Sacred Groves is a ten acre forest sanctuary located on Bainbridge Island, in Washington state, a small wilderness park where you can feel the sacredness of the earth. It’s a place to settle into the quiet, listen to the birds, watch the trees sway in the wind, re-establish connection with God, Goddess, Great Spirit, Great Mystery or whatever it is you call that ineffable power that underlies all of life. We welcome people from all races and cultures who share the belief that the earth is sacred and that music, dance, prayer, ceremony, and time in the natural world are essential for personal and community health. This is a place to deepen your relationship with Mother Earth and your personal spirituality, reconnecting body, heart and mind, also with Mother Earth and Great Spirit.
Sacred Groves is not affiliated with any particular religion. The events here include elements of ritual from earth-based spiritual traditions in North America, Africa and pre-Christian Europe. They have been inspired by mentors like Sobonfu Some, Joanna Macy, Starhawk, our relationship with Mother Earth, and co-creative community-based drumming and ritual groups dedicated to re-connecting with Mother Earth.
Tere (left) and Therese in front of the Red Tent
Events at Sacred Groves are most often co-facilitated by owner-director Thérèse Charvet, with her partner Tere Carranza. To read more about them, click here. Activities at Sacred Groves occur in the natural setting of 10 acres of Pacific Northwest rainforest.
Click here to listen to a podcast with Therese and Tere (recorded February 2017) with information about them and Sacred Groves. Click here and scroll down the page to find an interview with Therese and Tere in November 2020 on the podcast “From the Belly” with Doug Wheeler.
We want to state clearly that we deeply believe that the lives of black, indigenous and all people of color MATTER! We acknowledge that we are settlers on the traditional territories of the Suquamish Tribe and Coast Salish Peoples. We honor this land and stand in solidarity with the Indigenous communities of the Pacific Northwest that still face displacement and systemic injustice. We are doing the personal work of exploring our own internalized racism, white privilege and colonial-settler roots, making reparations in several small ways. I is our intention to be part of co-creating a more just and equitable culture where people of all races, genders and belief systems are respected. We stand against hate and “isms” of all sorts.
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Click here to see a photo slideshow of the Groves
Welcome to the Groves!