"The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before...So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon."

―Jan L. Richardson

Advent is a season rich with anticipation as we prepare to honor the incarnation of the person of Jesus: he revealed to the world a life rooted in the heart, at the intersection of time and timelessness. Alongside Mary, pregnant with the Christ, we enter the dark and soft stillness of winter; ripening with the blessing of generating the Christ in our own embodied lives. As we lean into the blessing, cultivating our own deep "yes" parallel to Mary's, we have the opportunity to carry forth tending to the horizontal demands of the season from a profound fullness. Slowing and staying awake to the true meaning of this season, we break the habitual excess of commercial consumerism, instead offering the fruits of our awakened hearts.

Join us as we lean into the blessing, sitting and lingering in the quiet, readying our hearts to enter Christmas with humility, compassion, and great love; that we may offer what is needed.

In-person at Mercy Center: participating in person with the group, wearing masks when indoors.

We trust that God's love surrounds all of it, all of us, exactly as we are.

Retreat Leaders:

Heather Ruce, M.A. is a wisdom spiritual director with a background as a therapist and training in a neurophysiology-based approach to trauma resolution. She loves working with individuals as well as facilitating groups and retreats focused on learning and practicing the Wisdom Tradition.

Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D. is a spiritual director and Centering Prayer coordinator at Mercy Center. Joy is dedicated to fostering contemplative practices such as Centering Prayer and others within the Christian Wisdom tradition that help us become aware of God's ever-present love. As a scientist, she sees in the physical world an expression of that love.