Retreat centers are “national parks for the soul”. *
We invite you to join us in imagining a network of possibility for retreat centers. Please share your ideas with us through this 5-minute survey about your work.
About Us. We represent five different retreat organizations that have come together with an interest in collaborating: Commonweal (CA), Kirkridge (PA), Transformations Spirituality Center (MI), as well as Seasons and GilChrist, both operated by the Fetzer Institute. We have identified some shared interests and patterns of challenge faced by retreat centers, particularly around economic sustainability and accessibility for diverse populations. We seek to address these questions in collaboration with other retreat centers through a process of collective input, creativity, and discernment. If you are interested in contributing, please complete the survey as an initial step.
Shared Interests. Together, we seek to understand the common threads of our retreat work as a foundation for developing a broader collaboration. We have identified three working elements as central values of the centers we represent:
- The role of intentionally designed places in nurturing contemplation, compassion, community, and learning;
- The essential wholeness of the inner and outer life of individuals, experienced in the continuous interplay between self-reflection and action in service to the broader world;
- The specific power of the retreat experience to contribute to the regenerative healing of society at large, including the natural world of which we humans are a part.
Do these elements resonate with your work? If so, please consider adding your voice—even if you’re not sure your work fits any traditional definition of retreat. This online survey will help map the current retreat ecosystem, expand beyond our current networks, and consider future possibilities. We are interested in hearing from a broad range of voices—centers large and small with many kinds of programming, and providers of various backgrounds—and we look forward to being surprised! Kindly submit your response by November 20.
Thank you for your interest and for the work you do in your place to bring healing to individuals and to the world through retreat.
Peace,
Steering Committee for the Fetzer Institute Retreat Center Collaboration
* A description used by Jean Richardson to describe the true gifts of retreat centers to the world.
We’re delighted to publish this post on behalf of the Fetzer Institute and to be invited into this collaboration.
Michael Lindfield says
Dear friends,
I have just submitted a response to the Retreat Center survey from Meditation Mount. My apologies for being a few days late!
We are registered as a non-profit organization under the name Meditation Groups, Inc. (MGI)
Blessings,
Michael
Christine Lines says
Thank you Michael, I appreciate you engaging in the survey!
many blessings,
Christine