A six month journey into the spirit of indigenous wisdom begins in Surrey

This autumn, the tranquil grounds of St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth, will host a powerful new educational series exploring the sacred traditions of Indigenous peoples around the world.

Titled “Indigenous Spirituality: A Global Exploration,” and led by experienced speaker Sheila Longman, the six monthly sessions will take place in the Abbey’s Assisi Room on selected Saturdays from September 2025 to March 2026. Each session runs from 10am–12 noon, offering deep insights, personal testimony, and curated documentary material. Tickets are £10 per person per session, or £25 for three people, with advance booking essential via https://www.ticketsource.co.uk (search “Indigenous”): CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

Indigenous Spirituality: A Global Exploration
Six Monthly Sessions | Led by Sheila Longman

Held in the Assisi Room in the beautiful setting of St Augustine's Abbey, Chilworth near Guildford GU4 8QR
10am-12 noon on selected Saturdays from September 2025 - January 2026

£10 per person per session or £25 for three people (save £5) - booking fee applies

Advance booking essential via ticketsource.co.uk (search 'indigenous')

What can the world’s oldest cultures teach us about the sacred, the land and our shared human journey? In this six part series, Sheila Longman invites us on a continent by continent exploration of Indigenous spirituality - ancient traditions still alive today.

From the wisdom of Ubuntu in Africa to the ancestral rituals of South America, from Aboriginal survival lore in Australia to the spiritual heritage of pre-Christian Britain, each session offers a window into how people across time and place have sought to live in harmony with the divine, the earth and one another. Combining personal testimony, expert insights and powerful documentary material, this series is both educational and deeply reflective - an invitation to see the sacred in new and ancient ways.

🌀 Indigenous Spirituality: A Global Exploration
Six Monthly Sessions | Led by Sheila Longman

1. Introductory Session
📅 Saturday 6 September 2025
An opening session to introduce the series and the journey ahead — across continents and cultures — exploring how Indigenous spirituality speaks to our modern lives.

2. Africa – “Out of Africa”
📅 Saturday 25 October 2025

Maps showing the development of human beings all show that Africa was the starting place. Arrows indicate the trails of the various levels of humans until Homo Sapiens spreading across the world.

A nurse from Kenya will tell us her understanding of African Spirituality in explaining Ubuntu. The summary of the talk by Dr Tarcisius Mukuka from Zambia gives us the wider picture. Dr Tarcisius taught at St John’s Seminary and led the Forum on Africa for our study group. An excerpt from Ancestral Voices, DVD will inform us more of Esoteric African Knowledge, a challenging and enlightening topic.

3. North America (USA & Canada)
📅 Saturday 22 November 2025

We have gleaned a great deal of our understanding of Cowboys and Indians from the old American Westerns. Over the years, we have come to understand that various tribal groups with their own languages were the First Nation Peoples of this great land before there was a border with Canada. The DVD War against the Indians, will recount the history, treatment of the natives and attitudes towards them now.

4. South America
📅 Saturday 24 January 2025

William Duarte who is a brother at the Abbey will tell us about some of the ancient rituals he learned of through his mother who lives now in Chile. William was born in Venezuela but was brought up in Portugal. Many of the ancient rituals are mixed with Catholicism and are still used today. We shall then have a rapid overview of the peoples and countries of this large continent. Our DVD will feature one tribe, the Tairona people of Colombia from Lost Cities of South America by Dr Jago Cooper. Finally a man who lived, worked and wrote about Peru will tell us of his experiences.

5. Australia
📅 Saturday 28 February 2025

Life down under: The early TV series Neighbours included no Aborigines.

Aborigines are probably the longest surviving tribal peoples in the whole world. The map reveals in the island continent, many different tribal peoples with their own Languages; an area bigger than most of Europe.

Today, the Australian Army sends recruits into the bush to be trained on how to survive by the resident Aborigines. We watch part of the wonderful First Footprints ABC TV series and consider the importance of the book The Aboriginal Giftby Eugene Stockton.

6. United Kingdom
📅 Saturday 28 March 2025

Back before the Celts and the Druids, tribal peoples lived in our land. We shall consider the various invasions, the spiritual practices, the arrival of Christianity with the Romans and the growth of the Celtic Christian church before St Augustine arrived. The role of the Trinity plays an important part in these developing communities. We shall see a DVD by Noel Oliver on The Sacred Places of Britain.

We just may need a FEEDBACK session after all this.