About

This page includes background about Thérèse and Tere as well as our purpose and values statements.

About Thérèse and Tere

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Therese (left) and Tere

Sacred Groves was founded in 2002 by Thérèse (pronouned “Terez”)  Charvet. Her partner/spouse, Tere, joined her in 2004.

Thérèse has lived in these woods for over thirty years, has been a nurse, a practicing midwife doing home and clinic births in Kitsap County, and was the Midwifery Program Director at Seattle Midwifery School for 13 years. Over 70 years old now, at this point in her life, she offers her gifts as an ordained minister through The International Assembly of Spiritual Healers and Earth Stewards using earth-based rituals, songs, drumming, and practices that awaken us in our bodies, open our hearts, connect us more deeply with a sense of community with fellow humans, and the natural world. She offers her healing work, which is mostly place-based in the healing forest sanctuary at Sacred Groves, facilitating group gatherings and ceremonies.

IMG_9386 (1)Influenced by her intense work with women giving birth and midwifery organizations, grounded by her long-time Buddhist meditation practice, Thérèse began exploring the “women’s blood mysteries” and old goddess religions in the 1980s. She began learning from and with mentors and various groups who were likewise inspired to develop a spirituality that connects our human bodies with Mother Earth, a mix of wiccan, goddess and Native American spiritual teachings.  The most recent addition to the Women’s Mysteries School are her services offering Holistic Pelvic Care to women, after becoming certified in this work through a training with Tami Lynn Kent in September 2013.

Tere has been at Sacred Groves since mid-2004 when she “fell down a rabbit hole” and found herself in a beautiful new world, slipping into a shoe that fit perfectly. She has worked as a carpenter since her early 20’s, a competent “handy-woman” who can build, do plumbing and electrical work. She has built and continues to maintain all of our facilities here at the Groves. Tere also considers cooking as one of her “love languages,’ bringing home-cooked food to many of gatherings, in addition to her big heart and welcoming hugs.Our purpose

is to welcome folks to this land as an ‘eco-retreat’ for rituals and other sacred gatherings, for prayer and retreat time in the woods. We also role-model a lifestyle that respects and protects Mother Earth now and for the future.

Values

sword fern--what a shape!

  • We believe that the earth is sacred, a place for prayer and peace.
  • We believe that music, dance, ceremony, prayer, and time in the natural world are essential for personal and community health.
  • We respect a diversity of spiritual paths and the many names of God/Goddess/Great Spirit.
  • We strive to minimize our impact and keep our air, land and waters clean.
  • We enliven feminine wisdom by honoring the intuition of the heart, the importance of process and by BE-ing as much as Do-ing.
  • We are committed to creating peace in our world through personal accountability, conflict resolution, reconciliation and forgiveness.