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!
See you soon - peace to you,
Sarah Donnelly, M.Div.
Upcoming Events
'Kindle in Us the Fire of Your Love' - The Holy Spirit as Hope, Peace, and Unrest
Don Schweitzer, PhD
Thursdays, January 22, 29, February 5 & 12
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST
11:00 PST / 12:00 MST / 1:00 CST (includes SK) / 2:00 EST / 3:00 AST
In this time, many of us find ourselves praying 'Kindle in us the fire of your love' as we read the news or scroll through social media. How can we invite the Creator's Spirit to inspire us? This workshop will explore the Holy Spirit as Hope, Peace...and Unrest! (learn more)
The Journey of Forgiveness: Walking the Long Road
Kalyn Falk, M.A.
Tuesday, February 3
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. CST
12:00 PST / 1:00 MST / 2:00 CST (includes SK) / 3:00 EST / 4:00 AST
Forgiveness is not a one-time act, but a direction—a path we choose and re-choose. Often misunderstood, forgiveness is not weakness, forgetting, or reconciliation. It does not erase accountability or bypass grief.
As we prepare to walk the Lenten path—a season of reflection, honesty, and return—we are invited to consider forgiveness not as surrender, but as liberation...(learn more)
Honouring Anger:
The Protector of Our Essence
Janelle Schneider
Wednesday, February 18
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. CST
9:00 PST / 10:00 MST / 11:00 CST (includes SK) / 12:00 EST / 1:00 AST
When we think of anger, we often think of its more extreme expressions. However, anger begins within as a subtle movement of our life force. This inner force wants to lead us toward what nourishes us and away from what depletes our souls...(learn more)
The Way of Thomas Merton:
A Prayer Journey through Lent
Gerry Kelly
Six Thursdays, February 19 - March 26
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. EST
10:00 PST / 11:00 MST / 12:00 CST (includes SK) / 1:00 EST / 2:00 AST
A six-week book study co-sponsored by Galilee Centre, Arnprior ON and Spirit River Community. Offered on zoom and at the retreat centre.
During this 6-week retreat we will be guided through major themes in the life, the teachings and the correspondence of Thomas Merton by the small book The Way of Thomas Merton: A Prayer Journey Through Lent by Robert Inchausti. Dr. Inchausti is, among other things, a foremost Merton authority and author and editor of numerous books including the classic The Pocket Thomas Merton. We will be asking participants to prayerfully read about three short chapters each week ...(learn more)
Learning New Steps:
Practicing Trust in Times of Transition
Marilyn McEntyre, PhD
Tuesday, February 24
12:00 - 2:00 p.m. CST
10:00 PST / 11:00 MST / 12:00 CST (includes SK) / 1:00 EST / 2:00 AST
Major (or minor) changes in life patterns, even unwelcome ones, can open up opportunities. Seizing those opportunities may be easier if we are deliberate and prayerful about it. This will be a time of reflection on approaches to transition in our lives...(learn more)
Who Am I?
Finding Your Writer Voice
Sally Ito, B.F.A., M.A.
Wednesday, March 4
12:00 - 2:00 p.m. CST
10:00 PST / 11:00 MST / 12:00 CST (includes SK) / 1:00 EST / 2:00 AST
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In this introductory workshop, we'll write about ourselves in prose and poetry to discover what form best suits our voices...(learn more)
"Lazarus, Come Out!"
From Death to Life
- A Lenten Retreat
Faith Nostbakken, PhD, DMin
Saturday, March 7
11:00 - 1:30 p.m. CST
9:00 PST / 10:00 MST / 11:00 CST (includes SK) / 12:00 EST / 1:00 AST
This Lenten Retreat will focus on the gospel text of John 11, in which Jesus’ friend Lazarus dies, is buried, but then raised to life again. We will reflect on the text together and let the themes touch on our own experiences: What feels entombed or closed off in each of us? Where and how might Jesus be calling us to “come out”? What stones need to be rolled away? ...(learn more)
The Path of Love
Paula D'Arcy
Thursday, March 12
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 thoughtful gathering for days such as these: Come and explore what it means to walk a path of love. Being true to love is our immense responsibility, and it has perhaps never been more important for us to understand what it means to live from a deeper love. ...(learn more)
Non-Violent Action:
Engaging the Present Moment
Kalyn Falk, MA
Tuesday, March 17
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. MDT
12:00 PDT / 1:00 MDT (includes SK) / 2:00 CDT / 3:00 EDT / 4:00 ADT
Writing Our Human Air: Creative Writing Workshops
Sally Ito, B.F.A., M.A.
Three Wednesdays,
March 18, March 25, April 1
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. MDT
10:00 PDT / 11:00 MDT (includes SK) / 12:00 CDT / 1:00 EDT / 2:00 ADT
In her famous poem, Diving into the Wreck, Adrienne Rich talks about 'diving into the wreck' where 'words are purposes, where words are maps.' In these workshops, we will find the words, recover the memories, revive the stories by going into the place Rich calls 'our human air' ...(learn more)
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)
Down the River...
The following presentations will be offered in the coming months - mark your calendars!
Additional Retreats and Workshops being offered April to June 2026 include:
April 8 - "There is no Resurrection where there is no Earth" - Celtic Perspectives on Easter, with Mary Earle
April 14 - Desert Spirituality and the Call to Remember, with Kalyn Falk
April 28 - Three Seeds of Ecological Spirituality, with Shawn Sanford Beck
April 29 - Putting the Inner Critic in Its' Place: Discovering the Boundaries that Turn the Inner Critic into an Ally, with Janelle Schneider
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 facilitators: Nancy Phillips and 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/