Sacred Spaces & Shrines: An invitation to contemplative retreat and holy work.
Thursday evening, July 31 – Sunday, midday, August 3
with the Christine Center Sisters and Community
Welcome to an immersion in the sacred spaces and shrines of the Christine Center. Join the Christine Center community for a weekend of active sacred service and contemplative personal deepening as together we honor and tend the Christine Center’s beloved outdoor shrines. Our weekend offers spacious times of meditation, individual reflection, and peaceful companionship. Guided and supported by our resident community, there are various ways to donate service. Whether you feel called to dig, sweep, chant, or simply hold space, your presence becomes part of the blessing that these sacred sites offer to all who visit.
To prepare each shrine and wayside chapel for the seasons ahead (raking, edging, weeding, painting, mulching, dusting), we welcome your gift of some hours of service Helping with some of the kitchen and dining room tasks is another service option. Shared meals, evening bonfire conversations, and a closing ceremony with incense, drums, and holy water create a rhythm of inner and outer devotion—an invitation to conscious holy work and personal sacred contemplation.
Program highlights
- Exploring “Why Shrines?” and an introduction to the Christine Center shrines and new wayside Chapels.
- Hands-on volunteer service opportunities (Friday and Saturday mornings) with flexible tasks for all abilities.
- Optional silent meditation, chant, and crystal-singing-bowl sessions in the Chapel.
- Communal meals prepared by our kitchen and enjoyed with the Christine Center community.
- Friday and Saturday evening conversation for spiritual exploration and conviviality, fireside if weather permits.
- Sunday Walkabout and Shrine Blessing ceremony with incense, drums, holy water.
- Closing gratitude circle and Dance of Universal Peace.
- Time for personal reflection in our natural sanctuary and opportunity for self-guided shrine pilgrimage
- Retreat lodging & meals priced as usual—no additional program fee.
This retreat is an opportunity to both give back to cherished spiritual environments and to grow in your own spiritual journey.
Join us in preserving the beauty and sanctity of these sacred spaces. Your efforts will ensure that they remain places of inspiration and contemplation for all who visit.
The spaces we will encounter and care for:
- Blessed Mother Mary Shrine
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Guadalupe Shrine
- Interfaith Shrine
- St. Michael Shrine
- Visioning Spiral
- Canticle of the Creatures and Energy
- Centers Sculpture
- Remembrance Garden
