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.
Unless otherwise noted in the workshop description, all presentations are 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
Growing in Wisdom:
Seeking Deeper Generativity
Registration is 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.
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.
Crafting Micro-Ceremonies
Shawn Sanford Beck, M.Div.
Tuesday, September 15
10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. MDT
start times: 9:00 PDT / 10:00 MDT (includes SK) / 11:00 CDT / 12:00 EDT / 1:00 ADT
Prerequisite: having participated in Shawn’s Three Seeds of Ecological Spirituality and Kything classes. Class size will be limited to 10 participants, and this workshop will not be recorded.
The third of a trilogy of workshops. You've encountered the three seeds of ecological spirituality, and you've learned how to kythe. Now it is time to learn how to create small rituals to engage with your more-than-human neighbours...learn more.
Living the Virtues:
Reclaiming Wholeness
from What Distorts Us
Kalyn Falk, MA
Tuesday, September 22
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. MDT
start times: 12:00 PDT / 1:00 MDT (includes SK) / 2:00 CDT / 3:00 EDT / 4:00 ADT
Many of us have learned to think about virtue through the lens of perfectionism—something we’re supposed to perform flawlessly to be “good enough.” But what if virtue isn’t about achievement or moral striving, but about alignment, healing, and growth? What if the true sign of virtue is not how well we behave, but what kind of fruit our inner life begins to bear? This is a space to reimagine the spiritual life not as performance, but as a gentle journey from distortion to wholeness. In this workshop, we’ll explore ...learn more.
The Listening Life: Honest Spirituality for Complicated Lives
A monthly gathering for adults in their 30-50's
Facilitator: Kalyn Falk, MA
Joined by a team of trained spiritual directors
First Sunday of the month, October 2026 to May 2027
October 4, November 1, December 6, January 3, February 7, March 7, April 4, May 2
2 hours - Time TBA
The Listening Life is an 8-part contemplative series for adults in their 30s–50s who are longing for a deeper, steadier spiritual life in a time of transition, uncertainty, and change.
Many people in midlife find themselves renegotiating their relationship to faith, vocation, family, identity, and community. What once felt certain may no longer fit. Some are weary of institutional religion but still hunger for meaning, depth, and connection. Others are carrying grief, burnout, and disappointment. Many are overwhelmed by anxiety over justice and environmental issues. This series offers a grounded and spacious place to explore those questions together...learn more.
Three Seeds of Ecological Spirituality
Shawn Sanford Beck, M.Div.
Tuesday, October 6
10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. MDT
start times: 9:00 PDT / 10:00 MDT (includes SK) / 11:00 CDT / 12:00 EDT / 1:00 ADT
Please note: Class size will be limited to 10 participants, and this workshop will not be recorded. This is the first of three workshops being offered by Shawn - join us on November 3 and December 1 to enjoy the complete series.
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.
From Three Lines to Fourteen:
Three Poetry Classes on Haikus and Sonnets
Sally Ito, BFA, MA
Thursdays, October 8, 15 & 22
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. MDT
start times: 12:00 PDT / 1:00 MDT (includes SK) / 2:00 CDT / 3:00 EDT / 4:00 ADT
Do you like writing poetry? If so, this series of three workshops is for you to learn how to write in two poetic forms, the Haiku and the Sonnet. In the first workshop, we’ll do some basic exercises to find the words and share them so we can get to know one another and what we like to write about. In the second workshop, we’ll focus on writing haiku by observing closely the natural world in its season, finding the words for it, and express our feelings about it. For the third workshop, we will look at the sonnet – in particular, spiritual sonnets...learn more.
Befriending Shame: How to be Present to the Feeling We Most Want to Avoid
Janelle Schneider
Wednesday, October 14
10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. MDT
start times: 9:00 PDT / 10:00 MDT (includes SK) / 11:00 CDT / 12:00 EDT / 1:00 ADT
Shame is an emotion we all encounter in our human experience. Yet, by its very nature, it is one of the most difficult emotions to be present to. Our instinctive response to shame is to hide - hide from the feelings, hide from ourselves, and hide from others. In this workshop, we will learn how shame affects us in our three centres: body, heart and head; explore tools that can assist us ...learn more.
Down the River...
Additional workshops and retreats being offered in the fall and winter months will be posted in the coming weeks. Stay tuned - and thanks for subscribing to the SRC newsletter!
November 3 - Kything: Communion with the More-Than-Human World, with Shawn Sanford Beck
November 5, 12, 19 & 26 - The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Sermon on the Mount, with Don Schweitzer and Mitchell Anderson
November 17 - Burnout and Boundaries in Spiritual Care Professionals, with Allie Kochert
November 18 - Tending Fear: The Guardian of the Unknown, with Janelle Schneider
November 24 - title TBA, with Kalyn Falk
November 25 - Faith at the Edges: The Mysterious Ways of Soul, with Brian Pearson
December 1 - Crafting Micro-Ceremonies, with Shawn Sanford Beck
December 2 - Getting Comfortable with Grief, with Joyce Aitken
January 20 - Honouring Anger: The Protector of Our Essence, with Janelle Schneider
January 27 - Follow Your WYRD: Stories of Our Uniqueness (because we are not SUPPOSED to be like everyone else), with Brian Pearson
February 17 - Putting the Inner Critic in its Place: Discovering the Boundaries that Turn a Taskmaster into an Ally, with Janelle Schneider
May 20-23 - Transitions: Your Journey of Transformation through Grief and Loss. An in-person retreat at Providence Renewal Centre, Edmonton AB, with Sarah Donnelly and her Grief Support Team