Year-end Silent Retreat 2024

YEAR-END SILENT RETREAT
with Andrew and Maddie Grant
December 28-31, 2024
(Saturday to Tuesday)

Program Description
Facilitators
Registration information

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Delighted to be asked to co-facilitate the midwinter retreat, Andrew (father) and Maddie (daughter) are thinking of “generations” as a centering theme for our time together. In preparation, we are embracing all generations of life in the place on the Pocumtuck Ridge we call Woolman Hill. What if “answering to that of God in everyone” (as George Fox wrote) looked to the present, past, and future? What if “everyone” was every life form, not just humans?

Things we envision for this retreat:
– An opportunity to live and worship intergenerationally for a few days
– A space for us to deepen our listening and feel the connection to Spirit within, amongst ourselves, and with the land
– A chance to limit distraction and narrow our focus to each other and the land around us 
– An exploration of the practice of waiting silence 

Things you can expect:
– Saturday evening arrival, dinner and orientation
– Wholesome meals provided and eaten together in silence
– A shared space for art, journaling, and reading
– Common art supplies, devotional literature, and reflection prompts
– Meditative walks in the woods
– Periods of expectant waiting worship
A bonfire Monday evening (weather permitting)
– Tuesday morning gathering for closing, lunch and departure
– Other invitations, as the Spirit moves

A thought…if you’re planning to come, is there someone in another generation — older or younger — who might want to accompany you? Or who you might want to encourage to also register?

FACILITATORS

Maddie Grant (Putney Friends Meeting, Brattleboro, VT)
Maddie views her role as co-facilitator for this retreat mainly as a witness to the way Spirit is moving within the group. Maddie handles warehouse operations for a food hub in Brattleboro, VT. She will be preparing for the retreat by attending worship on the hill in the weeks leading up to it in order to ground deeply before the retreat begins. Maddie grew up going to Woolman Hill with her dad and is excited to explore co-facilitation with him.

Andrew Grant (Mt Toby Friends Meeting and Three Rivers Friends Meeting)
A Woolman Hill silent retreat at the end of 2007 was where Andrew first fell into good company in the Religious Society of Friends, so returning to co-facilitate with Maddie comes full circle. Andrew carries a concern for Indigenous relations and is engaged in archival research on assimilating boarding schools. He enjoys outdoor walks and photography in combination. He speculates that at the retreat you might even see a glow-in-the-dark frisbee!


REGISTRATION AND LOGISTICS
See below for more information about registration, cost, meals, accommodations, and other logistics. Or you can proceed directly to REGISTER HERE.

COST & REGISTRATION
The standard rate for this retreat is $375, with a sliding scale of $250-475. The fee includes program, lodging and food from Saturday dinner through Tuesday lunch. Commuter rate is $250. We are committed to financial accessibility: please pay what fits in your personal budget (at whatever amount), encourage your faith community to financially support your participation if that is appropriate, and let us know if you have additional questions related to fees. A non-refundable deposit of $50 is required to hold a space for a  program unless otherwise arranged. If you need to cancel, the deposit can be applied to a future workshop within 18 months. The balance is due at the beginning of the workshop.

ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE
Plan to arrive after 4:00pm Saturday afternoon, in time for dinner at 6:00. The workshop will end by 2pm on Tuesday. We are centrally located in western Massachusetts, close to both I-91 and Route 2. For those  arriving by car, we will send directions prior to the event. Please let us know if you’d be interested in car-pooling. The nearest Amtrak train station is in Greenfield (MA), ten minutes’ drive away. Vermont Transit and Peter Pan bus lines also stop in Greenfield. Please contact us in advance to see if we can arrange a ride from these stations.

ROOM & BOARD
Our 19th-century farmhouse has hand-hewn beams and wide pine floors, with simple lodging (typically double occupancy) with shared bathrooms. The meetinghouse and the first floor of the main building are wheelchair accessible. Our rustic cabins have electricity, woodstoves and outhouses. We serve nourishing, home-cooked meals and always offer vegetarian options. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions. Part of the community building at each retreat includes the joyful sharing of meal chores and final clean-up.

WHAT TO BRING
Please bring your own toiletries, towels, and bedding (sleeping bag or sheets and blankets or comforter).  Pillows are provided. Be sure to bring seasonally appropriate clothes and comfortable indoor and outdoor footwear. You might also like to bring a flashlight, journal, art supplies, a book…
Please do NOT bring pets or candles.
We have limited internet access and cell phone reception. We encourage guests to consider how cell phone or computer use may detract from their experience of being fully present, here and now.

COVID PROTOCOLS
You can read Woolman Hill’s general Covid guidelines here. Please contact us if you have questions.

We look forward to welcoming you to the hill!

Click here to REGISTER ON-LINE for this program.