SUMMER -- Delight and Abundance
July 28, 2010
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Retreat House
Body:

 

Seasonal Quiet Days

At Rolling Ridge Retreat Center,
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

“Come away…and rest a while.”
Mk 6:31


What would happen if we took time aside from our ordinary busy weekday schedules simply to pray and reflect in a natural place apart? What would it mean to the ‘rest of our lives’ if we took one day every few months for silent retreat? How might we grow in our relationship with God?

These four quiet days during the year offer you the opportunity to rest in the beauty of Creation’s varied seasons. They are a time apart to look and see, listen and hear in new ways. They are a chance to be nurtured by guided reflection around the seasonal themes, meditative walks in the woods, journaling and art, and the companioning presence of each other in prayer and sacred silence.

Leader:  Trish Stefanik, contemplative artist and retreat leader, is a resident at Rolling Ridge and member of St. Agnes Catholic Church.

Each day is 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Advance registration is necessary. No cost, donations welcome. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information contact Trish at tstefanik@aol.com or call 304-725-4301. See www.rollingridge.net for directions. Overnight accommodations are available at the Retreat House for a small fee.  

WINTER: Stillness and Listening
Wednesday, March 3
During Lent, gather in the stillness of the trees and in front of the Retreat House hearth to listen within for God’s word. 

SPRING: Awakening and Newness
Wednesday, May 12
Easter heralded rebirth and challenges us to new awareness. Explore the budding landscape and discover what is awakening for you.   

SUMMER: Delight and Abundance
Wednesday, July 28
Join the chorus of birdsong and pray gratitude for the longer days and abounding blessings of the earth and your life.

FALL: Trust and Surrender
Wednesday, October 20
The wind picks up, the leaves turn and fall “home.” We are called to trust and let go deeper into God’s loving embrace.

Download PDF Flyer

June 18-20, 2010
Retreat House and Woodhaven
Body:

COB WORKSHOP
at Rolling Ridge
Study Retreat Community

Harpers Ferry, WV

June 18-20, 2010

 

Roll up your sleeves, take off your shoes, and get your fingers and toes down in the mud! Woodhaven is ready for its sunroom entryway cob wall to be built. Cob is a mix of clay, sand, and chopped straw and is used to make durable, sculptural walls with the capacity to collect and store heat energy (thermal mass).

Woodhaven is the fifth and final house to be built at Rolling Ridge Study Retreat, in keeping with the covenant to preserve most of the land as mountain wilderness. It will provide much needed space for residential staff to be able to continue to care for the land and to nurture retreat programs.

The workshop will cover a description of the function of each ingredient in cob, benefits and challenges of cob construction, establishing a basic recipe, how to test site soil for clay content, mixing techniques, and hand-on experience building with cob.

  • Friday evening- Tour of Worksite, Cookout/campfire, and Discussion of Natural Building
  • Saturday* -- Overview of Cob Construction, Demonstration, Hands-on Experience Mixing Clay and Building a Wall with Sigi Koko
  • Sunday -- All-Day Hands-On Building and Camaraderie of Shared Work

Cost of the Workshop Weekend - $145, including meals and housing. (If finances are an issue, please contact us.)

Please contact Scot at scot@rollingridge.net (202-330-6874) or Linda at linda@rollingridge.net (301-789-9097) to register by June 1st. Directions and details on what to bring will be emailed to those who register about 1 week prior to the workshop event.

To see our progress so far, including photos from the 2009 strawbale workshop, visit this photo site: http://straw-bale.blogspot.com/

*Sigi was the architect who designed Woodhaven and she has done strawbale and plastering workshops here at Rolling Ridge and many other places. She founded Down to Earth to provide healthy, sustainable design and consulting services in the Mid-Atlantic region. For more info visit: www.buildnaturally.com.

SPRING -- Awakening and Newness
May 12, 2010
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Retreat House
Body:

 

Seasonal Quiet Days

At Rolling Ridge Retreat Center,
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

“Come away…and rest a while.”
Mk 6:31


Please join us for our next Seasonal Quiet Day, this one celebrating spring – Wed May 12, 10 am – 4 pm. You are welcome to overnight in the Retreat House Tues or Wed to extend your retreat time!

