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Retreat House

Retreat House Spirituality Center fosters spiritual growth through community engagement, offering programs that inspire wisdom, compassion, and purpose. They create spaces for reflection, conversation, and exploration of transformative ideas and practices.

Each Wednesday, Retreat House opens its doors for SouperSoul, a simple lunch of homemade soup, warm conversation, and a contemplative practice. Some weeks we&#39;ll share a guided reflection, meditation, creative practice, or meaningful conversation. Every week, we make room to slow down, reconnect, and enjoy community together.

Souper Soul Lunch RSVP

Across spiritual traditions, fire has long been a symbol of transformation, purification, offering, and renewal. Join Lavanga Schlette for an experience of the&nbsp;Vedic fire ceremony, an ancient practice rooted in the spiritual traditions of India. Traditionally offered in relationship with significant rhythms and transitions&mdash;from sunrise and sunset to lunar cycles and other celestial events&mdash;the ceremony creates an intentional space for prayer, reflection, gratitude, and peaceful change. At the center of the practice is the kunda, a square vessel oriented toward the four directions. As the fire burns, offerings of grains, ghee, herbs, and seeds are placed into the flame while traditional mantras are repeated.Together, we&#39;ll gather around the fire and experience this sacred practice as an invitation to release what we are ready to let go of, offer our intentions, and make room for peace, joy, and what may be emerging.Whether the Vedic tradition is familiar to you or completely new, you are welcome to come with curiosity and experience a spiritual practice that has been shared across generations.

Vedic Fire Ceremony & Dinner

Experience an evening of music, meditation, and community through the ancient practice of&nbsp;kirtan&mdash;a heart-centered form of mantra meditation rooted in the Bhakti tradition. Using simple call-and-response chanting accompanied by live music, kirtan invites participants into a rhythm of presence, reflection, and connection with the Divine through sacred sound. No musical experience is necessary&mdash;only a willingness to listen, participate, and be present. Following the meditation, we&#39;ll share a brief conversation about the practice and enjoy a vegan, gluten-free dinner together. Whether you&#39;re exploring kirtan for the first time or returning to a familiar practice, you&#39;re warmly invited to come as you are and experience an evening of contemplation, connection, and hospitality led by Lavanga and Aditi.

Kirtan Meditation Practice & Dinner

Some of life&#39;s most meaningful conversations happen around a table. Together at the Table is a recurring community gathering where people come together to share food, stories, ideas, and authentic conversation. In a world that often feels rushed, divided, or overwhelming, this is an opportunity to slow down, listen deeply, and discover the wisdom that emerges when people gather with openness and curiosity. Each gathering is shaped by those who attend. Conversations grow naturally from the questions, experiences, and interests people bring, creating space for thoughtful dialogue, meaningful connection, and a renewed sense of hope. Whether you come with a story to share, a question to explore, or simply a desire to be in community, there is a place for you at the table. Participants are invited to bring a small plate to share if they&#39;re able, though everyone is welcome regardless. Together at the Table reflects the heart of Retreat House&mdash;a place of hospitality, brave conversation, sacred storytelling, and belonging where all are invited to gather. This group typically meets on the 4th Saturday of each month (third Saturdays in November &amp; December) from 5:00 - 7:00 pm.&nbsp;

Together At The Table

Once a month, pause in the middle of your week and allow the gentle sounds of the harp to create space for rest, reflection, and renewal. On the third Wednesday of each month, local harpist Patsy Sadowski offers a contemplative musical experience accompanied by poetry, prayer, and thoughtfully chosen readings. Together, they create a peaceful hour that invites you to slow down, listen deeply, and reconnect with the sacred. Following the meditation, you&#39;re invited to stay for SouperSoul&mdash;a simple lunch of homemade soup, warm conversation, and community around the table. Please let us know you&#39;re coming so we can prepare a place for you.

