The Lord of the Rings Retreat
From Myth into History:
A Pilgrimage Through Middle-earth
An In-Person Retreat with
Father Vincent Pizzuto, Ph.D.
and
The Rev. Teri Waldron
Friday, July 31 – Sunday, August 2
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps greater.’”
~ Haldir, The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien's mythical world of Middle-earth is both profoundly imaginative and deeply Christian in spirit. As his friend and fellow author, C. S. Lewis, observed, Christianity is the “one True Myth” because it is the story that both fulfills and gives meaning to the longings expressed in all myths. Tolkien's great trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, invites us into this sacred imagination, revealing how God's redemptive presence can be discerned in the world of hobbits and balrogs, elves and wizards, and perilous journeys full of the transformative power of beauty and unexpected grace.
Traversing into the heart of Middle-earth, we will explore Tolkien's mythology as a doorway into deeper reflection on the enduring themes of the Christian life: courage and temptation, providence and free will, fealty and betrayal, sacrifice and hope, sin and grace, death and resurrection. Drawing especially from reflections and vignettes in The Lord of the Rings, we will meditate on the Christian Gospels as “storied revelation” where myth becomes history in “the tale of the loving purposes of God” which promises the healing and redemption of all Creation.
Middle-earth is not merely a fantasy world divorced from our own lives. Rather, it is a landscape of the soul, a mythic mirror of the spiritual journey that unfolds within every human heart. Tolkien's stories awaken us to what the desert saint, Macarius the Great, described when he wrote:
The heart itself is only a small vessel, yet dragons are there, and lions; there are poisonous beasts and all the treasures of evil; there are rough and uneven roads; there are precipices; but there, too, are God and the angels; life is there, and the Kingdom; there, too, is light, and there the apostles, and heavenly cities, and treasures of grace. All things lie within that little space.
All are welcome for a weekend of thoughtful reflection and whimsical rumination where we will join in chants and prayers that inspired Tolkien, as well as Tolkien-inspired chants and prayers. Where we will have space to encounter the dragons of our own hearts, no less than the treasures of grace to be found there. Where we will enjoy simple meals inspired by the people of Middle-earth. And where the porous boundaries between Middle-earth, the little space of our own hearts, and the rustic beauty of West Marin bring to life an enchanted landscape illuminating our own mystical and mythical journey to God.
Presenter Bios
Father Vincent Pizzuto, Ph.D. is Professor of New Testament Studies and Christian Mysticism in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. He received his doctorate in New Testament Exegesis from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (2003) and has since published and presented internationally in the areas of New Testament christology, ecological discipleship, marriage equality, inter-religious dialogue, Christian mysticism and contemplative Christian spirituality. In 2018 he published his second book, Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life with Liturgical Press; translated in Spanish, Contemplar a Cristo: Los Evangelios y la vida interior, (Desclée de Brouwer) in January 2022. As an Episcopal priest Fr. Vincent serves as Vicar of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church and Retreat House in Inverness, California. Working for the advancement of contemplative Christianity, he has reinvigorated the mission and ministry of St. Columba’s through the introduction of contemplative eucharistic liturgies, public lectures, online courses, directed retreats, thought provoking sermons and online blog.
Mother Teri Waldron is currently retired and serving as an assisting priest at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Inverness, CA. Before retirement, she spent five years as the chaplain for the interdisciplinary palliative care team at Kaiser Medical Center in San Rafael. Mother Teri was previously a parish priest serving primarily as a youth minister and as clergy for Spanish-speaking congregations in Sacramento and Oakland. Prior to entering seminary, she worked in journalism as a newsroom researcher, a children’s librarian, and as a photojournalist in both the US and Latin America. Mother Teri graduated from UC Davis with a degree in International Relations. She also holds a Master's in Library and Information Science from UC Berkeley, a Master's in Divinity from Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and a Post-graduate Certificate in Historical Studies from the University of Oxford. She spent her early childhood in Guatemala and has lived in Venezuela and the UK, while also spending significant time in Australia and the British West Indies. Mother Teri is married to Sam Waldron, a genuine Australian Outback cowboy (stockman) who dislikes horseback riding and would rather be indoors reading a book. Mother Teri tries to ground her ministry in Jesus’ words in Luke 4:17-21, “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour."