Our Spring Theme is Awakening and Newness. Eastertide heralds rebirth and a new way of being. We are challenged to begin again, to see with new eyes, to listen with an awakened heart. Come away to the budding beauty of the mountain wilderness to nurture what is seeking new life and expression in you. The day will include a gentle rhythm of guided meditations and silence allowing you to explore the landscape around you and in your soul.

There is no cost, donations are welcome. Bring a bag lunch. Please let us know that you are coming, contact Trish at tstefanik@aol.com or call 304-725-4301. See www.rollingridge.net for more information and directions.


What would happen if we took time aside from our ordinary busy weekday schedules simply to pray and reflect in a natural place apart? What would it mean to the ‘rest of our lives’ if we took one day every few months for silent retreat? How might we grow in our relationship with God?

These four quiet days during the year offer you the opportunity to rest in the beauty of Creation’s varied seasons. They are a time apart to look and see, listen and hear in new ways. They are a chance to be nurtured by guided reflection around the seasonal themes, meditative walks in the woods, journaling and art, and the companioning presence of each other in prayer and sacred silence.

Leader:  Trish Stefanik, contemplative artist and retreat leader, is a resident at Rolling Ridge and member of St. Agnes Catholic Church.

Each day is 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Advance registration is necessary. No cost, donations welcome. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information contact Trish at tstefanik@aol.com or call 304-725-4301. See www.rollingridge.net for directions. Overnight accommodations are available at the Retreat House for a small fee.  

SPRING: Awakening and Newness
Wednesday, May 12
Easter heralded rebirth and challenges us to new awareness. Explore the budding landscape and discover what is awakening for you.   

SUMMER: Delight and Abundance
Wednesday, July 28
Join the chorus of birdsong and pray gratitude for the longer days and abounding blessings of the earth and your life.

FALL: Trust and Surrender
Wednesday, October 20
The wind picks up, the leaves turn and fall “home.” We are called to trust and let go deeper into God’s loving embrace.

Download PDF Flyer

For children ages 6-12 and their parents, grandparents or mentors
May 7-8, 2010
7 pm Friday - Supper Saturday
Retreat House
Body:

Dear Children of the Earth

An Annual Mother's Day
Earth Retreat
At Rolling Ridge
Study Retreat Center

May 7-8, 2010

For children ages 6-12 and
their parents, grandparents or mentors

Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community joyfully welcomes you to its annual Mother's Day Earth Retreat, May 7-8, 2010. The retreat begins with dinner at 7 pm on Friday and concludes with supper on Saturday.

This retreat is designed especially for pairs of one adult and one child (ages 6-12) and includes:

  • a campfire time of stories and songs celebrating the earth
  • nature arts and crafts
  • discovery hikes and guided adventures
  • morning nature meditation and retreat time for adults
  • a closing ceremonial time for gathering together our discoveries and our prayers of gratitude and healing for the earth
... [it's] wonderful how completely everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent of us. The sun shines not on us, but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us -- John Muir

Overnight lodging will be in the Retreat House or in the campground of the Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community.

Leaders: Verle and Vivian Headings, Cheryl Hellner, Jim Hall, and Linda and Scot DeGraf.

Fees: $50.00 for adult and child together ($10.00 for a second child coming with you) $30.00 for adult and child if you are camping. To register and for more information please call Vivian Headings at 304-725-2312 (vvatrr@juno.com).

Download PDF Flyer

April 2-3, 2010
5:30 pm Friday - 6:00 pm Saturday
Retreat House
Body:

An Easter Retreat

At Rolling Ridge
Study Retreat Community ,
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

5:30 pm April 2, 2010 - 6:00 pm April 3, 2010

Over time, by spending time with thoughtful theologians, we have come to recognize that central meanings of both the birth of Jesus and of Easter are enunciations of deep yearning for a world where love and justice are passionately embraced. As practiced in the cultures of empire from the first century until now, love and justice often have not been the focus of how the Jesus birth story or the Easter story are told .
 