Harp Meditation Gathering

Discover the richness of Celtic spirituality through prayer, reflection, and contemplative practice. Led by spiritual director Sharon Hudak, this monthly gathering draws from the wisdom of the Celtic Christian tradition and the writings of voices such as John O&#39;Donohue,&nbsp;Ray Simpson, and others who invite us to encounter the sacred through creation, stillness, beauty, and everyday life. Together, we&#39;ll explore contemplative prayer practices that awaken our awareness of God&#39;s presence in the natural world, deepen our connection with the sacred, and nurture a more attentive way of living.Whether you&#39;re new to Celtic spirituality or have long been drawn to its wisdom, you&#39;ll find a welcoming community gathered for prayer, reflection, and shared discovery. Meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 11:45 a.m. in St. John&#39;s Room. All are welcome.Stay for lunch at 12:30 pm.&nbsp;

Contemplative Prayer in the Celtic Tradition

Join us each month as we explore the transformative practice of grateful living through thoughtful conversation, reflection, and community. Guided by the work of the&nbsp;Grateful Living organization, these gatherings invite participants to discover how gratitude can become more than an occasional feeling&mdash;it can become a way of seeing and engaging the world. Together, we&#39;ll explore practical practices, spiritual wisdom, and meaningful conversations that help cultivate greater presence, compassion, resilience, and purpose. The gatherings are facilitated by Richard Mickelson, a trained Grateful Living facilitator, using resources developed by the Grateful Living organization, inspired by the teachings of Br. David Steindl-Rast. Whether you&#39;re seeking encouragement, a deeper spiritual practice, or simply a welcoming community for reflection, you&#39;ll find a place here.All are welcome.

Gratefulness Gatherings

Every spiritual direction practice begins with a conversation.Sometimes it&#39;s with a directee. Sometimes it&#39;s with a mentor. And sometimes it&#39;s with another spiritual director who reminds us that we don&#39;t have to build this work alone. &nbsp;Whether you&#39;re newly trained, just beginning your practice, recently relocated to North Texas, or simply looking for a community of fellow practitioners, you&#39;re warmly invited to join us for the first EMERGE gathering. This evening is intentionally simple. We&#39;ll spend time getting to know one another, sharing our stories, talking honestly about the joys and challenges of building a spiritual direction practice, and imagining how we might support one another in the years ahead. There is no presentation to sit through and no networking agenda to accomplish. Just thoughtful conversation, genuine connection, and the opportunity to become part of a growing community of spiritual directors. Come as you are. We&#39;d love to meet you.

Emerge: The First Conversation

Join us for our October Retreat House Book Circle as we explore The Nature Fix together and consider our own relationships with nature. What restores us? Where do we experience connection and belonging? And how might intentionally spending time in the natural world become part of tending our inner lives? Come having read the book and ready for thoughtful conversation, reflection, and connection with others.

October Book Circle

What becomes possible when people of different faiths, cultures, and life experiences gather around the same table? Common Ground is a monthly interfaith gathering where curiosity is welcomed, stories are honored, and respectful conversation creates space for deeper understanding. Each month, participants share insights from their own spiritual traditions, cultural experiences, and practices while exploring a common theme together. More than a discussion, Common Ground is an opportunity to practice listening with compassion, discovering shared values, and building meaningful relationships across differences. It reflects the heart of Retreat House&mdash;a place where brave conversations, sacred stories, hospitality, and mutual respect create a community of belonging.A delicious lunch with options to accommodate a variety of dietary needs is provided. There is no cost to participate, and all are welcome.

Common Ground Interfaith Lunch

Join Jackie Linden Schade, pastor, spiritual director, and trained InterSpiritual Meditation (ISM) facilitator, along with Fran Shelton, author, pastor, and spiritual director, for a monthly gathering of contemplative practice, reflection, and community. InterSpiritual Meditation draws from the wisdom of the world&#39;s contemplative traditions while honoring the unique spiritual journey of each participant. Through guided meditation, silence, sacred readings, and shared reflection, these gatherings offer a welcoming space to deepen your inner life, cultivate presence, and explore the sacred with openness and curiosity. Whether you&#39;re new to meditation or have an established contemplative practice, you&#39;ll find a community committed to listening deeply, honoring diverse spiritual paths, and creating space for personal transformation. Join us in person at Retreat House on the second Sunday of each month from 5:00&ndash;7:00 pm All are warmly welcome.

