The South Saskatchewan River flows through the heart of Saskatoon, SK. Photo: Sarah Donnelly
Welcome to Spirit River Community - A Retreat Centre Without Walls
Our Mission Statement: Creating sacred spaces for thoughtful conversation, building warm connections, and welcoming transformational learning.
Many rivers flow through the Canadian prairies, bringing life and beauty. In a similar way, the Spirit flows through our lives, bringing curiosity, hope, comfort, and creativity.
Welcome to the SRC website. Thank you for your interest as a 'retreat centre without walls' continues to take shape. To learn more about the initial concept for this retreat centre, please click on the 'About SRC' page above. I'm convinced that with the guidance of thoughtful and prayerful facilitators, meaningful connections can be formed and nurtured online. I invite you to subscribe to the Spirit River Community e-newsletter to be informed about our upcoming presenters – please see the bottom of this webpage to subscribe.
Currently all presentations are only being offered on Zoom. A Zoom link will be emailed to you following your registration for a program. If the presentation is recorded, a copy of this recording will be sent to you to watch/review following the event.
Almost all of our past workshops have been recorded, and access to these presentations can be purchased by visiting the 'Shop' page on this website. Many have been discounted - enjoy!
Finally, Brian Pearson was kind enough to invite me to share some of my spiritual journey on his podcast, Mystic Cave. His thoughtful questions drew out stories and memories which I am pleased to share with you here. Below is a link to his blog, and after reading this you will see the link to the podcast:
https://www.brianepearson.ca/post/purgation-to-illumination
See you soon - peace to you,
Sarah Donnelly, M.Div.
Upcoming Events
Praying in Colour in Lent
Kathy Berken, M.A. (Theology)
Tuesday, March 24
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MDT
9:00 PDT / 10:00 MDT (includes SK) / 11:00 CDT / 12:00 EDT / 1:00 ADT
Maybe you love color. Maybe you are a visual or kinesthetic learner, a distractible or impatient soul, or a word-weary pray-er. Perhaps you struggle with a short attention span, a restless body, or a tendency to live in your head. Maybe your prayers feel more like a list for Santa Claus than a love letter to God...(learn more)
"There is no Resurrection where there is no Earth"
Celtic Perspectives on Easter
The Rev. Mary Earle
Wednesday, April 8
12:00 - 2:00 p.m. MDT
11:00 PDT / 12:00 MDT (includes SK) / 1:00 CDT / 2:00 EDT / 3:00 ADT
A workshop for the days following the Feast of Easter. In our time together, we will encounter some distinctive perspectives on Easter life that come from the Celtic Christians, and we will explore ways to pray in the hope of the risen life. A talk which includes some Celtic prayers...(learn more)
Desert Spirituality and the Call to Remember
Kalyn Falk, M.A.
Tuesday, April 14
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. MDT
12:00 PDT / 1:00 MDT (includes SK) / 2:00 CDT / 3:00 EDT / 4:00 ADT
In the fourth century, seekers journeyed to the wilderness to sit with the desert mothers and fathers – elders who lived outside institutional systems, rooted in prayer and presence. Their teachings remind us that the deepest forgetting is of our own belovedness: that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. This workshop explores the countercultural path of desert spirituality...(learn more)
Becoming: Called in Love
Providence Renewal Centre
Edmonton AB
Informational meeting on Zoom:
Monday, April 20
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. MDT
6:00 PDT / 7:00 MDT (includes SK) / 8:00 CDT / 9:00 EDT / 10:00 ADT
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Becoming PRESENCE is a two‑year, part‑time spiritual formation program rooted in the Christian tradition, designed to prepare participants for the sacred ministry of spiritual direction. This gentle and transformative pathway unfolds in two movements—Becoming and PRESENCE—each supporting a deepening awareness of God’s presence within and around us. Becoming invites participants into a journey of inner grounding, fostering self‑knowledge and cultivating a richer, more contemplative spiritual life...(learn more)
Three Seeds of Ecological Spirituality
Shawn Sanford Beck, M.Div.