"The story of Holy Week as Mark and the gospels tell it enables us to hear the passion of Jesus---what he was passionate about---that led to his execution. His passion was the kingdom of God, what life would be like on earth if God were king and the rulers, domination systems, and empires of this world were not. It is the world that prophets dreamed of---a world of distributive justice in which everybody has enough and systems are fair. And it is not simply a political dream. It is God's dream, a dream that can only be realized by being grounded ever more deeply in the reality of God, whose heart is justice. Jesus' passion got him killed. But God has vindicated Jesus. This is the political meaning of Good Friday and Easter." (The Last Week, Borg and Crossan)
 
In this Easter retreat at Rolling Ridge we will reflect on the Jesus who is passionate about love of God and love of neighbor, and our own call to be transformed into holding such a dream, and not to be conformed to the practice of Easter by the empire in which we live.
 
This 24-hour retreat interval is designed to enable a preparation for Easter, and to allow anyone who wishes to do so to experience Easter Sunday in their church congregation.  Selected brief passages from three sources will be mailed in advance of retreat to each registered retreat participant.  Prior to retreat, we suggest that you use a journal for recording what you learn through study and reflection on these passages. Then bring the journal to retreat and continue recording insights during this 24 hour period.
 
The 24 hours of retreat will begin at 5:30 on Good Friday with introductions of all who are gathered, orientation to the elements of this retreat, distribution of aids for reflection, and a Lenten meal of bread and soup. This is followed by a walking meditation, the Stations of the Cross, through the forest and sacred spaces of Rolling Ridge. This version of the "Via Dolorosa" looks at the passion of Jesus defined not as his suffering, but rather as parabolic explication of what he was passionate about. Experience and understand the Stations in a new way amid the beauty and peace of wilderness. Quiet for reflection, prayer and rest follows until breakfast Saturday morning, after which we begin a time of conversation and meditation, guided by the schedule below.
 
Saturday
 
8:00  -- Breakfast (in silence), listening to a parabolic story read during the meal
 
9:30  -- Gather for sharing insights from the study sources mailed in advance to participants, and from the Stations experience

10:30 - Personal reflection in solitude or with one another (refreshments)
 
12:00 - Lunch and conversation on personal insights
 
1:30 - Options for personal reflection in solitude, sharing in a small group, or  hiking on forest trails
 
4:00 - Gather for sharing insights from the retreat
 
5:00 - Simple supper, and closing of retreat
 
6:00 - Return to home or remain at the retreat house until Sunday noon  if you desire personal retreat
 
The Friday evening segment of this retreat is guided by Lindsay McLaughlin, who has led an alternate version of Stations of the Cross for 11 years. Vivian and Verle Headings will guide the Saturday segment of the retreat. All three are residential members of Study Retreat Community.
 
For questions and registering for retreat, contact Verle or Vivian at e-mail: VvatRR@juno.com or phone: 304-725-2312. Please let us know if you need directions to the Retreat House.
 
Specify your interest for the entire 24-hour retreat, Friday evening only, Saturday only, or continuing until Sunday noon for personal retreat. Retreat fee (meals, refreshments, study materials, and lodgeing ) will be $50 per person. For extended stay add $10. Please recall that for overnight events at the Retreat House you bring your own bedroll and towel. 
 
Finally, please give us your mailing address so that we can mail study materials to you.
March 29 - April 1, 2010
12:00 noon
Retreat House
Body:

Quiet Days for Holy Week

At Rolling Ridge Retreat Center,
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

March 29 - April 1, 2010
(Monday - Thursday)

The Retreat House will be open for silence and solitude, quiet study and reflection during the days of Holy Week. At noon each day, those who wish can join the community at the Meditation Shelter for a time of guided reflection and prayer. There is no cost, but please contact us to let us know you are coming. You are welcome to bring your own food and use our kitchen as well as make arrangements to stay overnight (reservations required).

A formal retreat opportunity will follow April 2 - 3, which will include Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. More details to come.

For information please contact community@rollingridge.net or call 202-531-7572 and see www.rollingridge.net.

