Spirit River Community: A Retreat Centre Without Walls
Spirit River Community
Spirit River Community: A Retreat Centre Without Walls
Welcome to Spirit River Community - A Retreat Centre Without Walls
The South Saskatchewan River flows through the Canadian prairies, bringing life and beauty. In a similar way, the Spirit flows through our lives, bringing curiosity, hope, comfort, and creativity.
In the spirit of Queen’s House Retreat & Renewal Centre, where for more than 65 years people gathered on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River for group and personal retreats, workshops, and conferences, we gather together online and in person to listen, explore, pray, learn, heal, and grow. This retreat centre closed its doors in August 2024, but the community which formed over the years continues to be vibrant and engaged, and new participants are warmly welcome.
Welcome to the SRC website. Thank you for your interest as a 'retreat centre without walls' begins to take shape. 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 send an email to SpiritRiverSK@outlook.com
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Currently, with the exception of a retreat being offered in Saskatoon in March, 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. See you soon!
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Peace to you,
Sarah Donnelly, M.Div.
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Upcoming Online Classes
Aspects of the Resurrection
of Jesus
Rev. Dr. Don Schweitzer
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Three Wednesdays
January 22, January 29, February 5
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST
Session 1 - January 22/25. The Resurrection of Jesus and Western reason
Faith in the resurrection of Jesus is often seen to clash with Western reason. But there are also positive relationships between the two. This session will examine four of these. First, Jesus’ resurrection reveals something that Western reason seeks. Second, faith in Jesus’ resurrection can stabilize reason in times of social or personal stress. Third, Jesus’ resurrection answers a historical question that otherwise remains an enigma. Fourth, Jesus’ resurrection provides a source of the kind of hope that critical reason requires.
Session 2 - January 29/25. The Resurrection of Jesus Enlarges Our Hearts
This session will examine how Jesus’ resurrection can enlarge our hearts by expanding and re-directing our moral vision and empowering us to pursue this. It will first examine a crisis of hope in the present moment. It will then look at how Jesus’ resurrection is a source of hope, how it enables people and communities to continue to seek to love others despite their failures, and how it can open people to listen to those who are different.
Session 3 - February 5/25. A Role for Christians (and Others) in the Resurrection of Jesus
Resurrection as the overcoming of death is often seen as something that only God can do. This session will examine how Jesus’ resurrection is also something in which people can play an important role. Jesus’ resurrection would be incomplete without our contributions to it. This class will look at Augustine’s notion of how the risen Christ is the whole Christ: the head and the body - the risen Jesus and those who believe in him. We will then look at Ignacio Ellacuria’s idea that people participate in Jesus’ resurrection by taking people who are being crucified down from their crosses. Finally, we will explore how Jesus’ resurrection can be both actual and yet open to and requiring further expression in history.
Recommended (but not mandatory) prior reading: Resurrection: A Guide for the Perplexed by Lidija Novakovic. New York: Bloomsbury, 2016.
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A recording of each class will be sent to all who register.
Photo credit: Photo by Patti Black on Unsplash
Bless to Me This Day:
Celtic Prayers for Daily Living
Rev. Mary C. Earle
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Friday, February 7
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. CST
When I was a young mom, seminarian, wife and chaplain, I had a hard time figuring out how to have time to pray. Then in 1986, a dear friend of mine gave me a little book titled Threshold of Light (published in the USA under the title Daily Prayers and Readings in the Celtic Tradition). Within those pages, I found a daily rota of prayers which attended to the minutiae of daily living. I began to explore further, and found that this tradition is one that constantly weaves together what we do in our daily rounds with an loving awareness of God’s presence. I began to adapt the prayers for use when I cooked breakfast or folded laundry, when I put my boys to sleep or played with our cats.
During our time together, we will learn a bit about this Celtic Christian tradition of praying and living. We will explore those traditional prayers recorded in the 19th century, and we will follow those models in order to write prayers that are particular to your own context. We will reflect on how we actually spend our days (not how we think we do), and seek to weave prayer into those moments. Those who wish to may share their prayers with the group, and we will try writing a group prayer as well.
Please bring writing materials for our time together, and have the handout (which will be sent to you one week prior) close by.
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A recording of this class will be sent to all who register.
Photo credit: Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash
When Faith Hurts:
Exploring Religious Trauma and Spiritual Healing
Kalyn Falk
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Tuesday, February 11
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. CST
Trauma is a powerful, adaptive tool for safety and survival. However, unprocessed trauma can impact our emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.
This 2-hour workshop will explore the nature of trauma, its effects on the body, and its intersection with spirituality. Through teaching, reflection, and discussion, we will address the following:
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The body’s natural trauma response and its role in survival.
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Recognizing spiritual bypassing—how it can deny or minimize the reality of pain.
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Exploring the dynamics of religious trauma and how spiritual systems can both harm and heal.
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A recording of this class will be sent to all who register.
Photo credit: Photo by Thomas Vitali on Unsplash
Radical Reverence: Jesus and Unnamed Women in the Gospels
Sr. Teresita Kambeitz OSU
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Three classes on the 2nd Thursday of the month
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. CST
January 9, February 13, March 13​​
Registration now closed. However, if you would like to receive a copy of the recording of class 1, and participate in classes 2 & 3, please send an email to SpiritRiverSK@outlook.com. Registration fee remains $95/3 sessions.
Honour, admiration, respect, compassion, esteem, tribute, appreciation, trust - these are some of the responses of Jesus in his encounters with unnamed women in the gospels. In these presentations we will aim (with visuals and stories) to view these women through his eyes as we reflect on his radical responses toward these “nobodies” of his time and inaugurates a new world in which “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female” (Gal. 3:28).
