Rev. Simon Ruth de Voil
Musician-in-Residence
March 14-23, 2025
Kanuga
Wild Sanctuary Retreat is SOLD OUT.
See more events with Simon below…
Rev. Simon Ruth de Voil is an ordained interfaith/interspiritual minister, trained to be a sacred presence outside the conventions of traditional religion. As a sacred musician, spiritual mentor and worship leader he incorporates chant, ritual, poetry, storytelling, and mindful practice to create a space for profound connection and sacred witness. Simon provides music for worship, ceremony, and prayer in a wide variety of churches and non-religious spiritual communities. He particularly loves to create music for meditation, healing services, and rites of passage.
Simon is also an experienced workshop and retreat leader, drawing on 15 years of study, training, and practice that grew from his time living and working in Iona Abbey. Although influenced by many traditions, Simon’s spiritual path and teaching is deeply rooted in Celtic Christianity, the wisdom of the earth, and in the Scottish land where he’s spent most of his life. simondevoil.com
Join Simon for his spring residency at Kanuga for this special retreat. With the beautiful forested landscape of Kanuga as our sanctuary, each day will include a blend of wisdom teachings in the Celtic tradition, contemplative practices including song, chanting, and silence, and personal time for reflection.
St. Brigid & Patrick Concert with Samara Jade
Saturday, March 15
7:15 p.m.
Fireplace Lounge
In honor of the feast day of St. Patrick, join us for an evening of Celtic music, story, lore, and handcraft. Celtic wisdom-keeper Simon de Voil and modern folk troubadour Samara Jade will keep you spell bound and warm your heart. Gather around the hearth in the fireplace lounge at Kanuga and cozy up with beverages and good company. You’ll have a chance to weave a Brigid’s cross for protection and wellbeing in the year to come, join us in song, or just soak in the harmony and cheer. Invite a friend and join us by the fire! $30 for concert and buffet / $15 concert only.
Birdsong Vespers
In-person and via YouTube
Tuesday, March 18, 5 p.m.
St. Francis Chapel
A keystone of Simon’s residency at Kanuga, Birdsong Vespers offers an inclusive, informal, and earth-based evening service. With the forest as our cathedral, we’ll sing, share poetry and prayer, and experience the gifts of birdsong and the wind. Note: Birdsong Vespers is typically a daily service. There may be some cancellations due to weather or conflicting events. Birdsong schedule and more information can be found here: https://simondevoil.com/birdsong. FREE.
Wild Sanctuary Retreat: Contemplative Spiritual Practice in the Celtic Christian Tradition - SOLD OUT
This retreat offers an opportunity to deepen our connection with the Holy as we encounter it through the living, vital, natural world. Using poetry, song, Psalms, our senses, and our creative imagination, we’ll explore ways to pray with nature. Listening into the noisy silence, we’ll seek to bring our full awareness to the practice of prayer, and to the voice of the divine within and around us.
Our teachers and sources of inspiration include both historical and contemporary mystics with a deep love for the divine as expressed through the natural world — from the unnamed scribes of the Book of Kells, to St Francis and St Clare, to Mary Oliver and Thomas Merton. And, of course, the trees, stones, and sky, the voices of the birds, and the sacred earth.
We’ll try on a range of tools and practices to support finding our place in the web of creation. Some examples of the types of creative prayer and spiritual practice we’ll explore include:
- Chant and prayer with the psalms
- Visio divina and lectio divina: bringing sacred attention to looking and listening to the forest
- Walking meditation
- Collective mandala or altar building
- Embracing beauty as a wisdom practice
- Reading and writing poems with and to the earth
The collective wisdom of our group is central to our time together. As your guide, Rev. Simon Ruth will bring song and story rooted in the Celtic Christian wisdom tradition — but the vision, experience, and stories of the participants are the heart of this creative journey.
Retreat structure: With the beautiful landscape of Kanuga as our sanctuary, each day will include a blend of wisdom teachings in the Celtic tradition, contemplative practices including song, chanting, and silence, and personal time for reflection.
We’ll begin our time together with a short introductory session on Tuesday evening. The following days will include a morning and afternoon session, with time in between for rest, exploration, and opportunities to connect with the land. Each day will include Birdsong Vespers, an informal, musical worship service in the forest chapel (weather permitting!), with the voices of the stream and the trees to accompany us.
On Thursday evening, we’ll offer a Spring Equinox concert, followed by a candlelight walking meditation in the outdoor Labyrinth for those who want to participate.
We’ll close on Friday morning with a farewell and blessing.
Chants & Prayers
In-person and Online
Wednesday, March 19, 12 p.m.
Chapel of The Transfiguration
A contemplative service of chanting, poetry, and prayer, with pauses of quiet for reflection.
All are welcome. FREE.
Spring Equinox Concert
Thursday, March 20
Buffet: 5:30 p.m. / Concert: 7:15 p.m.
Labyrinth
As evening falls and birdsong gives way to starlight and the frog chorus, welcome the return of spring with music to soothe the soul and nourish the spirit. This unique event invites you to immerse yourself in the season’s renewal and harmony, surrounded by the beauty of the labyrinth under the open sky. Whether you’re seeking inspiration, peace, or simply a moment of connection, this concert offers a perfect way to honor the balance and energy of the equinox. $30 concert and candlelight buffet / $10 concert