April 26, 2025, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
You are warmly invited to a Women’s Retreat at St. Andrew Lutheran Church. This event will be held on Saturday, April 26, from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. We welcome all women/femme-identifying members and visitors. Join us for this opportunity to deepen our connection to ourselves, to others, and to the whole of creation. The retreat will include spending time in nature. There will be fellowship, conversation, and we will end the day with Holden Evening Prayer. A hot lunch and snacks will be provided (able to accommodate most dietary needs). We would love to have you join us! Register online before April 11: tinyurl.com/standywomen2025.
Here are a few words about our two facilitators:
Nichole Carrubba, M.Div. graduated from the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, CA. Her interests include Christian spirituality in relationship with eco-spirituality, eco-feminism, and science. She also supports people through life transitions using ceremony and rituals, creates eco-spiritual retreats and workshops, writes sermons, and offers spiritual direction and accompaniment. Nichole’s spirituality is greatly influenced by the Franciscan tradition, and she has a special love for the Earth and the cosmos. She believes that healing our relationship with the Earth would heal many of our other relationships in the process. She also has a significant interest in the spirituality of hospitality that we see embodied in Jesus in the gospels, and plant-based eating as an act of unity with creation.
Ruth Nickodemus, M.A., D.Min. was consecrated as a Lutheran Deaconess after graduating from Valparaiso University. Her spiritual journey deepened through Clinical Pastoral Education in Vellore, India; a Master’s Degree in Counseling; and certification as a Spiritual Director. Ruth’s love for Earth expanded through a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Creation Spirituality. Connecting the teachings of ancient mystics and modern-day cosmology through the lens of Creation Spirituality provides hope for the future grounded in the spiritual understanding of Earth’s unfolding story of 13.8 billion years and its Divine revelation. Ruth has been a member of St. Andrew for many years. She has three grown children and four grandchildren. She loves time with family and friends, treasures time in nature and listening to the wisdom of all beings, and is deeply grateful for the Presence of the Holy in all of life’s experiences.