Spirit Center Retreats

Spirit Center facilitated group retreat offerings.

Exploring Nature's Gifts 2026

With Sr. Carlotta Fontes, OSB

June 25 - 28, 2026
Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude
“Our backyard is an abundant source of God’s gift of healing plants to us.” Discover what ancient herbal wisdom has to show us today. Learn how to identify and harvest herbs in order to make herbal teas, salves, and more. The retreat activities will take participants onto the Monastery of St. Gertrude hillside for hands-on experience.

Sensing the Divine with St Hildegard of Bingen

With Karla Neumann Smiley, Obl.S.B.

July 7 - 10, 2026
Monastery of St. Gertrude, Spirit Center

St. Hildegard of Bingen was a 12th century Benedictine mystic, visionary, artist, composer, herbalist, and Doctor of the Church.  A polymath who has left us with a vast array of music, writing, art, and inspiration, Hildegard’s life and work offer a rich and multi-sensory experience.  In this retreat we will engage our five senses as […]

Come to the Quiet

With Retreat Team

July 17 - 24, 2026
Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude

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. Come To The Quiet retreatants stay in a private room with a private bathroom, receive three meals a day, and access all of Spirit […]

Experiencing Creation as CREATION

With Mary Litch

August 9 - 14, 2026
Spirit Center
This outdoor-focused retreat aims to give participants the experience of God’s presence in the natural world. The retreat journey starts by introducing Franciscan (Catholic) theology, which emphasizes God’s immanence in the world. From there, we use a variety of indoor and outdoor exercises to build an attitude of gratitude for and mindfulness of the natural world, culminating in an outdoor exercise that leads participants to “step into Creation.” On the final retreat day, we use exercises based on Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si, to examine the implications of God’s immanence in Creation on our actions.

Mappa Divina 2026

With Heather Berndt

September 10 - 13, 2026

Are you facing the uncertainties of midlife, questioning where you are and what lies ahead? Do you long for a renewed sense of purpose and a deeper, more authentic spirituality as you step into this transformative season of life? Mappa Divina© offers a creative and contemplative process to help you reconnect with your soul’s path as […]

A Watercolor Journey II

With Pearl Maxner

September 15 - 17, 2026
Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude

St. Benedict highlighted the role of artisans in monastic life.  The Center for Benedictine Life fosters awareness of the sacred moment, tending the inner life and the beauty of creation.  Art is essential to the contemplative path.  It expresses new ways to “see” the invisible and participate with the Divine and the human. Surrounded by […]

Introduction to Centering Prayer

With Donna Kreiensieck and Mary Bieter

September 18 - 20, 2026
Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude

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 […]

Spiritual Discipline of Contemporary Iconography

With Kara Gillette

October 8 - 14, 2026
Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude

Iconography Retreats are a time to break from our busy modern lives and connect deeply with God through the ancient practice of icon writing. Throughout this 6-day retreat, instructor Kara Gillette will provide detailed instruction, as well as individual support, guiding the process using a combination of traditional techniques and processes with the aid of […]

The Letter : An Intimate Pilgrimage

With Cheryl Johnson and Tim Oberholzer

October 27 - 31, 2026
Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude
On this pilgrimage we will accompany each other on this personal road to Emmaus.  We will begin by finding one “person” (family member, friend, colleague, Saint, God, pet, tree, animal, house, strangers within and without, etc) with whom we will explore on pilgrimage. We will address our letters to this person.  By the end of our pilgrimage, each retreatant will leave with a stack of letters.  Perhaps, ready for mailing or for storing or for continuing the journey.  Each day we will explore a variety of ways to write these letters--expressing gratitude, forgiveness, discord, healing—whatever surfaces and asks for attention. 

The Healing Power of Listening

With Allen Tacke

November 5 - 8, 2026
Monastery of St. Gertrude, Spirit Center
Listening is a step removed form hearing. It is conscious, deliberate and intentional. Listening is an art and a skill that does need conscious effort, practice and development. It is the basis of our relationships with each other and ourselves. At its highest, the genuine act of listening can even be healing. During this four-day retreat we will dive deeply into listening and its many different aspects. Ways of listening to yourself and to others will be demonstrated and explored with the focus of the retreat coming from the maxim: “You can only treat others the way you treat yourself.” You are invited to join us as we endeavor to become a better instrument of listening and healing as spoken by St. Francis so long ago: “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.”