Remembrance Weekend Retreat

"And 'all the company of heaven' means everybody we ever loved and lost, including the ones we didn't know we loved until we lost them or didn't love at all. It means people we never heard of. It means everybody who ever did—or at some unimaginable time in the future ever will—come together at something like this table in search of something like what is offered at it." (Frederick Buechner)

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Join us… for a weekend retreat as the days grow shorter and the New England autumn colors still abound. 

Join us…as we transition from the lighter half to the darker half of the year, where the veil lies thin through space and time. 

Join us...as we take time to remember loved ones whom we have lost and honor the grief we feel while celebrating their legacy and impact they've left in our lives.

Join us...for a Remembrance Retreat Weekend.

Our time together during our Remembrance Retreat (Friday, October 31 to Sunday, November 2) will use two intuitive practices: walking the labyrinth and creating SoulCollage® cards as we honor All Hallow’s Eve (Oct 1), All Saints Day (Nov 1), and All Souls Day (Nov 2). Time for personal reflection and community building will empower you to honor, respect, revere those who have passed, to be present with Holy Presence, and to look forward to a hope filled and peace filled future.

You will have many opportunities to walk the labyrinth with meaning as we remember friends, family members and the “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) who have passed through the veil of death. Put your feet to your prayers as you take each step, twist, and turn on the labyrinth path.

You are invited to create a remembrance altar or shrine in honor of one or more of your ancestors. This shrine or altar is a way of remembering through art. Shrines or altars of Remembrance are often created during November as we celebrate the feasts of All Saints and All Souls during this time. Please bring photos, items such as favorite recipes or books, flags or maps of ancestral lands, scarves, artwork, stories to share, etc. Writing and art supplies will be available for you to create your own remembrances to place on the shrine or altar in honor of your loved ones.

You are also invited on the journey of SoulCollage® during this time of remembrance. Our life can be viewed as a type of collage-a unique collection of people, places and experiences-a “work of art”. Combining images to make SoulCollage® cards gives us a way to get to know and integrate various parts of ourselves through using our intuition. During this process we often encounter: synchronicity, sacredness, and surprise. All materials and supplies for SoulCollage® will be provided.

Join us for a weekend of remembrance through SoulCollage® and the labyrinths. (Rolling Ridge has two outdoor labyrinths and two indoor canvas labyrinths.) Sessions will include learning about labyrinths and SoulCollage®, optional remembrance art opportunities and writing prompts, personal reflection time, and daily devotions/vespers. Coffee and tea abound, oportunities to meet new and old friends, and yummy meals will fill your own souls at Rolling Ridge this weekend.

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Cost for the weekend: $370 includes all programming, two overnights in a single room, and six meals (Friday dinner to Sunday lunch).

Commuter rate: $285 includes all programming for the weekend and six meals.

Because of the nature of this retreat, there is no part-time rate.  You are encouraged to join us for the full weekend experience (Friday night through Sunday lunch).

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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

Friday, October 31

- 3pm Arrival

- 6pm Dinner

- 7pm Opening Session

Saturday, November 1

- 8am Breakfast

- 9am Morning Circle

- 10:15am Soul Collage

- 12:30pm Lunch

- 2:00 pm Soul Collage, personal reflection, Free Time

- 6pm Dinner

- 7pm Evening Circle and vespers

Sunday, November 2

- 8am Breakfast

- 9am Closing Circle

- 12 pm Lunch