Spirit Center Retreats

Relax in God's presence, surrounded by natural beauty and supported by a praying community. Experience a week of silence for your heart, soul, mind, and body. Let go and listen deeply.

In today’s world, we are being exposed to many faces of violence. Poverty, climate change, nuclear weapons, refugee rights, preparation and response to future pandemics, Healthcare crisis, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights, gender equality, disinformation, freedom of the press, violence within our school, families, and communities, mass shootings, corruption, just to name a few. In light of this reality, how do we regain our inner peace and what is our role as peacemakers? During this weekend experience, we hope to discover ways to gain some inner peace and become peacemakers within our family, our neighborhoods, and our world communities.   Spirit…

Many people today are discovering a deep hunger for God at their core.  The ancient Benedictine monastic tradition is a way of life designed to help people live a life focused on God. In this nine-month program, we will focus on how ordinary people can integrate Benedictine monastic prayer, values, and structures into their lives outside of a monastery. The program begins with a week-long retreat at the Monastery of St. Gertrude.  Over the next nine months, participants will take online classes in Benedictine spirituality, participate in online discussions with other participants, explore suggested readings, and do regular integration/reflection exercises. …

St. Benedict frequently unites silence and prayer in the work of seeking God. Centering prayer is one of several prayer practices that flow out of Benedictine Life. Thomas Merton describes centering prayer as "a 'return to the heart,' finding one's deepest center, awakening the profound depths of our being in the presence of God." The goal is to be present to the Lord and aware of the divine action within you. This introductory retreat will provide the background and fundamentals of Centering Prayer and teach how to develop a continuing practice.

Whether already retired or preparing for retirement, you can redefine the way you live into the second half of your life through an examination of the wisdom of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Richard Johnson and the values of Benedictine spirituality. Explore the challenge with others on the journey.

Autumn presents marvelous opportunities for spiritual housecleaning, to refresh the way we look at God, at ourselves, at others, and at the world. Using concepts drawn from Benedictine and Franciscan spirituality, this holistic retreat will provide suggestions and insights about decluttering body, mind, and soul, shaking the dust off old ideas, and rearranging what is important, in order to move forward on a journey of gratitude, with openness and awareness that every experience, every person we meet, can teach us valuable lessons that bring us closer to God.   Spirit Center and the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery…

November is a month when we naturally think of GRATITUDE as we near the time of Thanksgiving and the culmination of our summer and fall season activities.  This yoga retreat will focus on our deep inner need to begin each day with an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE and a brief time of silence and reflection.  There will be a variety of yoga sessions focusing on restorative/gentle yoga as well as exploring how challenge within our yoga postures can also bring about a sense of gratitude for how our bodies move and stretch. Beginning “yogis” welcome! Please bring a mat, blocks, or…