"Embracing Mercy" - Lenten Retreat Weekend w/ Fr. Bob Kennedy
With the help of the psalms of mercy and parables of mercy, the meditations of this retreat will explore the ways God embraces us with mercy and the ways we embrace the mercy God offers to us. Be sure to bring your Bible.
Facilitated by: Fr. Bob Kennedy
Dates: Thursday, February 26 - Sunday, March 1
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Time: 6:00 p.m. on Thursday - 12:00 p.m. on Sunday
Fee: $375
Father Robert Kennedy, a priest of the Diocese of Rochester, has served as diocesan director of liturgy, professor of liturgical studies, and as pastor of three parishes. Retired from parish administration, he now serves as sacramental minister with the Catholic community at Rochester Institute of Technology and with the Sisters of Mercy.
Private Weekend Retreat
If you need a little time away, this is your opportunity. Our independent weekends offer meals and lodging. Spend your time in contemplation, prayer, or finding peace in the silence. This is your time. Weekend retreats are Friday evenings 7:00 p.m. to Sunday noon.
Sacred Contracts Weekend Retreat
Have you ever asked the questions:
For what reason was I born?
or
What is the purpose of life?
Join us for a weekend where we will explore our own Sacred Contracts, those agreements made with the Divine before we were born. Based on the work of Caroline Myss, we will determine the underlying patterns running through our lives and glean more information and understanding to those deeper questions arising in us.
Facilitator: Susan DiVita
Dates: Thursday, March 26th - Sunday March 29
Time: Thursday at 6 p.m. - Sunday at 12 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $375
Sue DiVita is an archetypal consultant, dream teacher, and spiritual director who graduated from Caroline Myss’ Sacred Contracts program in 2009. She has worked with many people over the years in a sacred and healing way to determine their Contracts and understand the divine thread running through their lives.
Read more about Sue here
June Summer Retreat
"Exploring the Healing Power of Expressive Writing"
Along with millennia of the anecdotal evidence, increasing numbers of clinical studies are showing that expressive writing is beneficial for both psychological and physical health. Expressive writing (a version of personal writing) can promote general well-being, mental health, resilience, trauma recovery, cognitive function and more.
Join us for a week-long immersive workshop exploring the power of writing for personal growth and healing. We will explore an array of practices and genres of writing from poetry to journaling to mini-memoir to working with family photographs to “writing the labyrinth.”
There will be facilitated group sessions, time for personal writing, walks in nature, and delicious meals shared in community. Every participant will leave with some new writing and plentiful seeds to plant for future creative endeavors, a wealth of resources, and a copy of the new edition of the poetry collection Giving Sorrow Words: Poems of Strength and Solace for Survivors.
Dates: Sunday, May 31 - Friday, June 5
Time: Sunday at 6 p.m. - Friday at 12 p.m.
Facilitator: Karen vanMeenen
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $525
Facilitator Karen (Ren) vanMeenen, PhD/ABD, MA, MA, CAPF, is a Principal Lecturer at Rochester Institute of Technology. Ren is an Executive Board member of the National Association for Poetry Therapy and the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Poetry Therapy. She is also the longtime editor of the scholarly journal Afterimage. She has taught workshops in the community for 30 years with populations including teens, seniors (including Holocaust survivors), and those on a cancer journey.
July Summer Retreat
"A Reflection on Eldering Through Three Lenses"
Back by popular demand!
A couple of years ago we developed a program called, “A Reflection on Eldering Through Three Lenses.”
We explore the spiritual journey of the third stage of life using the writings of Richard Rohr OFM, and the writings of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi from his book “From Aging to Sage-ing” and also “The December Project.”
Adding insights from John O’Donohue a well-known Celtic mystic, as well as our own reflections on our life journeys we invite participants to review life and look to our future with hope.
Our approach is to engage and facilitate conversations and reflection among on retreat. The sessions engage participants in a healthy conversation.
Peg and Patrick act as facilitators of discussions that help individuals who are participating to open a door to exploring their life journey and to processing some of the questions and thoughts that grow in all of us as we age and continue on the journey of faith. We explore the legacy of those who have come before us. We honor those we are with. We seek to move beyond on life’s journey.
Dates: Sunday, July 19 - Friday, July 24
Time: Sunday at 6 p.m. - Friday at 12 p.m.
Facilitators: Patrick Fox and Peg Morris
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $525
Peg Morris and Patrick Fox have worked together for a number of years, sharing a passion for helping their peers grow their spirituality as they increase in years. They offer a variety of programs and workshops, engaging elders in conversation and dialogue, enhancing their lives and fostering a better awareness of spirituality in each person.
Peg Morris holds a Master's Degree in Gerontology and has decades of experience as a social worker and additionally she has been trained in “From Aging to Sage-ing;” a program launched by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and know throughout the world for developing a profound new vision of growing older.
Patrick B Fox has a Master's Degree in Adult Learning and has studied with Dr. Richard Johnson and received his Professional Certificate in Spiritual Gerontology in 2011. Additionally, Patrick brings a deep immersion into Celtic Spirituality in addition to his academic background.
August Summer Retreat
"Prayers for Peace"
Our world needs intercession. War, hatred, violence. Come together to find peace inside yourself and among community. Help to create change using non-violence, and end racism towards others who are different from yourself.
Dates: Sunday, August 16 - Friday, August 21
Time: Sunday at 6 p.m. - Friday at 12 p.m.
Facilitators: Allison Murphy
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $525
Retreat Info
Retreats
Mercy Spirituality Center is a retreat center for people of all faiths. We believe that each of us, individuals and organizations alike, needs time apart to find,
deepen, or refresh our connection to what matters most in life.
We are deeply grateful to be able to offer our beautiful space
to the community for rest, reflection and spiritual growth.
Our facilitated retreats center around contemplative practice, Ignatian Spirituality and finding God in nature.
We also offer private retreats for groups and individuals.
A Day to Call Your Own opens with an optional communal prayer, then the rest of the day is yours. We provide a private room, a simple lunch, and our beautiful house and grounds for you to explore as you wish.
If you need a little more time in quiet, consider A Retreat to Call Your Own which includes all of the above plus an overnight and pick-up breakfast. Check our calendar for scheduled opportunities.
Located just one block from Highland Park, Mercy Spirituality Center offers 10 private guest rooms, meeting spaces for groups as small as 5 or as large as 35, kitchen and dining facilities along with various dining options dependent on the length and nature of your stay, a richly stocked library, spacious yard with gazebo, and plenty of off-street parking.
Quiet Retreats
Our day-long, mini-weekend and full weekend retreats provide opportunities for slowing down and making space for the more in your life. We offer practices designed to quiet busy minds in order to make room for a deeper and richer experience of the divine.
Mercy Spirituality Center is a retreat center for people of all faiths. We believe that each of us, individuals and organizations alike, needs time apart to find, deepen, or refresh our connection to what matters most in life. We are deeply grateful to be able to offer our beautiful space to the community for rest, reflection and spiritual growth.
Facilitated Retreats
Our facilitated retreats center around contemplative practice, Ignatian Spirituality and finding God in nature. Check our "Retreats" page to see what’s up next or call to arrange an experience tailored to the needs of your group.
Group Retreat Opportunities
We believe in the value of time apart from the routines of daily life. In our warm, inviting space, Mercy Spirituality Center is uniquely able to offer intimate, experiential, contemplative retreats for your small group.
Call us to find out more about our weekend (Friday evening – Sunday lunch) and mini-weekend (Friday evening - Saturday late afternoon) offerings. Call 585-473-6893. Or email us at: [email protected]. But contact us early! Available weekends fill quickly.