53 Mill Street, Westfield, MA 01085
July 17 - 20, 2025
About this Retreat
Anne Simpkinson has been practicing Centering Prayer (CP) since 1996. In 1997, she interviewed Fr. Thomas Keating, one of the developers of and principal advocate of the Centering Prayer method. That same year, she sought to deepen her practice in a 10-day intensive in Snowmass, CO. While living in New York City, she trained as an Introductory CP Introductory Workshop facilitator, served as co-coordinator of the New York chapter of Contemplative Outreach for three years, and facilitated CP groups at St. Bartholomew and St. Ignatius Loyola Churches. For several years, she was the Communications Director at Mercy by the Sea. She currently facilitates Centering Prayer retreats and, with Claire Rusowicz, contemplative prayer retreats in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
(Prayer Retreats)
Claire Rusowicz is a spiritual and retreat director and spiritual director supervisor, with more than 25 years’ experience working with groups and individuals in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. She is a former staff associate and director of Mercy by the Sea Retreat Center's Program Department, and helped develop and facilitate the Center’s Centering Prayer workshops, on-site groups and retreats. Based in CT and MA, she now works in private practice and serves as a guest retreat director at centers in both states. Claire is also a member of the College of Directors at Fairfield University’s Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality.
Details of this retreat
Have you ever wondered what lies beyond the incessant noise of your mind, in the stillness where true presence resides? Discover the transformative power of contemplative prayer and embark on a journey to meet the God of mystery and grace, sometimes unsettling, yet surprisingly wonderful—redefine your relationship with the sacred.
"... Contemplation occurs when interior silence morphs into Presence.
This Presence … might be called spaciousness. … You are awake to something
you cannot describe and which … manifests itself in
increasing tenderness, sweetness, and intimacy." - Thomas Keating
"... Contemplation occurs when interior silence morphs into Presence. This Presence… might be called spaciousness. There is nothing in it except a certain vibrancy and aliveness. ... You are awake something you cannot describe and which is absolutely marvelous, totally generous, and which manifests itself in increasing tenderness, sweetness, and intimacy."
Silence and Stillness draw us to the center of our being where we open to the God Who is, not the God we expect — the dynamic, spacious, ever-evolving Reality. In this silent retreat, through periods of Centering Prayer; contemplative practices; simple body exercises; contemplative conversation; and quiet time for reflection, reading, and walking the grounds, we will heed the call to meet the God of mystery and grace, sometimes unfamiliar and unsettling, sometimes surprisingly wonderful beyond words.
This retreat, intended for those with a centering prayer or other contemplative prayer practice, will draw on the writings of Thomas Keating, Ilia Delio, Teilhard de Chardin, Meister Eckhart, and others. It will offer the opportunity to explore your experiences with the Sacred and reflect on how and whether your image and relationship with the divine have changed over the years. This will be a time to ponder the questions: Where is God calling you? How are you responding?
Verified
1 Space Remaining
