Dear friend of Woolman Hill,
We are delighted that you are part of the Woolman Hill family. We want to know what is alive in you and in your faith community, where the growing edges are, how Woolman Hill can support you in your connection to the Spirit.
And we need your financial support to help Woolman Hill grow into an even more sustainable, welcoming and accessible spiritual center. Now, more than ever, Spirit is alive and at work on the hill. Here are a few snapshots from the past year:
- “I came feeling like God was not very accessible to me – due to my own habits, attitude, etc. I am leaving with an open tender heart full of love. I cannot ask for more. God/Spirit/the Source of All Goodness is more concentrated here.” (Program participant)
- “It was a remarkably powerful experience and I fully believe Woolman Hill plays a part by being a safe spirit-held space where such deep powerful healing can happen.” (Group rental guest)
- As participants in the Nurturing Faithfulness course begin to wash dinner dishes, they spontaneously break out into song. Throughout the five-day residency, joyful noise spills out of the kitchen after meals, while other Friends nearby are engaged in deep and intimate conversation. The two modalities blend and feed each other and fill the space to the brim with Spirit.
- A couple is finishing the final clean-up after their wedding when they say with conviction to their on-call host: “This has changed our families.” They explain that their parents and the rest of their relatives and community have felt the deep spiritual grounding that Woolman Hill offers; it has affected them in positive ways that the couple joyfully anticipates will continue to unfold.
- This spring, a guest at midweek worship introduced herself afterwards as a minister, from an Episcopal church in the area, who was craving her own re-connection with the Spirit and who had her initial encounter with God through silence. She glowed with gratitude for the ability to sink into a deep worship for which she did not carry responsibility. She has since become a regular attender at our weekly gatherings.
- Seventy people attend an open house at the Nelson homestead, newly refurbished by a resourceful and skilled volunteer crew putting in equal parts love and elbow grease. Materials on display capture the incredible witness of Juanita and Wally Nelson’s commitment to simple living and to community as a way to avoid complicity with war. Juanita’s words, “Your life is your action,” encourage each of us to contemplate how we ourselves are called to witness.
There are many elements that contribute to – as one board member says – the “God meter being high” here on the Hill. Not only is the land a container for this holy experiment, it is an active participant. There is the collective depth from years of so many individuals and groups seeking and adding to the spiritual energy of the place. And there is the ongoing consistency of staff, board members and volunteers intentionally applying the mission and values this organization professes. These factors make Woolman Hill not just a beautiful setting, but a living and embodied sanctuary.
Woolman Hill’s current strategic plan envisions a “community of sharing” which inspires a wider community to embody Woolman Hill’s purpose and values through sharing money, time, and energy – a mutually beneficial and regenerative process for Woolman Hill and all of our constituents. The plan also identifies two guiding principles:
- Sustainability and Right Relationship
A commitment to sustainability principles in assessing ongoing operations and new endeavors to ensure that they are in right relationship with our spiritual, financial, environmental and human resources; and to long-range planning to sustain our facilities and programming.
- Accessibility and Welcome
A commitment to ensuring Woolman Hill is more easily accessible to those with limited mobility; and to increasing Woolman Hill’s financial accessibility and welcome to a wide range of people.
We gratefully embrace your spiritual support – holding Woolman Hill in the Light, and your practical support – through our volunteer workdays, service on the board, or spreading the word about our programs and opportunities for individual retreats and group gatherings. Best of all, come see us in person here on the hill for some time away, a chance to deepen your own connection to what matters most. There’s information on this website about upcoming events, retreat options, the board, and more…
And we welcome financial gifts of all 
sizes. Your donations allow us to continue offering scholarship support and subsidized rates to those with limited financial resources, and to continue working toward right relationship.
You can send a check made out to Woolman Hill (107 Keets Rd, Deerfield MA 01342), or donate on-line here.
With deep gratitude,
Margaret Cooley
Executive Director