Monthly InterSpiritual Meditation

Join us for a spacious morning of writing and reflection at the intersection of Earth, spirit, story, and self. Through gentle prompts, quiet listening, and unhurried writing time, we&#39;ll pay attention to the wisdom of the living world, the wildness within us, and the experiences that deepen our sense of belonging to the Earth and to one another.

Wild Spirituality Zoom Writing Session

Writing may begin in solitude, but it often grows in community.Join us each month for an online gathering where writers come together to share ideas, encourage one another, and reflect on the creative journey. Whether you&#39;re writing memoir, poetry, fiction, essays, journaling, or simply discovering your voice, Writers&#39; Gathering offers a welcoming space to connect with others who love the written word. Together, we&#39;ll explore what we&#39;re writing, why we&#39;re writing, where we&#39;re finding inspiration, and what challenges we&#39;re encountering along the way. No previous writing experience is necessary. Writers of all genres and every stage of the journey&mdash;from beginner to experienced&mdash;are warmly welcome. Facilitated by Gretchen Martens, Writers&#39; Gathering is a sacred space of giving and receiving where stories are honored, creativity is nurtured, and writers encourage one another as they continue discovering their unique voice.

Monthly Online Writer's Group

Inspired by the bestselling book Your Brain on Art and other readings, this four-session series invites us to become curious about the relationship between art, the brain, and the inner life. Together, we&#39;ll explore emerging research around creativity, movement, symmetry, nature, awe, and wonder&mdash;and consider how these experiences can influence attention, memory, resilience, relationships, community, and our overall sense of well-being. Along the way, we&#39;ll also turn the questions toward our own lives. What forms of creativity draw your attention? Why does certain music move you? What happens within us when we make something simply for the pleasure of making it? And what might beauty, creativity, and wonder teach us about living more fully? Each gathering will weave together accessible neuroscience, thoughtful conversation, personal reflection, and occasional simple creative experiences. You don&#39;t need to consider yourself an artist, and you don&#39;t need to know anything about neuroscience. Bring your curiosity, your questions, and a willingness to notice familiar things in new ways.

Arts & The Brain

Many people today sense that the world is asking something different of us. Beyond achievement, certainty, and constant striving, there is a growing longing for a way of living that is more grounded, connected, compassionate, and life-giving. This four-session course offers an engaging introduction to the Sacred Feminine&mdash;an ancient yet deeply relevant way of understanding ourselves, one another, and the world. Together, we&#39;ll explore themes of wisdom, intuition, interconnectedness, creativity, embodiment, and the restorative rhythms that invite us into a fuller way of living. Through teaching, conversation, reflective practices, and shared experience, you&#39;ll discover how the Sacred Feminine offers fresh insight into your own life while providing hope and perspective for the challenges of our time. Whether this language is familiar to you or completely new, you&#39;ll find a welcoming environment where curiosity is encouraged and questions are honored. Led by trained spiritual director Kim Verriere, the course draws on her years of study and her own framework for understanding the Sacred Feminine in practical and accessible ways. Each session includes content presentation, experiential practices, and interactive discussion designed to help participants both understand and embody these timeless themes.

