Event Details
Rediscovering the Sacred Garden (5-Day Silent Retreat)
Cancellation policy
Overnight or Multi-day/weekend retreats: $50 fee. Day Retreat: $20. Fees may be applied to future retreats. The fees may be waived in event of extenuating circumstances. Contact Kateri at 925-837-9141 x315.
About the Event
“Deep in the soul the acres lie of virgin lands,
of sacred woods where waits the Spirit…”
Jessica Powers
Our Sacred texts situate the beginnings of life in a garden. From ancient times the garden has been a metaphor for encounter with the Divine. Gardens represent spaces of great potential which can promote healing and learning, create romantic bonds, and even send characters into mystical realms. … Gardens are a concrete connection to the circle of life, death, and resurrection. They sprout with resurrected life in the spring and summer, slowly ripening to fullness that is eventually revealed as seed which begins the cycle anew. From death comes new life and hope. Toil, care and time commitment makes this possible. Each planting, weeding, and gardening season bestows the gifts of joy, quiet time, contemplation, and beauty. St. Teresa of Avila uses the garden as a metaphor for our own lives. She writes that we must “cultivate a garden on very barren soil full of weeds” and that we “must take pains to water [the seeds] so they don’t wither but bud and flower.”
This five day silent directed retreat will explore SoulSpace from a Franciscan perspective through the interplay of insights from a variety of mystics from the 11th through the 21st centuries along with guided imagery, lectio divina, and embodied prayer practices that nurture our inner being as well as the outer expression of vibrant Gospel living.
This silent retreat is limited to 25 people.
Registration begins on Aug. 9 between 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm.
6:00 pm – Dinner.
7:00 pm – First Session. And each person follow the schedule until Aug. 14, concludes with lunch at 12:00 pm and departure after lunch.
All bedrooms are non-smoking. Please call Kateri at 925-785-9850 if you prefer making your reservation by phone. Thank you.
About the Presenter(s)
Sister Margie Will, OSFPresenter Website
Margie Will is a Sister of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Franciscan Living Urban Center for Spirituality in Sacramento, California. In addition to ministering as a spiritual director and retreat facilitator, she is a storyteller, singer, and poet. She holds certificates in Spiritual Direction and SoulCollage® as well as a Masters of Theological Studies degree from the Franciscan School of Theology, formerly in Berkeley, California.
During her twenty-five year career working as a pastoral minister in Roman Catholic churches, eleven of those years in Sacramento, Margie noticed a striking trend: Even though scores of people inquired regarding affiliation with a parish every year, a significant percentage did not actually follow through. When asked why they chose not to affiliate, many responded that while they appreciated the social, charitable, and ethical aspects of affiliation, they were not able to join the church due to difficulty with ecclesial stances on marriage, divorce, sexuality, role of women, and a variety of other teachings. A number expressed the wish that there could be a place that fostered community, outreach, and spiritual questioning that embraced a diversity of opinion and practice. Thus, Franciscan Living was born.
