Past Events

"Faith is a gift of spirit that allows the soul to remain attached to its own unfolding." Thomas Moore-Care of the Soul

How does transformation happen?

Is it a matter of getting rid of, paring away, simplifying, declaring what is essential? Or is it about building up, doing more, gathering in? Is it spurred by friction, by being interwoven with others? Is it about seeking a teacher or spiritual guide? Fasting and letting go? Embracing our inner child? Playing, wondering, being fools?

Come away to the woods and take time to explore these questions with your hands, with silent reflection and mealtime discussions, and with the good company of others. Soap carving, clay work, and felting will become metaphors for reflecting on who we are and how we change and grow in our relationship to God.

We will enjoy the rhythms of working with our hands and then take time in silence and with music to reflect on our experiences with each medium. Our meditation is in the process of creating and engaging with the materials. Even if you have never worked with these mediums before, they are accessible and relatively "friendly" to everyone!

Participants are welcome to arrive at the retreat house between 5 and 7 pm on Friday. Dinner will be served at 7:00. The retreat will end with lunch on Sunday.

Cost for the weekend is $100 (which includes materials, lodging, and meals). Space is limited. Please send a $25 deposit (or the entire amount) to reserve your space. For questions, please call Keith at 304-725-4301. Checks should be made out to RRSRC, and mailed to RRSRC, c/o March 06 Med Arts, 186 Tupelo Lane, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425. Registrations should include any dietary needs.

Linda DeGraf is a teacher and an artist who works with quilting and felting as well as other mediums. She was active in Sojourners Community in Washington DC for many years and has been a member of Circle Community Church in Mt. Rainier, MD where she lives.

Make your plans now to attend these other Artist Refuge Retreats sponsored by Meditative Arts in 2006 and 2007:

• Mysteries of Creation: Patterns in Nature with Artist-in-Residence Trish Stefanik (October 6-8, 2006)
• PeaceGrooves Festival: The Art of Peace (July 1, 2006)
• The Illuminated Word: A Writing Retreat (March 16-18, 2007)
• Working through Grief with Art (October 5-7, 2007)

You are invited to a work project on Monday, February 20, the President’s Day Holiday, to help build the Meeting Circle. As you may already know this project, The Meeting Circle: in Memory of Friends and Family, is in response to the passing of Nelson Good. The goal is to build an outdoor meeting space from Rolling Ridge stone and wood which can be used during Rolling Ridge retreats. The location is a short distance from the Meditation Shelter and in the space of the future Memorial Garden. It will consist of three semi circle benches with three stone supports each, a tenth entrance stone and three boulders in the center.

On February 20 we will be using a truck and tractor to move the largest stones and trees that are needed for the project -- so we are looking for able bodied volunteers, but will have jobs for those of us not blessed with strong backs! We will have a short worship time together in the Stone Meditation shelter before lunch, and then share together a delicious home-cooked meal. You are welcome to arrive on Sunday night. We will be organizing additional work parties later in the year if this date is not available for you.

Please let us know if you will be participating by calling Bob Sabath at 304.724.6653 or emailing us at community@rollingridge.net

Forced to flee for his life, the prophet Elijah had an unforgettable wilderness experience. In a mountain cave, he encountered God in sheer stillness.

Join us at Rolling Ridge as we journey with Elijah. We will enter into the narrator’s telling of this story—dramatically on Friday evening, and contemplatively on Saturday morning. Then we will enter a long and spacious silence—a time for rest, reflection, prayer, writing, walking the mountain trails. The silence will conclude with a ritual of sending and blessing before supper.

The 24-hour retreat will begin Friday, Feb. 3 at 7:00 pm with supper and conclude Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7:00 pm. Or, participants may choose to attend on Saturday only, from 9:30 am-7:00 pm.

To register for the retreat, please send your name and contact information to 186 Tupelo Lane, Harpers Ferry, WV, 25425. Specify whether you will be attending Friday evening, or Saturday only, and mention special dietary needs. Include a $20 deposit (payable to RRSRC). Cost for the retreat is $50 for full 24-hour retreat, $30 for Saturday only. For more information, contact Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach at 304-725-4301 or rachelleas@juno.com.

This is great way to reflect on the past year and prepare for the new year!

Come join us for a three hour hike through deep forest up to Raven Rocks, a gorgeous valley overlook. Come before noon and enjoy the cabin and fire and good folks. Join in a home cooked lunch ($5) at noon followed by a hike ($10 donation please) starting at 1:00pm. One half hour of hike will be in silence for reflecting on your past year, new year. Open to hikers 12 and older. Event will be cancelled in event of bad weather. No rain date.

The Friends Wilderness Center is a Quaker retreat center within a remarkable private wilderness preserve. Two hours west of downtown DC, outside Charles Town, West Virginia.

See www.friendwilderness.org for details, especially the "Essential Info" section. Call Sheila at 304-728-4820 to register in advance as group is limited to 12 hikers. Staying overnight in cabin or yurt is an option.