I’m so excited to be returning to the Wild Goose Festival in Union Grove, NC (north of Charlotte) for a day-long event called “Wisdom Camp: Radical Mysticism.” I’m co-facilitating this program along with Debonee Morgan, the executive director of Zeitgeist Atlanta, a ministry for the spiritually independent. See below to learn more about Wisdom Camp, and to get a coupon code to save $50 off your admission to the festival!
This event takes place during the day on August 28 2025 (the main festival begins that evening and runs through the 31st). To sign up, you need to register for the festival (we’ll be speaking at the main festival, too, along with many other amazing speakers and musicians); Wisdom Camp is an “add-on” event with a separate ticket required. But here’s a way to save some money: use the discount code A-CM when you register, and you’ll save $50 off the price of your festival admission! Share this code with everyone in your network who plans to attend. Click here to register — be sure to add tickets for Wisdom camp and to enter your discount code.
Wild Goose Festival is a transformational community grounded in faith-inspired social justice. It’s a one-of-a-kind gathering that brings together activists, artists, and seekers from all walks of life to explore justice, art, spirituality, and community. From engaging workshops to inspiring panels and interactive experiences, Wild Goose has something for everyone. So, mark your calendars and join me and Debonee to be a part of this incredible community that is committed to making a positive impact in the world.
Here’s more information about Wisdom Camp…
Wisdom Camp 2025: Radical Mysticism
Subversive Contemplation, Playful Visioning, Storytelling and Other Keys to Interior/Exterior Healing and Transformation
Pre-Festival Offering
Thursday August 28, 2025
9 am–5 pm
Cost: $59.00 (in addition to festival admission)
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS (be sure to use discount code A-CM to save $50 off festival admission)
Facilitated by Debonee Morgan and Carl McColman
Ever since the Gospel of Luke presented Mary and Martha squabbling with Jesus over who gets to sit at his feet and who has to work in the kitchen, western spirituality has had a difficult time integration deep contemplation with world-reforming activism. But some of the great mystics over the ages have also been visionary change-agents: and vice versa. Drawing on the wisdom of figures as diverse as Howard Thurman, Teresa of Ávila, the Buddha, Pauli Murray, Dorothy Day, and Simone Weil, this day-long event offers an opportunity to take a deep dive into interior exploration as a roadmap for discerning meaningful and effective action in the world at large.
Our day will be facilitated by Carl McColman and Debonee Morgan, two Atlanta-based contemplative troublemakers who bring a breadth of knowledge and perspective to our shared conversation. Carl is the author of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Read the Bible Like a Mystic, and other books steeped in contemplation yet grounded in real-world spirituality. Debonee is a queer-centric therapist, death doula, community convener, and the executive director of Zeitgeist, a center without walls for spiritually independent persons and their friends and allies. Between them they have ties to a variety of contemplative and spiritually-visionary organizations, including the Living School, Shalem, Contemplative Outreach, Holy Rascals, Ligare and the California Institute for Integral Studies. What they bring to this experience is a deep desire for conversation, shared visioning, playful spirituality, interspirituality, and no-limits trust in the creative possibilities of the Spirit of Love.
Our day will include short presentations from Deb and Carl, conversations with them (and all participants), exercises for discernment and possibility-play, somatic practices like meditation and embodied prayer, and an appreciation for rest, silence, wonder, and not-knowing.
WISDOM CAMP EXPERIENCES
Experience 1
Radical Mysticism: Creating Alternative Visions for the Present Moment
with Carl McColman and Debonee Morgan
Experience 2
Spiritual Independence: Noisy Contemplation: Finding your radical center beyond institutions and labels
with Debonee Morgan
Morning Practice: Centering Prayer/Radical Silence
Experience 3
Subversive Contemplation: Integrating Inner Liberation and Outer Activism
with Carl McColman
Experience 4
Trauma and Healing: A Death Doula’s Approach to Crucifixion/Resurrection
with Debonee
Experience 5
Paganism, Buddhism, Queerness, Psychedelics: Why Contemplation works well with a “hyphen”
with Carl
Afternoon Practice: Embodied Prayer/Meditation
Experience 6
Writing (and Starring In) Your Own Sacred Story
with Carl and Debonee
FACILITATORS
Debonee Morgan
Debonee Morgan is a Certified Spiritual Director, licensed psychotherapist (specializing with Religious Trauma) and the Exec Director and principal teacher at non-profit Zeitgeist – creating education, practice and community for Spiritually Independent people in Atlanta and beyond. Ordained by Rabbi Rami Shapiro as a Holy Rascal and honored to be a graduate of the inaugural cohort of Richard Rohr’s Living School, Debonee is committed to the perennial and panentheistic tradition, (as Richard says, “What’s true is true everywhere.”) She is certified as an End-Of-Life Doula and in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy by the California Institute for Integral Studies. Debonee is an active member of Spiritual Directors International, teaching at multiple conferences, and a contributing writer for their publication, Presence. She’s a firm believer that the only true answer to any theological question is, “I don’t know.”
Carl McColman
Carl McColman is a spiritual director, retreat leader, and speaker and teacher on mystical spirituality and contemplative living. He is the author of many books, including The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Eternal Heart: The Mystical Path to a Joyful Life, and Unteachable Lessons: Why Wisdom Can’t Be Taught and Why That’s Okay. His latest book is Read the Bible Like a Mystic: Contemplative Wisdom and the Word. He is one of the co-hosts of the Encountering Silence podcast, and blogs regularly at Patheos, Medium, and his own website, www.anamchara.com. Carl’s approach to contemplation and mysticism is inclusive and expansive; he is dedicated to exploring the common ground between faith traditions, with a particular interest in the connecting points between Christian, Buddhist and Pagan wisdom.
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS (be sure to use discount code A-CM to save $50 off festival admission)
