a natural sanctuary for spiritual deepening the christine ...programs for spiritual deepening inner...
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Our mission is inspired by
the Franciscan tradition of
St. Francis and St. Clare At the Christine Center stillness calls
us to personal deepening and
spiritual growth for the sake of the
world’s transformation. We welcome
you no matter your spiritual path
and offer contemplative support for
your inner work in a natural
woodland sanctuary.
At the Christine Center
we offer Retreat programs; private
retreats for yourself, for family,
friends, and co-workers;
sabbaticals; volunteer retreats
A welcoming and supportive
staff
Daily meditation practice
Spiritual Guidance
Art studio
Homemade meals—mostly
vegetarian; lots of gluten-free
Chapel contemplative space
Beautiful meditation hall
A bookstore and library for the
spiritual seeker
Meditation walking trails
Sauna
Visit us at
christinecenter.org
A Natural Sanctuary for Spiritual Deepening
and Global Transformation
January-April 2017
Christine The
Center
Special Spring Retreat with
Robert Sardello Knowing Self:
World-saving Limitless Truth April 20 – 24 (Thursday evening-Monday noon)
Also with our Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Tuition: $300 (20% early registration discount of
$240 by March 15), plus meals and lodging
Join in the meditation practice of bridging inner life with world life.
Savor the freedom and life-fullness of living from essence and truth.
Open an inner light to the true beauty of the Living Spirit that we are.
Robert writes: My visit (October 2016) was incredible in all respects… the
group was extremely receptive, and the soul field there is so strong… And
the people, the Center, the hermitages, the meals, well, truly everything
there is completely astounding! Such a rare, rare, rare occurrence in this
culture.
Robert is an author, teacher, founder of the School of Spiritual Psychology and
Founding Fellow of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture.
Four Great Reasons to Come for a
Personal Retreat this Winter
Nourishing body, mind and soul requires some get-away time with yourself, with
nature, with God. Here’s why so many people choose us for a personal retreat.
1. A beautiful woodland sanctuary where the quiet invites deep listening.
2. Imagine living as a hermit in the woods for a few days or a week (or more).
Burdens fall away, rest is possible.
3. Choose to receive support from the spiritual community. Meet kindred spirits.
Join the daily meditations. Eat nourishing food shared in the dining room.
Balance solitude with time spent in a friendly, supportive community. 4. Discover new authors at our library and bookstore through an exceptional collection
of books about creativity, spirituality, healing.
Programs for Spiritual Deepening Inner Work, Prayer, Silence and Meditation
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increasingly deeper levels of truth. Our work includes meditations, teachings,
movement, and experiential exercises.
Carol and Neal are senior Ridhwan teachers of the Diamond Approach.
They have studied directly with A.H. Almaas, the founder. Visit www.ridhwan.org.
Sound and Silence March 24-26 (Friday-Sunday)
With Cecilia Corcoran, FSPA, PhD and Wendy Kohlhaas, ICS, CSAC, LPN
Tuition: sliding scale $75-$150, plus meals and lodging
Experience wordless prayer as you inwardly rest in the essence of sound. You’ll
learn the art of deep listening by experiencing silence. You will find your own
response to the resonant tones of gemstone singing bowls. “When I attune my
intention in silent awareness the tones allow me to release tensions and
respond more freely moment to moment.”
Cecilia and Wendy both studied with Jonathan Goldman’s Healing
Sounds Intensive in 2013. Cecilia has a PhD in Women’s Religious Studies.
Wendy is a drug and addictions counselor and is developing a practice of Sound
Healing and Energy Medicine.
Be Loving Kindness March 31-April 2 (Friday-Sunday)
With Henrita Frost, SSND and Johanna Seubert, FSPA
Tuition: $75-$150, plus meals and lodging
We invite you to enhance your meditation practice and experience quiet and
renewal. With an emphasis on the cultivation of loving-kindness, reminiscent of
loving your neighbor as yourself that Jesus taught, we can develop compassion
for ourselves and others. When troubled by difficult emotional situations and the
pressures of our lives, this skill can help us deal with them. Life’s challenges can
become sweetened and changed, and our minds and hearts can become open
and calm with this form of concentration meditation.
Henrita is a gifted spiritual guide and delights in the experience of
facilitating spiritual deepening experiences. Johanna gives retreats on various
spiritual topics, is a trained spiritual director, and a certified teacher of the
Diamond Approach.
A Mindfulness Retreat March 31-April 2 (Friday-Sunday)
With Betsy Witt
Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging
Watching the muscle of the mind as it works overtime, we learn our
mind's habit energy. Experience how to accept and hold your habit energies
with patience, non-judgment, and non-striving for greater ease and equanimity.
Betsy trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn in mindfulness meditation. She
completed a Masters Degree in Human Development with a specific internship
with Judith Lies (seedsofmindfulness.com). Betsy offers Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction courses and "Lessons in Mindfulness" courses.
