland.

Food nourishes us both physically and spiritually. Such an appreciation for our daily bread contrast with a consumerist disconnection from food that is part of the current ecological decline. Can we hear the passion of Jesus in the cry of the Earth?

This guided retreat, following the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises, includes a daily theme talk, personal spiritual direction, outdoor liturgies, and group sharing. The retreat will be facilitated by members of the Ecology Project Working Group, and the Loyola House retreat team.

Now in its twelfth year, Cosmic Camp for Kids is a unique week-long ecology camp for kids that nurtures kinship with nature through science, story and art, and has earned rave reviews from kids, parents and educators.

Again this year we are having a home-school style “community shared” cosmic camp where parents and caregivers participate with their children.

For more information view the Camp poster!

This symposium will address Jesus’ presence and action in the new cosmology by reflecting on the person of Jesus with new eyes. Jesus experiences nature as a place to pray and a source of grace. How can we open up his parables and many other metaphors? We will reflect on Christ’s passion and resurrection in our time, as it relates to our earth home in peril. Our prayer and sharing will inspire a deeper commitment to the healing of ourselves, the elements, and the multi-species community of life.

Maureen Wild, S.C., and Jim Profit, S.J., who both bring years of experience and commitment to ecological spirituality through their present work, will facilitate this symposium. Maureen, originally from Peace River in northern Alberta, is a Sister of Charity of Halifax. She has a wide range of ministry experience within both inner-city settings and ecological learning centres. Maureen currently lives in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia. Jim is the Executive Director of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre.

This symposium ends on Monday at 4pm but, if you chose, you can leave on Sunday evening after supper.

For more information visit Web Site

Looking for a family outing that’s both fun and fulfilling? Spend a special day with the children on the beautiful grounds of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre of Guelph. Explore the amazing ecosystem of a river. Discover the diversity of species in a working organic farm. Learn about 12 gifts we each receive from our Creator and how they apply to your family. Find new ways to enjoy and appreciate nature, plant tulips or build an Inukshuk as a legacy of your time spent together on the land of Ignatius. Each person will take home lasting memories to share and treasure as a family.

Like the Sabbath, winter is a sacred time set aside for all Creation to rest and regroup in preparation for spring. You are invited to spend an inspiring, invigorating day exploring the true meaning of winter and dormancy. Rediscover the magic and mystery of the season through sharing, reflection, journaling and guided meditation in a warm, supportive environment. Reconnect with the Earth through hiking and nature walks.

The retreat takes place at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre. Its 600 acres of beautifully maintained grounds feature pristine forests, rivers, well-kept trails and farm fields. Everything looks different with a fresh layer of snow on it — even life. Find out what wisdom winter has to offer in this fun, spirit-nourishing retreat. The retreat runs from 11am-4pm.

Nature Journaling is a retreat to draw upon your spirit and soul. The Ignatius Jesuit Centre environs and atmosphere will inspire you to write and contemplate like never before. Keeping a nature journal is a wonderful way for writers, novice or experienced, to become spiritually centered. What you decide to put in your journal is a personal choice, and our facilitator will teach you various techniques of journaling. Nature journals run the gamut from field notes, which limit themselves to objective descriptions of what the writer has observed, to fully developed poems, stories, or essays in which the landscape is a major character. You may be called to draw or paint in your journal as well as write in it. Inspiration will come from nature walks and guided outdoor meditations in this unique and inspiring landscape, and from sharing each others’ insight.