October 16–18, 2026 · Woodlands Retreat · Nunnelly, Tennessee

The First Christian Transhumanist Retreat

Three days on 300 wooded acres — a lake, trails, a chapel, fire and conversation late into the night. Fewer talks, more table.

Hear about the next one

For ten years we've gathered online and on conference stages to ask one question together: what does it mean to follow Christ into the future? In October 2026, for the first time, we took that question into the woods. A retreat, not a conference — less presenting, more presence.

About two dozen of us spent a weekend at Woodlands Retreat in Tennessee: talks from across the community, songs on Friday night, meals around shared tables, and conversation by the fire late into the night. The talks ran long because people kept talking back, which was the point.

The theme that held our weekend: The Future and the Face of Christ.

  • Two geese on a still lake in early morning mist.
    Morning on the water
  • The lodge great room, with a vaulted timber ceiling and tall windows.
    The great room
  • A rock bluff above a still creek, surrounded by autumn woods.
    The trails
  • The timber-and-stone lodge where we'll be staying.
    The lodge
  • The lake in autumn colour, with a fountain and cattails along the near bank.
    The lake
  • Aerial view of the property: wooded hills, a lake, and gravel roads winding through.
    300 acres
  • A narrow creek running through dense green woods.
    Creeks and hollows
  • A dock on the lake with paddle boats tied alongside.
    The dock
  • A cabin with a deck overlooking the water, framed by trees.
    Cabins by the water
  • A long covered porch looking out over the lawn toward the water.
    Covered porch
  • An open-sided pavilion with a white truss ceiling, set with rows of chairs.
    Room to gather
  • A deer looking back through autumn leaves at the edge of the woods.
    The neighbors
  • A small white clapboard chapel with arched windows and a cupola.
    The chapel
  • The white chapel lit up against the dark.
    The chapel at night

What we came to talk about

A pro-human technological future

The five supers — super-longevity, super-intelligence, super-embodiment, super-abundance, super-ecology — and how we work for the best possible future now. Steering between the AI apocalypses: AI as a blessing and not a curse.

Christian theology in light of the radical future

Simulation, Creation, the Multiverse, the Singularity — and the radical imagination of Christian theology. The Bible in an age of exponential change: and a faith that isn't looking for the exit. CS Lewis, NT Wright, GK Chesterton, Teilhard de Chardin, Nikolai Fedorov, Francis Bacon, and the ancient fathers and mothers of the church.

Rising faith in a technological age

Christianity for Secular Rationalists: rationalism, empiricism, pragmatism, and the epistemology of the faith of the future. Transhumanism for Sunday school class (a transhumanism your grandmother can use). How to talk to your friends about the future.

The weekend

Thank you to everyone who came. If the future makes your faith come alive, join us and be there next time.

— The Christian Transhumanist Association