This program is being offered on a donation basis. Donations go directly to the workshop leader to cover her costs. Donations can be made directly to Sara Jolena upon your arrival.

The program is designed to support your spaciousness and independence. If you need to leave early (ex, to not come on Sunday) or to take a break in the middle of the program, that is doable. This is a small retreat, and participants are encouraged to offer some of their gifts to the whole.

Some of the food will be provided by some of the participants; other meals will include picking up food from a local restaurant.

Program flow For those who wish to participate in the Abbey’s daily prayer cycle, that option will be easily available.

2:30pm. Early-Gathering: For those able to gather on Friday afternoon, we will start with an initial sharing circle followed by a guided Encounter with Wilderness. Note: if you cannot make this part of the program and want to come to the rest of the program, that is totally fine!

6-8pm. Opening Sunset Fire Circle: Join us for our (official) opening around the fire.

Saturday, 9:30am - 4:30pm: Program flow includes a combination of exercises, small and big group engagement, time in nature and working with circular time. There will be a circular time ritual in the late afternoon.

Sharing food (and possibly preparation) together

6-7pm: Sunset contemplation and devotional music.

8pm: Choose between movie night, resting, or star-lit night-walk (all are optional)

Sunday

Mass at the Abbey (optional)

10am. Discernment circles

Closing Circle.

We will be finished by 12pm.

This retreat is held at the Norbertine Abbey.

5825 Coors Blvd. SW
Albuquerque, NM 87121-6700

If you are coming for the first time, note that there is a very long driveway up to the Abbey.

If you are staying on campus, there are several different lodging options to choose from, all of which include a private bath. The suggested donation for these is $70/night. To reserve your room, please contact the Abbey’s hospitality manager/admin assistant, Linda, directly: LindaS@norbertinecommunity.org. She is very helpful and will get back to you quickly. You can also call her directly.

Join Rev. Sara Jolena Wolcott for this in-person weekend retreat in the. beautiful desert of New Mexico, on the southern outskirts of Albuquerque!

February 9-11, 2024. As we enter this Lunar New Year - the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac - let us gather together for reflection, spaciousness, community, and spiritual insight.

Step away from the overwhelm and over-crowdedness that may already be present in 2024. Slow down. Listen to God and to nature. Reflect on recent chaos in community. Pay attention to how Spirit is moving amongst us all.

Much is demanded of us in these times. None of us are asked to do this work alone. And yet it is so easy to feel alone and overwhelmed. Gathering is part of our collective and individual healing. Gathering opens us to how Spirit is speaking to us, directly to our condition, right now. Guiding us.

This is workshop that offers spaciousness to hear and attune to Spirit.

Integration is key to reducing overwhelm and enabling discernment. From spaciousness can arise a renewed spirit, healing, and different pathways into the future. 

Through a variety of approaches, including circular calendars, small group exercises, discernment, worship, prayer, song, a fire circle, taize, working with and through grief, embodied ways of knowing, and time in the wilderness, we will together find patterns and integrative healing. Join us in courage, solace, and renewal. 

This is an interfaith space and multiple spiritual expressions are welcomed.

This workshop leans upon the work around Circular Time that Sara Jolena has been developing for over 7 years. She brings a strong framing around decolonization and relating to our origin stories differently as part of eco-spiritual practices and of strengthening our mystical experience. The workshop also builds on the Quaker practices of group discernment, which hold that Spirit is alive in the collective, as well as the individual, and that together we can support one another’s spiritual leadings.

The workshop is supported and eldered by Hayley Hathaway, who has been a part of Sara Jolena’s eco-spiritual community for over five years. Hayley has many years of experience working for Quaker organizations, including Quaker Earthcare Witness. She is currently finishing her MA in social work. She lives with her fiance in Albuquerque.

Previous participants from the 2023 Lunar New Year Retreat highly recommend this retreat. Indeed, several 2023 participants are returning in 2024!

As they said, last year’s retreat was…

“Absolutely amazing. I feel rested, restored, and inspired for 2023. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“Sara Jolena is a gifted retreat leader and a spiritual leader. I have been to many retreats and this was one of the best. I am looking forward to more.”

“The work on circular time opened me up in new ways and has helped me resolve and come to peace with some challenging issues. The Abbey is such a beautiful place, it is wonderful to come here, again and again.”

“At Sara Jolena’s suggestion, I focused my time at the retreat on a particular leading I have had to start a kind of wild church. Over the course of 2023, that leading came into fruition. We had our first gathering in May of 2023 and continue to be meeting today. This retreat was where the seed of that leading was able to orient itself into what is now a real presence in my life and in the life of my community.”