Open Hands, Open Heart

Summer Retreat Day

Saturday, July 25th, 2026 (9:30 -3:30)

at the beautiful Monastery of Mount Carmel in Niagara Falls

Join me and my friend and colleague Sharon Soderholm for a restorative Summer Day Retreat. Through story, poetry and song, you will be invited into the gentle practice of receiving the gifts and holy surprises life offers.

Inspired by the story of the Irish St. Kevin — who with hands open in prayer, welcomed a blackbird to nest there – we will explore what it means to live with radical hospitality and patient expectancy.

This day will offer space for stillness, personal reflection, conversation with kindred souls and options for creative collage expression, walking the labyrinth and/or a contemplative walk outdoors.

Cost: $70 (includes a delicious lunch)

Come with open hands and an open heart. Discover the quiet grace of a life ready to receive. 

Coming in the Fall…

Grief and Gratitude Weekend Retreat

November 13th-15th, 2026

at the Monastery of Mount Carmel,
Niagara Falls

Join me and Sharon Soderholm for a transformative weekend designed to guide us through the tender landscape of loss and the profound beauty of appreciation. We will create a sacred and supportive space to acknowledge, honour, and integrate our experiences of grief, while simultaneously cultivating a deeper connection to gratitude.

 During our weekend together we will create a handmade gratitude & grief journal using a simple book binding technique and collage. Weaving together reflection and ritual, music and poetry, guided journaling, time for individual contemplation and conversation with kind souls, this will be a slow paced and restorative retreat.

To save your spot, call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com