Creation Care Retreat 2023

Centered around harvesting abundance in our congregations and communities, our annual Creation Care retreat will inspire you to re-imagine your church property as a home for education, inspiration, and cross-cultural experiences. Our journey begins with a faithful gathering at a farm-to-table dinner, where guests will enjoy a three-course menu featuring local harvest from Benison Farm. Dinner will be followed by a keynote address with Retreat Leader Brian Sellers-Petersen.

Individual tickets for Friday evening’s event are available.

Saturday will include morning prayer and breakfast followed by Planting the Seeds of Community, a workshop with Benison Farm Executive Director the Rev. Deacon Martha Goodwill, the Rev. Ryan Whitley, Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in St. Pete, and Executive Director of Benison Farm and other community leaders as they share their story of outreach and partnership in opening Benison Farm. Guests will enjoy lunch followed by a Vision Session with Retreat Leader Brian Sellers-Petersen before concluding at 4 p.m.

About Brian Sellers-Petersen

Brian Sellers-Petersen, co-founder of the Episcopal Food, Farming, and Faith Network, is an avid gardener at home and office (Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle). He is the author of Harvesting Abundance: Local Initiatives of Food and Faith (Church Publishing). He has worked with Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD) in a variety of capacities, including as the creator/developer of ERD’s Abundant Life Garden Project curriculum, a leader of pilgrimages to sustainable agriculture programs in Ghana and Central America, senior adviser to the president of ERD, former Director of Church Engagement, and former Western Regional Director. He is co-founder of Cultivate: Episcopal Food Movement and has also worked for World Vision; Bread for World; All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena; and the Anglican Diocese of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He currently serves as the Good News Garden Coordinator and Evangelist for The Episcopal Church. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and Fuller Theological Seminary.

About Benison Farm

Nestled into a 1 ½ acre parcel on St. Augustine Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg, Benison Farm was planted by parishioners from both St. Augustine’s and St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church who were looking for opportunities for community outreach. Coupled with a desire to address the lack of fresh produce in south St. Petersburg, Benison Farm became a home to harvest faith and food.