Download PDF Flyer

March 26-27, 2010
4:00 pm Friday - Supper Saturday
Retreat House
Body:


After the snowstorm
Quiet and stillness hover
Heaven and earth kiss.

Haiku as Spiritual Practice

A Retreat at Rolling Ridge Retreat Center Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

March 26 - 27, 2010

 “In paying attention to small things, the haiku poet honors the sacredness of everyday life.”

-- Margaret D. McGee, author of Haiku – the Sacred Art


A “haiku” is a simple three line form of poetry with a syllabic pattern of 5-7-5. On the surface, it is about something we see in nature. But at its core a haiku unveils something profound and treasured – that which resonates with one’s heart. In the end it is not about the words; it is about what happens when we truly take the time to pay attention and notice.

The process of writing haiku, and illustrating it if you like, helps us to experience a new awareness and to appreciate the beauty and wonder of the moment. It is an opportunity to realize our deep connection to the natural world, the Creator, and each other. It is a playful art form that awakens our senses, opens our mind and heart, and transforms the participant.

Leader: Trish Stefanik, contemplative artist and retreat leader, is a resident of Rolling Ridge and has been inspired by the forested mountain wilderness to compose haiku.

For more information and to register, see www.rollingridge.net or call 304-725-4301.

Advance registration is necessary. The cost is $75, which includes lodging, meals, and program materials. Participants are welcome to arrive and settle in at the Retreat House beginning 4 pm on Friday. Dinner will be served at 6:30. The retreat will conclude after dinner Saturday night. For those who would like to stay on their own for another night at the Retreat House, the total retreat fee is $95. Please make checks payable to RRSRC and mail to: Rolling Ridge, 186 Tupelo Lane, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425.

Download PDF Flyer

WINTER -- Stillness and Listening
March 3, 2010
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Retreat House
Body:

 

Seasonal Quiet Days

At Rolling Ridge Retreat Center,
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

“Come away…and rest a while.”
Mk 6:31


What would happen if we took time aside from our ordinary busy weekday schedules simply to pray and reflect in a natural place apart? What would it mean to the ‘rest of our lives’ if we took one day every few months for silent retreat? How might we grow in our relationship with God?

These four quiet days during the year offer you the opportunity to rest in the beauty of Creation’s varied seasons. They are a time apart to look and see, listen and hear in new ways. They are a chance to be nurtured by guided reflection around the seasonal themes, meditative walks in the woods, journaling and art, and the companioning presence of each other in prayer and sacred silence.

Leader:  Trish Stefanik, contemplative artist and retreat leader, is a resident at Rolling Ridge and member of St. Agnes Catholic Church.

Each day is 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Advance registration is necessary. No cost, donations welcome. Please bring a bag lunch. For more information contact Trish at tstefanik@aol.com or call 304-725-4301. See www.rollingridge.net for directions. Overnight accommodations are available at the Retreat House for a small fee.  

WINTER: Stillness and Listening
Wednesday, March 3
During Lent, gather in the stillness of the trees and in front of the Retreat House hearth to listen within for God’s word. 

SPRING: Awakening and Newness
Wednesday, May 12
Easter heralded rebirth and challenges us to new awareness. Explore the budding landscape and discover what is awakening for you.   

SUMMER: Delight and Abundance
Wednesday, July 28
Join the chorus of birdsong and pray gratitude for the longer days and abounding blessings of the earth and your life.

FALL: Trust and Surrender
Wednesday, October 20
The wind picks up, the leaves turn and fall “home.” We are called to trust and let go deeper into God’s loving embrace.

Download PDF Flyer

A New Year's Celebration in the Spirit of Taize
December 31 - January 3, 2010
Rolling Ridge and Still Point Retreat Center
Body:

Peace Pilgrimage 2010
A Gospel Beginning

A New Year's Celebration
of Daily Prayer and Community
In the Spirit of Taize
with Stefan Andre Waligur

Rolling Ridge and Still Point Retreat Centers
December 31 - January 3, 2010

In August 2009, more than 300 people came together for the first Pilgrimage of Peace at Rolling Ridge, where for one month we gathered in a daily rhythm of sung prayer, silence, shared meals, common work, conversation, reflection, and play.

