The Secret Prayer Garden
The Secret Prayer Garden invites all to make a walking pilgrimage—in person and/or online.
Prayers for the Earth
We ask for prayers for the John Cobb Eco Farm and Our Common Home, Mother Earth. The Twelve Tree Prayer Stations invite three possible prayer practices:
Permission and Gratitude – We pray and meditate, asking for permission to enter the Secret Prayer Garden here, now, and within our hearts. We begin by waiting in silence, and throughout our journey we give thanks.
Fruits of the Spirit – We seek to cultivate inner spiritual qualities, the Fruits of the Spirit.
Giving Back – We offer prayers and gifts back to the Earth during this time of planetary crisis.
We call upon the world’s wisdom traditions and spiritual teachers to bless and guide us. We pray for the interconnected web of life: the wilderness everywhere, the hidden minerals, the billions of life forms in each handful of soil; the water, green plants, wind, air, and music; the mothers and babies of all species; the sun, moon, and stars of all galaxies; the animals underground, the wild creatures of water and land, the birds and all who fly; the flowers, fragrance, and beauty of nature; and the Holy Human Family, living in harmony with creation while exploring hope, dreams, and visions of an ecological civilization.
Visualization: Please close your eyes and imagine the Earth as if standing on the Moon. Pray for every continent and ocean—from Africa to South America, north and south, east and west, through Ireland, Germany, England, India, China, and Australia, circling back through Italy and the Mediterranean, and finally returning here to Oregon and the John Cobb Eco Farm.
Prayer:
Dear God, known to us by many names, we pray for your will to be done. Amen.
Prayers for the Inner Fruits of the Spirit
Please offer these inner qualities as gifts back to the Earth. She needs this spiritual food during this time of planetary crisis:
Hope
Forbearance and Long-Suffering
Love of Enemies and Forgiveness
Patience
Generosity
Gentleness
Goodness
Peace and Self-Control
Kindness
Faithfulness
Joy
Courage and Creativity
Interfaith Prayers
We pray with our ancestors and spiritual teachers across traditions:
Indigenous and shamanic wisdom traditions
Hagar, Mother of Islam, and her son Ishmael
Jesus on Love Your Enemy Lane
St. Brigid and the triple goddess of pre-Christian Celtic spirituality
St. Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich
The Prophets of Judaism
Krishna and Radha, the air, wind, and vibrations of music in Hinduism
Mothers and children of all species
The Divine Feminine, Mother Mary, and baby Jesus
Countless mother goddesses with children throughout history and every culture
The Sun, the Moon, and all the galaxies
Buddha and Daoism, alongside our sister community, the Cobb Sunshine Eco Farm in China
St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi
Jesus and Mary Magdalene in the Rose and Resurrection Garden, where love is more powerful than death
The Barn is the final Prayer Station, dedicated to our Holy Human Family living in harmony with the natural world.
Caring for our COmmon Home
We are exploring biodynamic farming—similar to regenerative farming—through prayer and loving relationships that nurture the organic oneness of interspecies life here at the Secret Prayer Garden at the John Cobb Eco Farm. We pray for the land and honor the inner spiritual life of plants, animals, and humans. We celebrate our interconnected web of life and use no chemicals in our farming practices.
In 2020, we came to these five acres of fertile farmland and named this sacred place the John Cobb Eco Farm. We are dedicated to providing a safe harbor for children and their families, a place for young people to experience the wonder of the natural world, and a sanctuary to pray for the Earth.
Last year, we were able to donate more than 125 pounds of apples to the local Food Share Program.
Surrounded by thick forest, the land is home to wild animals including deer, blue jays, robins, and hawks. Located in Dallas, Oregon, the farm is just over an hour’s drive from Portland, about thirty minutes or less from Salem, an hour from the breathtaking Oregon Coast, and only two hours from the majestic Mount Hood rising on the horizon.
From right to left, our goats are Matthew, Mark, and Luke—Nigerian Dwarf goats who enjoy walking with a harness around the farm and love to eat almost anything. Children can hand-feed them and delight in watching them play.
Our current ecological crisis is a call to awaken to the reverence of life and the truth that all nature is alive, sacred, and that Earth is one organic whole. As we witness the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth—the only one caused by humans—we are invited to reclaim the wisdom of ancient traditions. We are interbeings, interspecies, and part of an interconnected whole. What we do affects everyone else.
We have converted the barn into an art gallery, creative workspace, theater, and dance studio, and we are currently painting murals on its walls. Our vision also includes building an artistic, ecological chapel—a sacred space to pray for Mother Earth and all her creatures.
The Secret Garden Retreat Center at the John Cobb Eco Farm
Dallas, Oregon
A place to commune with nature.
Come and pray for the Earth and our interconnected web of life here at our Eco Farm and Retreat Center, named after our inspired teacher Dr. John Cobb. Exploring biodynamic farming, we are becoming an Eco Sister Farm with Dr. Mei Fang’s Eco Sunshine Farm in China.
Come, rest, and be healed by the beauty of this pastoral paradise. Be nourished by healthy food grown and prayed for in our gardens. Our goats, ducks, chickens, deer, robins, hummingbirds, cats, and dog are loving daily companions. At night, we gather beneath a magnificent, star-filled sky.
We are committed to being a loving community where dreams and visions of an ecological civilization are shared and honored. Come and get away from the concrete and toxins of city life. Take a rest cure of solitude with the sweet companionship of trees, breezes, flowers, fields of grass, and winged and four-legged creatures—all longing to be in loving relationship with you.
We invite you to share in a daily mid-day vegetarian community meal, accompanied by inspirational words, music, and prayers. Come dig, water, and sing to the sacred Earth. Children are especially welcome!
Programs and Activities
Retreatants are invited to:
Use the art studio in the barn
Join weekly programs such as Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer, Dream Sharing, Yoga, and Sunday worship in the barn (weather permitting) with the animals
Enjoy bonfires, sing-alongs, charades, and dance
Take time for quiet personal reflection
Spiritual direction and counseling sessions are available upon request.
Location
We are less than an hour’s drive from the spectacular Oregon Coast, with breathtaking beaches and hiking trails. Wineries abound in the fertile Willamette Valley, and we are just a few miles from Salem, the capital of Oregon. For travelers flying into Portland International Airport, we are only an hour and a half drive away.
We dedicate our service and prayers to the love and care of our common home, Mother Earth.
Please contact us for more information.
Juno & MAISEY
Our farm dogs