The Sacred Feminine In Everyday Life

Few writers have invited us to pay attention to the world&mdash;and to our own lives&mdash;as gently and profoundly as Mary Oliver. Through her poetry, generations of readers have discovered a deeper appreciation for nature, beauty, love, grief, and the quiet mysteries of ordinary life. Join us for an online gathering as we reflect on the life and work of one of America&#39;s most beloved poets. Whether you&#39;ve admired Mary Oliver&#39;s writing for years or are just beginning to discover her voice, this conversation offers an opportunity to slow down, share what resonates, and explore how her words continue to speak into our lives today.Participants are encouraged&mdash;but not required&mdash;to watch the new PBS documentary, Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, before we gather.&nbsp; The film offers a beautiful introduction to Oliver&#39;s life, creative process, and enduring legacy through archival footage, personal photographs, interviews, and readings of her poetry. If you haven&#39;t seen the film, you&#39;re still warmly invited to join us. Together, we&#39;ll share favorite poems, personal reflections, and the ways Mary Oliver&#39;s writing has shaped our own journeys. Hosted by Tammy Minuti, this gathering is designed as an open conversation rather than a lecture. Bring a favorite poem, a passage that has stayed with you, or simply your curiosity and willingness to listen. Event DetailsMonday, September 21, 2026 10:00&ndash;11:30 a.m. (Central)On Zoom (Register for a Zoom Link)

Mary Oliver Pop-up Online Reflection Gathering

As summer gives way to autumn, join us for a contemplative morning of writing, reflection, and community. Through guided prompts, quiet writing, and meaningful conversation, we&#39;ll explore what this seasonal threshold may be inviting us to release, receive, and become. Whether you&#39;re an experienced writer or simply someone who journals, you&#39;ll discover writing as a practice of listening to your own life. Event Details Saturday, September 19, 2026 at Retreat House Coffee, tea, and light refreshments begin at 9:00 a.m. Retreat begins 9:30 a.m. &ndash; 12:30 p.m. Please bring: A journal, Pens or pencils Fee: $35

Autumn Contemplative Writing Retreat

The changing of the seasons has long invited us to pause, reflect, and notice what is shifting within us. As summer gives way to autumn, join us for an evening of contemplative practice that creates space to honor change&mdash;both in nature and in your own life. Through a deeply restorative sound bath and a guided creative art experience, you&#39;ll be invited to slow down, listen deeply, and give expression to what is emerging in this new season. Led by artist and Visual Energy Curator&nbsp;Krista Miller, this gentle evening is designed for anyone longing to reconnect with themselves, the sacred, and the rhythms of the natural world. No artistic experience is necessary&mdash;only a willingness to be present and curious. Together we&#39;ll explore how creativity can become a spiritual practice, helping us mark transitions with intention and openness. Whether you are entering a new chapter, releasing what no longer serves you, or simply seeking a quiet evening of beauty and reflection, this experience offers a welcoming space to listen, create, and begin again.

Sound & Color: Equinox Sound Bath + Art

Welcoming Autumn with Intention The changing of the seasons invites us to pause.As summer gives way to autumn, nature quietly begins the work of letting go. Leaves release from their branches. The pace begins to soften. The world reminds us that every season has its own wisdom&mdash;and every transition offers an invitation. Join Karen Hoffman and Sherry Ward for a contemplative day of reflection as we gather at this seasonal threshold. Together, we&#39;ll explore what we are being invited to release, what we are carrying into the months ahead, and how the rhythms of the natural world can guide our own inner lives. Throughout the retreat, you&#39;ll be invited into a variety of gentle contemplative practices, including creative expression, journaling, inspiring readings, music, and experiences drawn from the wisdom of nature. Everything is offered as an invitation&mdash;participate in the ways that feel meaningful to you. Whether you find yourself entering a new season of life, seeking space to reflect, or simply longing to slow down, this retreat offers a welcoming place to rest, listen, and prepare your heart for autumn. Friday, September 18, 2026 10:00 a.m. &ndash; 2:00 p.m.Retreat House Morning coffee, refreshments throughout the day, and lunch are included.

Autumn Threshold Retreat

For practicing spiritual directors, caregivers, coaches, guides, and contemplative practitioners who desire to help sustain and deepen the spiritual ecosystem of Retreat House.

For practicing spiritual directors, caregivers, coaches, guides, and contemplative practitioners who desire to help sustain and deepen the spiritual ecosystem of Retreat House.