It was an exciting time -- a little community was being born. And now perhaps an ecumenical monastic community like Taize is emerging with your loving support. We want to take a second step and joyfully invite you and your friends to come to a New Year 2010 Pilgrimage of Peace at Still Point and Rolling Ridge.

From Thursday December 31 at 4:00 pm to Sunday January 3 at 4:00 pm, we'll sing and pray, share together in silence and conversation, work and play.

Come for a part of a day, a day, or a few days. Come alone or with your friends. Come with your children or your animal friends. All are welcome. There is no set fee for this time, though we will take up daily contributions to help out with the lodging and food expenses.

Help us spread the word, and share your gifts, including food! Together we'll bring the New Year in and together we'll take a second step in co-creating a Community of Peace. Together we'll search for the sources of peace.

"I seek the One whom my soul loves..." Song of Solomon

To register e-mail swaligur@yahoo.com and let us know how long you'll be staying so we can plan to welcome you.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Your little brother,
Stefan

Email: swaligur@yahoo.com
Phone: 901.570.1439
Web: www.songsofpeace.net

Stefan Andre Waligur is a contemplative musician/composer, retreat leader, and peace activist connected for many years with the Church of the Saviour in Washington DC. For the past ten years Stefan has been going to Taize, an ecumenical Christian monastic community in France where most weeks during spring and summer between one and six thousand young people descend upon the small community to join them three times a day in simple chants, common meals, reflection on questions of spirituality and social justice, and simple work and play.

A prayer has been forming in Stefan ever since his first visit: Has the time come to create for this country an ecumenical monastic community of both men and women that is self supportive, is devoted to simplicity, creates a beautiful sung prayer, has a heart for the poor, and offers a deep welcome to all who come to visit?

Here in the United States there is a great need for such a community: a community that unifies the Body of Christ and engages both the inner life of prayer and at the same time struggles to respond to the social and political injustices of our time.


Peace Pilgrimage 2010 web: www.rollingridge.net
Stefan Waligur phone: 901.570.1439
129 Jubilee Lane e-mail: swaligur@yahoo.com
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
For Pastors and Church Leaders
December 14, 2009
10:00 am - 1:00 pm or 4:00 pm
Retreat House
Body:

Throughout his ministry, Jesus regularly took time to withdraw to a quiet place, to reflect and pray.

Retreat and rest is vital, and yet busy schedules often prevent us from setting aside the time we need.

We invite you to join us on the second Monday of each month for "A Day Away," a Sabbath day especially set aside for pastors and church leaders at Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community.

 

Rhythm of the Day

We will gather at the Retreat House at 10:00 a.m. for brief input, followed by your own time for prayer and reflection. Lunch will be served at noon. Retreatants may choose to leave at 1:00, or stay until 4:00 to hike the trails, sit quietly in the Meditation Shelter, get creative in the Art Cottage, or settle into a room to journal, rest or pray.

Second Mondays

"A Day Away" for pastors and church leaders will take place the second Monday of each month. The day is offered at no cost to attendees. Donations are accepted. Join us as often as you wish!

RSVP

Please let us know you will be attending by calling 304-724-6653 or emailing us at community@rollingridge.net. But if you forget to let us know in advance, come anyway!

About Rolling Ridge

Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community is a non-profit, ecumenical retreat center, begun in 1986. It is located on 1400 acres of wilderness land in the Blue Ridge mountains. Facilities include a Retreat House, Meditation Shelter, and an Art Cottage.

Private Retreats

In addition, the Retreat House is frequently available during the week for private retreats. Please call the staff community at 304-724-6653 to schedule a time.

Directions

From Charles Town or Martinsburg: Go east on Route 9. After crossing the Shenandoah River, go one mile and then turn right on Mission Road. Go 6.3 miles, and turn left at the Rolling Ridge sign onto the gravel road (still called Mission Road). Go one mile and turn right at the intersection, following Mission Road. Go .3 miles and turn left at Christ Church Road, following the signs for Retreat House.

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