Mid-life: What do I do?
Where do I go? February 24-26 (Friday-Sunday)
With Tom Roberts
Tuition: $150, plus meals and
lodging
Come explore how your mid-life
uncertainties and indecisions are an
integral part of your spiritual journey.
Where am I? Who am I? What is
important? What will give my life a
greater sense of depth and meaning?
Learn how to embrace yourself and
your life with more patience,
openness and compassion.
Tom has over 35 years of
experience in clinical psychotherapy
and his own personal Zen Buddhist
practice. He is the author of The
Mindfulness Workbook: A Beginners
Guide to Overcoming Fear and
Embracing Compassion.
Diamond Approach to
Inner Work March 9-12 (Thursday-Sunday)
With Carol or Neal Carbon
Contact Johanna Seubert at
[email protected] or call
715.267.7902.
The Diamond Approach is a path of
spiritual realization characterized by
sincere inquiry into one’s experience,
fueled by the love of truth. The
immediate contact with the truth of
our experience allows the unfold-
ment of our Soul to reach
Spirit Jewel The Christine Center
Bookstore
Find an author for the next step
on your spiritual journey.
Hundreds of spirituality titles, plus
lots more: art, gemstone jewelry,
handmade soaps, art supplies,
childrens’ books.
Intuitive Painting and Mandala Making
Open Studios with Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Painting from Soul:
Intuitive Painting Open
Studio January 12-15 (Thursday-Sunday:
February 24-26 (Friday-Sunday)
Daily 10 am-12:30; 2:30-5:00 pm, in-
cluding Sunday
Jumpstart your natural creativity in
supportive community. Each day
includes two creativity coaching
sessions with Gabriele. Optional even-
ing sessions too. No previous art skill
is required! If you are an artist, here is a
chance to dare yourself to stretch into
fresh creative possibility! Bring your
curiosity and willingness to deepen
insight! Materials provided.
Mandala Making: Open Studio January 5-8 and March 16-19 (Thursday-Sunday)
Daily 10 am-12:30; 2:30-5:00 pm, including Sunday
Mandala-making can bring healing energy and awareness to the body, mind, and
spirit. The meditative process helps open the heart to divine love. The work gives
form and expression into spiritual truths by releasing the inner light of the soul.
You’ll have historical, spiritual and cross-cultural examples of mandalas available
for inspiration along with expert instruction and support. No previous art experi-
ence is necessary and all materials are provided.
Tuition for either retreat: $40 a day, plus meals and lodging and a one-time $15
materials fee. Half days are $20; evenings are free. Commuters are welcome bring
a bag lunch or purchase a lovely vegetarian meal for $16.
Gabriele trained in the intuitive painting method of Michele Cassou and has over
30 years’ experience in using art expression as a personal contemplative practice.
Her intuitive art studio provides a “judgement-free zone” for daring freedom,
breaking old patterns and discovering fresh creative possibilities. Gabriele is a
member of the Christine Center Leadership Team.
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Programs for Spiritual Deepening Art as Spiritual Practice
Hope: Intuitive Painting Studio
Learn More at christinecenter.org/retreat calendar for more
program descriptions, schedules, testimonials, videos, photos,
and links for deeper insight.
Christine Center garden sculpture
by our friend Henry Eisenhauer.
Read his story on our website
under Our Stories/Art and Writing
as Spiritual Practice.
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Resting in Darkness...Full
of Light January 6-8 (Friday-Sunday)
With Iris Mickey
Tuition: $200, plus meals and
lodging
Embrace your inner light. Even at
times of greatest darkness, we have
access to our innate goodness, love
and light. We will use a variety of
practices from yoga to explore and
enhance this inner light of conscious-
ness. Practices suitable for all levels
and will include daily asana, yoga
nidra.
Iris teaches a synergistic
Hatha Yoga class infused by her deep
knowledge of biomechanical align-
ment. Her therapeutic yoga practice
is further enriched by many years of
studying Anusara Yoga and her
specialized training as a licensed
rehabilitation bodyworker.
Shine: Yoga, Sound and
the Sun January 13-15 (Friday-Sunday)
With Aveen Banich, MD
Tuition: $175, plus meals and
lodging
Come restore balance. Experience a
blend of yoga, gemstone alchemy,
bowl sound baths, chant and writing
practices. Explore various asana styles
including vinyasa, yin and restorative
yoga with a focus on gentle and
nourishing practices to refill our well.
Aveen is a Registered Yoga
Instructor, a sound and energy healer
and a physician.
Heart Centered Meditation and Yoga January 27-29 (Friday to Sunday)
With Katherine Banbury, CYT and Marge Zulaski, OSF, PsyD
Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging
Come to relax, restore energy and to enjoy yourself. No prior experience needed.