Companion Circle

Sustaining Circle members ensure that Retreat House remains a vibrant home for spiritual companioning, contemplative practice, healing, and meaningful connection. Many members regularly meet with directees, clients, or small groups at Retreat House and are active participants in the wider life of the community.

Sustaining Circle members ensure that Retreat House remains a vibrant home for spiritual companioning, contemplative practice, healing, and meaningful connection. Many members regularly meet with directees, clients, or small groups at Retreat House and are active participants in the wider life of the community.

Sustaining Circle

For spiritual direction students and emerging practitioners who desire to grow in contemplative guidance, spiritual formation, and community.

For spiritual direction students and emerging practitioners who desire to grow in contemplative guidance, spiritual formation, and community.

Emerging Practitioner Circle

Rooted &amp; Resourced: A Supervision Retreat for Spiritual Directors and Compassionate Listeners is a small-group supervision retreat designed to nourish both your practice and your spirit. Set within the contemplative environment of Retreat House, this day offers an opportunity to step away from the demands of daily ministry and return to the heart of your calling. Through a blend of nature-based reflection, contemplative practice, individual discernment, and group supervision, participants will be invited to slow down, listen deeply, and attend to the questions emerging within their own work and lives.

Supervision Retreat

This November, the Retreat House Book Circle will gather around Writing Wild for a morning of thoughtful conversation, reflection, and connection. Our conversation will be led by author, publisher, and compassionate listener Gretchen Martens, offering us the unique opportunity to explore the book alongside its author. Come having read the book and ready to bring whatever caught your attention&mdash;the passages that stayed with you, questions that emerged, places of resonance or resistance, and connections to your own experience.

November Book Circle

So much of our lives is spent doing, responding, caring, and carrying the expectations of others. In the midst of it all, finding space to simply be can feel increasingly difficult.What might become possible if we gave ourselves permission to step away from the noise and listen a little more deeply? Inspired by Henri Nouwen&#39;s The Way of the Heart, this contemplative morning will explore three practices at the heart of Nouwen&#39;s writing: solitude, silence, and prayer. Together, we&#39;ll consider how these practices can help us move beneath the roles and responsibilities we carry and become more attentive to God&#39;s presence in our lives. Throughout the morning, Gavin will guide us through short reflections, periods of personal solitude, Centering Prayer, journaling, and Circle Way conversations rooted in deep listening. Rather than simply talking about contemplative practice, we&#39;ll give ourselves time to experience it and notice what unfolds when we slow down.

A Morning With Henri Nouwen

During this interactive morning workshop, we&#39;ll explore how each Enneagram type approaches the tasks of the first half of life and the particular invitations that emerge as we move toward the second. Through teaching, conversation, guided reflection, and inquiry practice, we&#39;ll consider what our patterns have helped us build, what we may be ready to loosen our grip on, and how life&#39;s &quot;falling&quot; moments can become openings toward deeper wisdom and freedom.Whether you&#39;re deeply familiar with the Enneagram or still discovering it, you&#39;re welcome.

Retreat House

Retreat House

Retreat House

Upcoming events

Events

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Souper Soul Lunch RSVP

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Monthly InterSpiritual Meditation

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Souper Soul Lunch RSVP

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Supervision Retreat

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Monthly Online Writer's Group

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Kirtan Meditation Practice & Dinner

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Companion Circle

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Sustaining Circle

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Emerging Practitioner Circle

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Retreat House

Upcoming events

Events

Get your tickets

Souper Soul Lunch RSVP

Get your tickets

Monthly InterSpiritual Meditation

Get your tickets

Souper Soul Lunch RSVP

Get your tickets

Supervision Retreat

Get your tickets

Monthly Online Writer's Group

Get your tickets

Kirtan Meditation Practice & Dinner

More ways to support us

Become a member

Companion Circle

Become a member

Sustaining Circle

Become a member

Emerging Practitioner Circle

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Retreat House