Retreat Info

Retreats

Mercy Spirituality Center is a retreat center for people of all faiths. We believe that each of us, individuals and organizations alike, needs time apart to find, deepen, or refresh our connection to what matters most in life.

We are deeply grateful to be able to offer our beautiful space to the community for rest, reflection and spiritual growth. Our facilitated retreats center around contemplative practice, Ignatian Spirituality and finding God in nature.

We also offer private retreats for groups and individuals.

A Day to Call Your Own opens with an optional communal prayer, then the rest of the day is yours. We provide a private room, a simple lunch, and our beautiful house and grounds for you to explore as you wish.

If you need a little more time in quiet, consider A Retreat to Call Your Own which includes all of the above plus an overnight and pick-up breakfast. Check our calendar for scheduled opportunities. 

Located just one block from Highland Park, Mercy Spirituality Center offers 10 private guest rooms, meeting spaces for groups as small as 5 or as large as 35, kitchen and dining facilities along with various dining options dependent on the length and nature of your stay, a richly stocked library,
spacious yard with gazebo and plenty of off-street parking.

Quiet Retreats

 Our day-long, mini-weekend and full weekend retreats provide opportunities for slowing down and making space for the more in your life. We offer practices designed to quiet busy minds in order to make room for a deeper and richer experience of the divine. Mercy Spirituality Center is a retreat center for people of all faiths. We believe that each of us, individuals and organizations alike, needs time apart to find, deepen, or refresh our connection to what matters most in life. We are deeply grateful to be able to offer our beautiful space to the community for rest, reflection and spiritual growth.

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Our New Spring Retreats


Boundless Compassion



The Boundless Compassion program fosters a transforming way of life. Participants explore compassion as a tender yet powerful inner capacity that helps cultivate well-being and overcome divisions. Along the way, they learn practical skills and grow in trust as they discern their unique path toward compassionate living. This retreat offers opportunities for in-depth assimilation through presentations on the core components of Boundless Compassion, time for quiet reflection and small group dialogue. This four-day retreat serves as a catalyst for renewed commitment to becoming a compassionate presence. Experience this opportunity to deepen and expand the capacity for compassion in your life and that of others. A copy of Joyce Rupp’s Boundless Compassion and a notebook for your thoughts will be provided.

Facilitator: Joyce Martelli
Dates: Thursday, March 23, 7:00 p.m. through Sunday March 26, 12:00 p.m.
Location: MSC
Cost: Resident $350

Letters to God

Using writing as a way to deepen our spiritual lives is not new, but it will feel like it is in this weekend retreat devoted to language as a path to the Divine. We will explore the written word as message, prayer, liturgy and more. Join us as we weave together the quiet and communication that allows us to write our way into conversation with God.


Facilitated by: Rev. Lori Vail
Dates: Thursday, April 27 - Sunday, April 30
Location: MSC
Fee: $350  


Art and Spirituality Weekend

Art & Spirituality Weekend Take your love of art and find a new way to dive into your spirituality. With the opportunity for a more in depth experience the two will be enhanced using Visio Divina, creation of your personalized journal, the use of nature and other creative activities to widen your meditation time with God. The program allows for private reflection time as well as group work. All are welcome.
Dates: Thursday, May 18, 7:00 p.m. through Sunday May 21, 12:00 p.m.
Location: MSC
Cost: $350




Summer Retreats

Directed Retreat As we deal with our busy schedules, we all need time to stop and reevaluate how our relationship with God is growing and becoming. A directed retreat is an opportunity to come away and be for a while. You will have an opportunity to take part in the quiet atmosphere of Mercy Spirituality Center with its beautiful grounds and prayer places. You are invited to explore all facets of your spiritual life. You will meet on a daily basis with a director who will support you in this journey of solitude and becoming.

Facilitated by: MSC Team of Spiritual Directors
Dates: Sunday June 25, 7:00 p.m. - Friday June 30, 1:00 p.m.
Location: MSC
Price: $350


Christmas in July The Gifts and Challenges of the Infancy Narratives: Using Luke and Matthew’s infancy texts, art and poetry we will explore what gifts and challenges these authors said and have to say to us today!

Facilitated by: Sr. Noel Keller
Dates: Sunday, July 23 - Friday, July 28
Location: MSC
Cost: $350

Contemplative Knitting Class This class is an exploration of the connection between knitting and prayer. Contemplative Knitting is meant for knitters at all levels and that includes beginners or those just starting. We'll explore the history of the craft to see how it helped people stay connected. We'll study the spirituality of repetition. Most importantly, we'll use our knitting to develop a sustainable daily prayer practice. The course includes strategies to help us get back on track for those moments when we stray from our practice. There will be time to share our knitting, patterns, tools, and yarn. We will talk about how our yarn stash helps us identify our preferences and lots more! Bring your knitting or some yarn and some needles and discover how to quiet your mind and open your heart to God.

Julie Cicora is a retired Episcopal Priest that loves to knit! She became a priest after spending twenty-two years selling computers at Hewlett-Packard. Her interests include writing, riding her motorcycle, windsurfing, and spending time with her thirteen grandchildren. She is fascinated with prayer and has written two books on prayer: All I Can Do Is Pray and Contemplative Knitting. If you want to know more about Julie's knitting adventures, check out her YouTube channel "Contemplative Knitting".

Facilitated by: Julie Cicora
Dates: Sunday, August 13, 7:00 p.m. - Friday, August 18, 12:00 p.m.
Location: MSC
Cost: $350  

Facilitated Retreats

Our facilitated retreats center around contemplative practice, Ignatian Spirituality and finding God in nature. Check our calendar to see what’s up next, or call to arrange an experience tailored to the needs of your group. (See "Retreats" above for more information)

Group Retreat Opportunities

 We believe in the value of time apart from the routines of daily life. In our warm, inviting space, Mercy Spirituality Center is uniquely able to offer intimate, experiential, contemplative retreats for your small group.

Call us to find out more about our weekend (Friday evening – Sunday lunch) and mini-weekend (Friday evening - Saturday late afternoon) offerings. Call 585-473-6893. Or email us at: [email protected]. But contact us early! Available weekends fill quickly.