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Here is a list of our current program offerings. When you click the Register button, you will be taken to our registration system.
We are using a registration system called Campwise. When you click “Register”, you will be directed to a page where you will need to create an account before you can register for the retreat. Each adult participant must create a username and password in order to register for a program.
Soulful Aging: On Becoming an Elder:
a retreat for those 65 and over
April 14-16, 2023
2 nights/5 meals (Saturday breakfast-Sunday lunch)
$150 commuter rate (meals included)
$300 shared occupancy
$450 single occupancy
A weekend retreat exploring the possibilities of growing older as a spiritual path of
transformation: focusing on our relationship with the divine, our capacities to love,
serve and forgive ourselves and others, and to seek peace and joy. There are hard truths
to face as we age: significant losses and changes, new limits: physical, mental and
cultural, and, of course, the reality of our own mortality. These are real and can serve as
wake-up calls and invitations to come as fully alive as we possibly can before we die.
We’ll review our own lives, consider claiming unlived parts of ourselves and, perhaps,
discover new creativities. We’ll even dare to engage with those shadow parts that still
speak. Our time together is grounded in a commitment to what we can call “inner life
work”—at the heart of spiritual journeying.
We will listen deeply to one another in gathered community and in small groups, sit
together in silence, chant together, and consider words and stories of scripture and
poetry. There will be movement, time alone and time together, time for worship and
time for thanksgiving.
This retreat is appropriate for persons 65 and older. Each participant is asked to
complete a life review assignment before coming to the retreat. This activity will be
emailed to you before the retreat and will take 2 to 3 to hours complete. If you have
questions about participating, please contact: cara@bishopsranch.org
Note: If you have experienced recent significant personal loss and have need for a grief
group, this may NOT be the retreat for you.
The retreat will begin at 7 pm Friday night and conclude with lunch at 12:30pm on
Sunday. Meals included: Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner, Sunday breakfast and
lunch. Lodging will be in the cottages and Harrison House.
Cost: The leadership team is offering their work as a gift to the Bishop’s Ranch. The cost
of the retreat represents the base cost for food and lodging. Scholarship funds are
available, should you need those (contact cara@bishopsranch.org). At the end of the
retreat the leaders will invite participants to consider making an additional donation
over and above the base rate—as a gift to the Ranch.
The Leadership Team:
Jennifer Jeffries and Pat Moore (each over 65) have completed the training for leaders in The Soul of
Aging Program offered by the Center for Courage and Renewal. The program uses the Circle of Trust
approach for small group work designed to provide safe space for reflection that makes it possible to
access the inner teacher or internal compass that each of us has. Years ago, Jennifer and Pat were co-
owners of a retreat center in Southern California.
Pat is the Chaplain Emerita of the Ranch. A frequently retired person, she is a spiritual director, and
retreat leader, (in person and online), who, in recent years has attended to grief as spiritual practice.
She lives in Alameda and is member of the Fierce Vulnerability Network, composed of non-violent
activists focused on the intersection of climate change and racism.
Jennifer is a retired public school administrator and college professor. Her latest life iteration is
serving as an elected member of a community health board. As a volunteer, she assists with
nurturing the art vibe in her town and is called upon by community non-profit groups to facilitate
strategic planning processes.
Anne Blanton (age unrevealed) has been leading Sacred Movement at the Annual Bishop’s Ranch
Advent Retreat for 21 yrs. She loves weaving movement into any retreat gathering and she has a
Sacred Circle group that meets two times a month at St. Michael and all Angels Parish in Ft. Bragg.
Anne is a spiritual pilgrim. She has been a member of Roshi Bruce Harris’ Zen Buddhist Sangha for
25 years and is now an oblate to the Communion of the Mystic Rose, Fr. Brendan Williams Prior.
The great joy that now fills her heart is her new granddaughter!
Jean Farmer is a retired Registered Nurse (over 65). Since retiring, singing and songwriting has become a passion in her life. It is for her a spiritual practice, a path to centering, a form of self-expression and a way to create and build community. Jean often sings in a musical duo, with Robin O’Brien, called Notan (https://notan.bandcamp.com/album/mother-tree) and they have created two albums of original music together.
Registration closes April 3, 2023.
Fall Hike – Autumn at the Ranch
October 14, 2023
9:30am – 3:00pm
$30/person, sack lunch included
Spend a Saturday walking the little-known trails of The Bishop’s Ranch and explore its many habitats. Situated on rugged terraces above the Russian River, the Ranch lies between the conifer forests to the west and north and the heavily cultivated river floodplain with remnant riparian forest to the east. The hills and ridges offer spectacular views of the river valley’s unique geography. Julie Miller will guide this rambling walk with a special eye towards discovering viewpoints from which to enjoy the autumn sights.
A Day of Yoga with Marie Hirsch
November 11, 2023
9:30am – 4:00pm
$95/person, lunch included
Use breath and meditation to deepen your understanding and appreciation of yoga. Our focus will be on choosing what opens your heart, supports your health, and uncovers your inner wisdom. You will be guided and encouraged to move past your resistance into a state of peace, clarity, and joy. After a morning of active, uplifting asana practice, focused on raising the energy and creating a sense of strength and lightness, in the afternoon, we will practice Restorative/Yin Yoga, moving into increased levels of awareness and stillness.
