Ash Grove Women’s Retreat

The Ash Grove at Richmond Hill: A Retreat to Nurture the Feminine Spirit

November 8-9, 2019

(4 p.m. Friday – 4 p.m. Saturday)

Richmond Hill Retreat Center

2209 E. Grace Street

Richmond, VA 23223

*Open to all women and those who want to nurture the feminine within

 

Click here to register online

Click here to download the print brochure and register by mail

 

Turnings  with Leslie Shiel 

from “The Journey” by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice–

 

 

Photo credit: Briget Ganske

Who are you at this moment in your life? Is there a singular story of your life? Or are there versions of your story that you tell yourself and others? Using Mary Oliver’s poem “The Journey” as a starting point, we’ll welcome, name, question, and honor our multiple stories, enriching our exploration by reading poems and prose by Linda Hogan, Donika Kelly, Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Alexander, Adrienne Rich, Molly Peacock, Rita Dove, Jack Myers, Jane Hirshfield, Brian Doyle, Mary Catherine Bateson, Stanley Kunitz, and other writers. Through discussion, journaling (which you may choose to keep private), lectio divina, artwork (any form that calls you), you will reconsider, reframe, and give one of your past stories a new place in your spiritual history. We’ll also help each other uncover and recognize the voice of a current longing.

Leslie Shiel is the author of the poetry chapbooks Self-Portrait as a New Name and Braided (Finishing Line Press). She teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University (“Writing Poetry,” “Nature Writing,” and “Medicine in Literature”) and at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond (“Advanced Poetry”). She is a Quaker (who is also involved at Richmond Hill), married, and the mother of a 20-year-old daughter.

THIS YEAR: Participants will be provided with a selection of poetry and readings that will deepen our discussion of turnings in the spiritual journey. The Rev. Dr. Sandi Goehring will be back with us this year to introduce us to her “old friends” – the Beguines. We will have options for yoga, art, and time to have conversations with friends. If you like to knit, crochet, doodle, journal, or otherwise craft and create – bring your supplies with you!

ABOUT RICHMOND HILL:

Housing is on location, in one and two-bed bedrooms. Some people will have a roommate; if there is someone you would like to be paired with, please indicate that on your registration.  Retreat space bathrooms are shared single-person hallway facilities (shower, sink, and toilet) and before we leave, we will make our beds with clean sheets and a prayer for the next person who sleeps there.

Meals are taken in the Refectory, and the lounge is cozy for conversations. Overnight accommodations are limited to the first thirty who register for the event.

COST:   $95, includes dinner Friday, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday, Check with Pastor Kerra for pricing if you do not plan to stay overnight,

 

Questions? Please contact:

Pastor Kerra Becker English

kerra.english@gmail.com 

(865)765-2944