Tuesday, April 28
10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. MDT
9:00 PDT / 10:00 MDT (includes SK) / 11:00 CDT / 12:00 EDT / 1:00 ADT
Please note: this workshop will not be recorded and is limited to 10 participants
Come for a time of shared reflection and gentle spiritual practice, as GreenSpirit Chaplain Shawn Sanford Beck offers us the “three seeds” of Christian Animism, Green Priestcraft, and the Rune of Sophia. For many, these will be entirely new concepts and forms of spirituality, each of which has the potential to deepen our relationship with the living Earth and all the more-than-human neighbours with whom we share this precious life...(learn more)
Putting the Inner Critic in its Place:
Discovering the Boundaries that Turn a Taskmaster into an Ally
Janelle Schneider
Wednesday, April 29
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MDT
9:00 PDT / 10:00 MDT (includes SK) / 11:00 CDT / 12:00 EDT / 1:00 ADT
How many of us would give anything to be able to silence the incessant inner voice of criticism that runs as a background to almost anything we do or don’t do? In this workshop, we will explore practical tools for turning the volume down on this running commentary, learning when it has valuable insight, and discerning where its rightful place is in our inner lives...(learn more)
Growing in Wisdom:
Seeking Deeper Generativity
Registration is now open for this exciting two-year program - offered on Zoom - during which participants explore the Spirituality of Aging in community.
Learn more by visiting the website, and watching two informational videos.
This program beings in September 2026. We invite all interested participants to apply for the program prior to June 1, if possible
Growing in Wisdom: Seeking Deeper Generativity is an ecumenical program, grounded in the mystical Christian Tradition, open to learning from other interfaith and spiritual traditions, and designed for those seeking to engage in their maturing years with wisdom and grace. It is a program that welcomes participants who have the time, interest and energy to engage in a dynamic two-year adventure of learning and exploration. This is a time in which we can begin to look back on the life we have lived and find openness to new or previously undeveloped inner vistas. In this program we explore what is most fruitful and life-giving for us, especially as we age, and what a maturing relationship with God (by whatever name you use) could look like. Growing in Wisdom: Seeking Deeper Generativity invites you to explore how you might commit yourself to giving both your life and your death to the world, in a way that both are the ultimate gift and blessing you give to others.
Down the River...
Additional Retreats and Workshops being offered May and June 2026 include:
May 1 - Praying with the Psalms, with Faith Nostbakken
May 6 - Faith at the Edges: An Exploration of the Mysterious Ways of Soul, with Brian Pearson
May 12 & 19 - Living the Virtues: Reclaiming Wholeness from What Distorts Us, with Kalyn Falk
May 13, 20, 27 & June 3 - Book Study: Insane for the Light: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years, written by Ron Rolheiser, OMI - book study facilitator: Sarah Donnelly
May 28, repeated May 30 - Take Time to Forgive, with Sr. Teresita Kambeitz OSU
June 2 - Kything: Communion with the More-Than-Human World, with Shawn Sanford Beck
June 4 - Getting Comfortable with Grief, with Joyce Aitken
Monthly workshops being offered by Kalyn Falk, 2025-26: https://kalynfalk.com/
October 14 - Let's Talk About Sex: Understanding How We've Been Woven Together
November 4 & 11 - The Moral Imagination: A Two-Part Journey into Sacred Possibility
December 9 - Holding Tension: Living Between the Now and the Not Yet
January 13 - Living with an Expansive Faith (back by popular demand!)
February 3 - The Journey of Forgiveness: Walking the Long Road
March 17 - Non-Violent Action: Engaging the Present Moment
April 14 - Desert Spirituality and the Call to Remember
May 12 & 19 - Living the Virtues: Reclaiming Wholeness from What Distorts Us
Seasonal workshops being offered by Janelle Schneider, 2025-26: https://www.janelle-schneider.com/