A “Green” Kataphatic Theology: The Ecospirit of Springbank Retreat Center in Kingstree, South Carolina

Abstract

This paper explores the emerging “green” theology of Springbank Retreat Center, located in Kingstree, S.C. (www.springbankretreat.org). Springbank labels itself as a “Center for EcoSpirituality and the Arts,” and is a 5,000 acre Christian Center-Dominican Retreat House staffed by Dominican Sisters, whose mission is “to live simply, to create beauty, to respect Earth and all beings and to share the learned wisdom as co-creators with the Divine for a sustainable future. We are called to be a courageous and prophetic voice in today’s world, contributing to the transformation of human consciousness.” Springbank attempts to put this mission into practice by hosting ecumenical ecospiritual workshops and conferences, and by greening its campus. I use participant observation and discourse analysis to analyze Springbank’s history and contemporary practice, where this history and practice is situated into the larger greening of religion hypothesis and the current “ecological reformation.” Because Springbank is part of the Catholic tradition, I utilize Belden Lane’s hermeneutics of a kataphatic theology to also help make sense of Springbank’s mission statement, institutional structure, and workshops