Contemplative Retreats
Upcoming Retreats
Thresholds as Invitations – A Contemplative Retreat in the Manner of Friends will take place October 26-29, 2023 at the Avila Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Reconnecting With the Divine in One Another – A Contemplative Retreat in the Manner of Friends will take place on in May 2-5, 2024 at the Siena Center in Racine, Wisconsin.
About the Weekend Retreats
During the retreat, participants will experience the distinctly Quaker manner of knowing solitude in community. There will be individual silent time for prayer, reflection, rest, walks, and contemplative interaction with scripture and other spiritual resources. Meals will be taken in silence, and an evening spent in “active silence,” where we will gather comfortably to read, journal, do hand-work or artwork, or engage in some similar quiet activity.
Sinking down into the silence, we may want to give voice occasionally to what is encountered there. Thus there will also be opportunities for speaking out of the silence in groups, as well as an invitation to meet one-on-one with a retreat leader. In our sharing, our souls touch and we find ourselves gathered in blessed community.
Space is limited, so please consider registering early. We offer flexible fees based on your assessment of your means. If the “minimum” cost is not within your means, please contact us: info@schoolofthespirit.org.
You may also include a donation to support another Friend’s attendance. The School of the Spirit Ministry is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Religious Society of Friends.
Retreat Leaders
Catherine Cox (Goose Creek, Baltimore Yearly Meeting) is a graduate of the School of the Spirit Ministry’s program On Being a Spiritual Nurturer and also of the Shalem Institute’s program Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Spiritual Groups and Retreats. She has facilitated contemplative retreats under the care of the School of the Spirit for the past ten years.
Thais Carr (Nashville, Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting) is a graduate of The School of the Spirit program On Being a Spiritual Nurturer as well as the Heart Longings program through Shalem. She is a crafter and gardener in addition to sharing her life with rescued dogs and cats.
Elizabeth Evans (Milwaukee, Northern Yearly Meeting) joins us as a mentee through our retreat leadership mentoring program. She is a graduate of the Siena Center’s Spiritual Guidance Training Program and has been part of a monthly letter-writing spiritual nurture group for more than two decades.
Scott Wagoner is senior pastor at High Point Friends Meeting (North Carolina Yearly Meeting of Friends) in High Point, North Carolina. He previously served for nineteen years as pastoral minister of Deep River Friends Meeting (North Carolina Fellowship of Friends) in High Point, North Carolina. He is a graduate of Taylor University and the Earlham School of Religion. Scott is also a certified Development Coach and is President/Founder of Growing Edge Resources. He has also trained with the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in leading contemplative groups and retreats. He currently serves as clerk of School of the Spirit’s contemplative retreats committee.
April Allison is a member of Red Cedar Monthly Meeting (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting), a spiritual director and an experienced retreat leader. She has led contemplative retreats under the care of the School of the Spirit in Wisconsin and Michigan since 2012.
Jan Blodgett is a member of Davidson (NC) Monthly Meeting (North Carolina Yearly Meeting [Conservative]) and a graduate of our program On Being a Spiritual Nurturer. She has led a number of retreats, most recently in North Carolina.
Linda Chidsey is a recorded minister in New York Yearly Meeting and former clerk of that yearly meeting. She was a member of the very first class of On Being a Spiritual Nurturer. Among other retreats, Linda has led an annual retreat at Powell House with Carolyn Moon for about 20 years.
Sharon Frame is a member of Red Cedar Monthly Meeting (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting) and a graduate of the School of the Spirit’s On Being a Spiritual Nurturer program. She has served as director at Beacon Hill Friends House (Boston) and as resident friend at Friends Meeting at Cambridge. She is now leading contemplative retreats in Michigan.
Roger Hansen is a member of Milwaukee Monthly Meeting (Northern Yearly Meeting) and has led retreats in Wisconsin since 2014.
Carolyn Moon is a member of Gwynedd Monthly Meeting (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) and has facilitated Contemplative Retreats with Linda Chidsey for many years.
