Lesson 1 of 7
Welcome to the Sanctuary
Twenty-one acres of woods, trails, gardens, a stone circle and a fire circle.
Why a hedgerow?
The edge where life gathers
Birds nest there, berries ripen there, and the familiar world meets the deeper one.
Why story, song and craft?
We learn in a circle
Mind, heart and hands together, the way the Mysteries were always taught.
This week
Walk to the edge of something
Ten minutes a day, without your phone. Notice what lives at the edge.
Crossing Hedgerows is a place to slow down and remember that we belong to something larger than ourselves. It began in 2019 as a gathering place on a 21-acre homestead of woods, trails, a seasonal creek, gardens, a stone circle and a fire circle. Its purpose is simple: to help people reconnect with God, with nature, and with the quiet wisdom already living inside them.
Why a hedgerow?
A hedgerow is the living edge between the tended field and the wild wood. It is where the most life gathers: birds nest there, berries ripen there, small creatures pass through. For as long as people have farmed, the hedge has also been a symbol of the threshold, the place where the familiar world meets the deeper one. To cross the hedge is to step, for a while, out of ordinary busyness and into a place where we can see more clearly.
Why story, song and craft?
The great teachers rarely explained things plainly. Jesus taught in parables. The ancient mystery schools taught through ritual, symbol and the study of the heavens. Every culture has carried its deepest knowledge in stories, songs and the work of the hands. These forms speak to the whole person: the mind, the heart and the body at once.
So when we gather to tell a myth, sing together, or make something from bark and seed, we are not playing at being children. We are using the oldest tools of learning there are. Many adults find that their first gathering feels unfamiliar. That is natural. Most of us were taught to learn by sitting still and taking notes. Here we learn by doing, noticing and sharing.
What we hope you find here
- Peace, and a break from screens and noise
- A deeper relationship with the living land
- A path into the teachings of the Mysteries, especially the Gnostic Christian tradition
- Friendship with others who are seeking the same things
On the land
This week, step outside once a day for ten minutes, without your phone. Walk slowly to the edge of something: where your lawn meets a hedge, where a path meets the trees, where water meets the shore. Stand there and simply notice what lives at the edge.
In your journal
What drew you to Crossing Hedgerows? What are you hoping to find on the other side of the hedge?
Bring to the circle
One word that describes what you are seeking. We will begin our first gathering by sharing these around the fire.
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