Calendar

All retreats on the calendar are held at our retreat center noon Friday - noon Sunday unless otherwise stated. Cost covers all material, facilitator fees and 3 healthy meals per day. Guests make own arrangements for over-night accommodations – we suggest WindCradle Guest House or the Outpost Motel.

Mother / Daughter Canoe Trip
July 7-10 FULL and July 20-25 and August 3-8 FULL

Moonlight paddles, watching a mother moose with her calf, early morning swims, talking over a campfire, learning to carry a canoe across a portage, cooking creative meals: experience all of this with your mother / daughter on a trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Join us as we reflect on what we can learn about ourselves as women, as mothers and daughters, as spiritual beings, and as part of the created order ($900 per pair).

Women's Canoe Trip
Aug 9-14

Moonlight paddles, watching a mother moose with her calf, early morning swims, talking over a campfire, learning to carry a canoe across a portage, cooking creative meals: experience all of this on a women's trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Join us as we reflect on what we can learn about ourselves as women, as spiritual beings, and as part of the created order ($400).

Creativity and Spirituality
September 23-24

Artists and spiritual seekers use similar language about attentiveness to the world within and without. Both speak of allowing understanding to evolve, being open to shifts of mood or light, and both demand a struggle for outward expression and willingness to leap into the depths. In this retreat, facilitator Mary Ellen Ashcroft will guide you to consider the epiphanies and frustrations of the artistic and spiritual quest as we examine writers/artists who have pondered the deeper journey, and consider our own creative process as we work in a number of media, ponder, and visit some local artists’ studios.
No experience necessary. $375 Register Now!

Teaching and the Art of Imperfection
October 21 noon - October 23 noon

As teachers, we labor in a goal-oriented, results-driven work environment. We must be highly qualified, produce measurable results, maintain high expectations, promote academic excellence. This weekend, leave your ungraded papers and projects – your things to do—at home. Give yourself permission to re-connect with yourself, to be imperfect, and to renew your calling to this profession, as we explore the spirituality of teaching with teachers Amy Ogren and Mary Ellen Ashcroft.
$375 Register Now!

Deepening Spirituality: Women’s Twelve Step Retreat
October 28-29

Inviting women in a twelve step program to deepen their spiritual journey and their relationship with their higher power at a weekend retreat at WindCradle, Grand Marais, MN.
Facilitators: Colleen Birt and Suzanne Sherman
$200 [covers meals and materials]

Peace Fibres: Stitching a Soulful World
with Karen Lohn, psychologist and teacher
November 4-5

Joining, connecting, unifying, creating harmony, making beauty. Fiber work is not only an apt metaphor for creating a more soulful, peaceful world; it offers a vehicle through which to begin.
Find out more about Karen and her book, —Peace Fibres: Stitching a Soulful World?, at www.peacefibres.com.
No experience necessary. $375 Register Now!

2012

Women's North Shore Snowshoe Retreat
January 23-26

Nurture your soul by snowshoeing, sitting by the fire, watching Lake Superior, warming in the sauna, being in the quiet, as well as sharing meals and conversation. This retreat is a great way to explore the snowy outer landscape of the North Shore, and nestle deep into our wintery inner landscapes.
Facilitated by Mary Ellen Ashcroft (writer, priest, wilderness guide).
No experience necessary! $375 Register now!

Forgiveness: Not just 'getting over it'
January 27-28

Ours is a fearful, wounding world. No matter how carefully we craft our lives, we may find ourselves deeply hurt. Not only hurt, but in an awkward position: we know we must forgive those who have harmed us. Friends tell us to get over it, to move on. But we are also called to be authentic, honest about our pain, and we know the call to superficial amnesia or analgesia is not the voice of God. Each harm is a mosaic, a complex of anger, betrayal, regret, self blame. And although there are no good, easy answers, there are deeply spiritual ways to walk this path, inviting the pain to deepen and even bless our lives, as theologians Simone Weil and Dorothee Soelle suggest.
Facilitated by Mary Ellen Ashcroft (writer and priest).
$375 Register Now!

Women Mystics: Hearing and Learning from Our Fore-mothers
February 10-11

From Julian of Norwich to Simone Weil, from Hildegaard to Dorothee Soelle, women mystics have guided spiritual seekers down the ages. Facilitator Mary Ellen Ashcroft (writer and priest) will invite these women’s writings to permeate our souls; besides silent reflection, we will create our own books to carry them with us. Warm fires and winter storms will offer background to our work together.
$375 Register Now!

Beyond Masks: the Enneagram
March 9-10
with Karen Lohn, psychologist and teacher

Human complexities, human simplicities. The Enneagram is an ancient, Human complexities, human simplicities. The Enneagram is an ancient, now thoroughly modernized, system of understanding the unique ways we present ourselves and relate to others. As a tool for deepening self awareness and developing appreciation for the underlying dynamics of human interaction, the Enneagram is unsurpassed.
$375 Register Now!

Creativity and Spirituality
March 23-24

Artists and spiritual seekers use similar language about attentiveness to the world within and without. Both speak of allowing understanding to evolve, being open to shifts of mood or light, and both demand a struggle for outward expression and willingness to leap into the depths. In this retreat, writing and painting will be used to consider the epiphanies and frustrations of the artistic and spiritual quest as we examine writers/artists who have pondered the deeper journey, and consider our own creative process.
$375 Register Now!

Spring Cleaning: Work-Retreat Exchange
May-June
Work, reflect, rejuvenate! Exchange 3-4 days of meaningful labor at WindCradle for free lodging, simple meals, guided morning and evening reflections, and use of labyrinth, meditation space, sauna, trails, and beach at our beautiful retreat center on the North Shore of Lake
Superior. Tasks and projects range from gardening to trail clearing, window washing to building maintenance depending on your skills, interest, and ability.
2 person maximum at any time.
Contact us to find out more about this opportunity!

Spring Spirituality:
Meeting God in Wild Waterfalls and Tender Flowers
May 18-19

May is a time of contrasts— fragile spring flowers near raging waterfalls. On this retreat we will pay attention to the world around us, allowing it to deepen our spiritual lives. This retreat will involve some hiking as well as contemplation, input on environmental spirituality, and sharing.
Facilitated by Mary Ellen Ashcroft (writer, priest, wilderness guide). $375 Register Now!

© 2011