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Thursday January 9, 2-4pm CST. Jesus' response to women in need:
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Honour for the woman bent double (Lk. 13:10-17)
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Admiration for Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman (Mk. 7:24-30; Mt. 15:21-28)
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Respect for the woman with hemorrhage (Mk. 5:24-34; Mt. 9:18-26; Lk. 8:40-56)
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Care for the daughter of Jairus (Mk. 5:21-24; Mt. 9:23-26; Lk. 8:49-56)
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Thursday February 13, 2-4pm CST. Jesus' response to widows and the ignored wife:
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Compassion for the widow of Nain (Lk. 7:11-17)
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Friendship with (widowed?) women as colleagues (Lk. 8:1 - 4)
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Concern for the widow who gave her last mite (Lk. 21:1-4)
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Esteem for the unacknowledged female companion on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-35)
Thursday March 13, 2-4pm CDT/1-3pm SK. Jesus' response to women experiencing rejection:
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Tribute to the woman who anointed Jesus on his head (Mk. 14:3-9; Mt. 26:6-13; Jn. 12: 1-8)
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Appreciation for the woman who wept at his feet (Who loved much) (Lk. 7:36-50)
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Protection of the woman taken in adultery (Jn. 8:1-11)
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Trust in the woman at the well (Jn. 4:7-42)
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A recording of these three workshops will be sent to all who register.
Image: Jesus and the Bent-Over Woman. Artist: Barbara Schwarz OP
Befriending Winter: Practices for Cultivating Delight
Rev. Caroline Penhale Lukacs
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Thursday, February 27
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. CST
A long Winter can leave us feeling restless and ready for it to be over already! And yet the late Winter holds an invitation to pause a while and rediscover the quiet beauty of the season. Join us for Befriending Winter: Cultivating Practices for Delight, an online workshop inspired by Katherine May’s Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. In this gathering, we’ll reflect on Winter as an inner season, and explore gentle rituals and practices to nourish and sustain us through the last Winter weeks.
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A recording of this class will be sent to all who register.
Photo credit: Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash
The Soul of a Pilgrim:
Eight Practices for the
Journey Within
Sarah Donnelly and Nancy Phillips
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Eight Thursdays, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. CST/CDT
March 6 & 20, April 3 & 24, May 1 & 15, June 5 & 19
One chapter each session​​
An eight-part book study. The renowned author and abbess of the online retreat center Abbey of the Arts, Christine Valters Paintner takes readers on a new kind of an inner journey to discover the heart of God. Eight stages of the pilgrim's way - from hearing the call to coming home - are accompanied by scripture stories of great biblical journeys and the author's unique and creative practices of prayer, writing, and photography. In this book Christine Valters Paintner helps readers travel to the frontiers of their souls to discover the hidden presence of God. In The Soul of a Pilgrim, Paintner identifies eight stages of the pilgrim's way and shows how to follow these steps to make an intentional, transformative journey to the reader's inner "wild edges." Each phase of the exploration requires a distinct practice such as packing lightly, being uncomfortable, or embracing the unknown. Paintner shows how to cultivate attentiveness to the divine through deep listening, patience, and opening oneself to the gifts that arise in the midst of discomfort.
Each of the eight chapters offers reflections on the themes, a scripture story, an invitation to the practice of lectio divina, and a creative exploration through photography and writing.
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March 6 - The Practice of Hearing the Call and Responding
March 20 - The Practice of Packing Lightly
April 3 - The Practice of Crossing the Threshold
April 24 - The Practice of Making the Way by Walking
May 1 - The Practice of Being Uncomfortable
May 15 - The Practice of Beginning Again
June 5 - The Practice of Embracing the Unknown
June 19 - The Practice of Coming Home
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A recording of each session will be sent to all who register. No fee for Growing in Wisdom participants. $80 for general public.
Down the River...
The following presentations will be offered in the coming months - mark your calendars!
Workshop Series: Exploring Spiritual Growth Through Reflection and Practice - with Kalyn Falk
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Second Tuesday of the month, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. CST
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Join us for a transformative monthly workshop series designed to deepen your spiritual journey. Led by Kalyn Falk, a seasoned spiritual director, each 2-hour session will provide a space to explore new mental frameworks, engage in self-reflection, and participate in group discussions.
Over the course of the year, we will explore topics that include Spirituality, Counselling, Bodywork and Conflict Resolution, helping us connect the mind, body and spirit. These courses will introduce new practices, tools, frameworks and invitations for reflection. Topics will include:
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Your Journey of Faith: Exploring the Stages of Spiritual Growth - November 12, 2024
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Living with an Expansive Faith - December 10, 2024
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Taking Another Look at God: Renewing Our Images of the Holy - January 14, 2025
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When Faith Hurts: Exploring Religious Trauma and Spiritual Healing - February 11, 2025
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Holding the Tension: Moving Beyond Either/Or Thinking - March 11, 2025
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Bridging the Gap: Tools for Turning Conflict Into Connection - April 8, 2025
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Topic TBA - May 13, 2025
Whether you're looking to explore new spiritual understandings or deepen your current path, this series offers a supportive, reflective environment for growth and connection.
Domestic Monastery: God is More Domestic than Monastic - Fr. Ron Rolheiser OMI
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Saturday, March 8, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. CST on Zoom
And So We Wait: A Spiritual Journey of Transformation. A Weekend Retreat for Women - Sarah Donnelly ​
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Friday, March 21 - Sunday, March 23. Held in Saskatoon, sponsored by The Refinery Arts & Spirit Centre.
For details and to register, visit: Refinery Classes
Three Seeds of Ecological Spirituality - Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck
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