Welcome Reflect Refresh Wonder Renew Recharge Listen Rest
What if you could give yourself the gift of a few hours to simply stop, refresh yourself and nourish your spirit?
What could that give you?
Whether you have an hour, a day or want an ongoing experience, our online and in-person Circle of Trust ® and Courage & Renewal ® retreats offer protected time and space to rest, reflect, and see the path forward.
Upcoming Retreats
Critical Hope
Sunday, March 29
10:30 am – 12:00 pm ET
Online
Pay What You Can
A 90 minute, online Circle of Trust® exploring how we live with the creative tension between what is and what might yet be.
Critical Hope.
It’s been described as a dance between understanding the depth and complexity of the challenges we face and hearing the quiet spark that insists we can’t, we mustn’t, give up – even when the path ahead is bleak or unclear.*
It’s not naïve or simplistic. Critical hope moves toward complexity, rather than away from it. It sees suffering and challenge clearly, and yet holds tightly to what could and should be.
It’s not something we do alone. Critical hope is a shared, social process.
In this 90 minute online Circle of Trust® we’ll gather together to hold space for each other’s hopes and fears, joy and despair. We’ll explore the complexity of how we live with the creative tension between what is and what might yet be. We’ll listen deeply to one another’s wisdom and ponder Flannery O’Connor’s invitation to “cherish the world at the same time that you struggle to endure it.”
The time tested guidelines of the Courage & Renewal Touchstones® will support a calm, confidential and equitable space. We’ll engage with a range of perspectives on hope and take time for private personal reflection along with small and large group conversation.
We hope you’ll join us.
* “I define critical hope metaphorically as a dance . . . a heated entanglement between the critical awareness of the problems at hand and the spark of spirit that sometimes in contradiction to our own experiences and sensibilities insists on hope. Not naive hope that things will just get better but an abiding wisdom that change cannot be created without a foundational starting point of hope.” ~Kari Grain, author of Critical Hope: How to Grapple with Complexity, Lead with Purpose, and Cultivate Transformative Social Change. 2022.
Self as Seed:
An Introduction to Circle of Trust®
April 21– May 26
1:00-3:30
pm
Online
Self as a Seed is a gently guided introduction to Circles of Trust®, offering space for reflection, deep listening, and honest conversation. Through poetry, silence, and shared inquiry, participants are invited to reconnect with their inner wisdom and explore what within them is ready to grow.
Self as a Seed is a six-week introduction retreat to Circle of Trust® retreats developed by the Center for Courage & Renewal. Together, we will explore the seed as a living metaphor for the self, holding within it both vulnerability and blueprint, dormancy and potential. What in you is ready to take root? What strength has been quietly forming beneath the surface?
In a carefully guided space grounded in shared touchstones, participants will engage poetry, silence, and open, honest questions to listen more deeply to their inner teacher. During the retreat, we will hold a Clearness Committee; in this process, one person will volunteer to be the focus person who will present a dilemma or personal concern. The Clearness Committee does not offer advice or solutions. Instead, through attentive listening and open, honest questions, the committee helps the focus person clear away external pressures and internal noise so they can hear their own wisdom to find their own solutions
In a global time marked by uncertainty and fear, cultivating a stronger, more rooted sense of self is not self-indulgent; it feels essential. As we grow more grounded within, we strengthen the courage to stand with integrity, respond with compassion, and take our next faithful step in a complex world.
New Beginnings:
A Courage & Renewal Retreat®
April 23 – 25
Kingfisher Bay Retreat Centre
What does it take to begin again? For some, it’s an act of courage. For others, it’s stepping away from the familiar to listen more deeply.
New Beginnings is a residential retreat for those who are considering—or already navigating—a personal or professional transition, especially when deeper questions about life, purpose, and direction are calling for attention.
Set on the shores of Stoney Lake, Kingfisher Bay Retreat Centre offers a warm and welcoming space to rest, revive, and renew. Surrounded by tall pines, peaceful waters, and abundant wildlife, you’ll have the time and space to reconnect with what matters most.
This retreat runs Thursday April 23, starting at 4pm and ends Saturday April 25 mid-afternoon.
Email facilitator Kristin Philipson at kphilipson@rosedaleunited.org including your name, email contact, and phone number. Your registration will be confirmed, along with details about the payment of registration fees.
“This is medicine for the heart and soul.”
Adiat
Retreat Participant
Contact Us
retreats@insideoutsideretreatcentre.com
We are settlers on Treaty 13 Land, the traditional territories of many Indigenous Nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples from across Turtle Island. We are committed to honouring the history this land bears witness to, responding to the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and walking lightly on the Earth. A portion of proceeds from all our offerings are sent to: The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and The Nii’kinaaganaa Foundation.
The Inside Outside Retreat Centre, Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), 720 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON, M5S2R4