Katherine will lead yoga practice that will bring you back home to yourself with
joy, empowerment and harmony. Marge will guide heart meditations that focus
on experiencing the heart as a spiritual center of your body.
Katherine is a certified Yoga teacher with 30+ years of experience. Marge
is a Jungian Analyst and a member of the Christine Center Leadership Team
Compassionate Presence to Mind and Body February 17-19 (Friday-Sunday)
Susan Mickel, MD and Pam Eyden
Tuition: $175, plus meals and lodging
This weekend retreat in silence will offer instruction in both yoga and mindful-
ness meditation, with an emphasis on gently turning inwards in presence to our
experience of mind and body. The meditation instructions will emphasize the
role of concentration in stabilizing the mind in order to be able to stay present.
Susan will teach the four bases, or foundations, of mindfulness, as well as loving-
kindness meditation. In her teaching of yoga asanas, Pam will emphasize mindful
awareness of the body and emotion in both motion and stillness. Only by know-
ing compassionately and deeply our own experience of body and mind can we
bring true love and compassion to others. For both beginning and experienced
practitioners.
Susan has been meditating for over twenty years. For twelve years she
has been teaching Buddhist retreats in the Burmese mindfulness tradition and in
Tibetan Mahamudra. Pamela is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher and long-time
meditator.
Health and Inner Peace with Relaxation and Full Natural
Breathing February 24-26 (Friday-Sunday)
With Roberta Hodges
Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging
Relaxation of body and breath releases the tensions caused by stress. Healthful
relaxation creates space within for peaceful spirit and life force energy to enter.
Come learn many body and breath relaxations of varied length and styles that
can be done while lying, sitting, walking or standing. Use in almost any situation
when you need calming alone or with others. Practices range from a one minute
calming breath practice to the more lengthy Yoga Nidra practice of extreme
relaxation.
Roberta has been studying, practicing and teaching yoga in the
Himalayan tradition for 25 years
Body, Mind, Spirit Healing Practices continued on page 5.
Programs for Spiritual Deepening with Body, Mind, Spirit Healing Practices
Holy Week
Retreat April 12-16
(Wednesday-Sunday)
With the Christine Center
Sisters and
Fr. Tom Borkowski
Cost: Free-will offering, plus
meals and lodging
Come and celebrate Holy
Thursday, Good Friday and the
Vigil of Easter with our
Community at the Christine
Center. Each day offers group
meditation, a presentation on
the theme of that day and
liturgy of the Eucharist.
We conclude on Sunday with
an Easter Breakfast and
Morning Prayer. If you wish,
you are welcome to stay for
Easter dinner at 12:30 pm.
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Programs for Spiritual Deepening
6th Spiritual Deepening for Global Transformation
Program to Begin November 2017 Our three-year certificate program to help you thrive spiritually
begins November 3-5 (Friday-Sunday).
With a skilled team of spiritual guides, inspired by traditions both East and West,
our program is four weekend retreats each year. Through a blend of study,
contemplation, dialogue and community, you’ll find guidance and support for the
questions that draw you towards a rich interior life. Email Marge Zulaski at
[email protected] for an application.
Our Annual By Women
For Women Festival March 6-8 (Friday-Sunday)
Tuition: $50-$150, plus meals and lodging
Our exciting and dynamic annual fest presented
by women donating their talents and wisdom in
wondrous and varied ways.
Yoga Festival Fundraiser Hildegard Festival June 30-July 2 September 15-17
Fundamental Yoga Practices and Beginning Meditation
Techniques April 7-9 (Friday-Sunday)
With Bill Miller
Tuition: $75-$150, plus meals and lodging
Come learn the beginning steps of these ancient practices in a supportive,
comfortable, and beautiful space. Yoga is a way to balance and ease stress.
Meditation helps you to find peace, healing and renewal. Give yourself the gift of
a life lived in greater harmony. No prior yoga or meditation experience needed.
Bill is a retired police officer and criminal justice teacher. Bill completed
a 200 hour Viniyoga Wellness teacher training program, taught by Mary Hilliker.
Yoga Nidra: The Healing Power of Extreme Relaxation
and Effortless Meditation April 25-26 (Tuesday-Wednesday)
With Roberta Hodges
Tuition: $95, plus meals and lodging
Yoga Nidra is the most powerful relaxation technique known. It means
conscious deep sleep. Experience supreme relaxation of body and the most
profound stillness of mind. This transforming, deep, blissful state of conscious-
ness is the perfect condition for physical and emotional healing. .
Body, Mind, Spirit Healing Practices continued from page 4.
SAVE the DATE 2017 Festivals
Learn More at christinecenter.org/
retreat calendar For more program descriptions,
schedules, testimonials,
videos, photos,
and links for deeper insight.
Donor Report By Ann Swanson
The Christine
Center is now into
its 36th year of
offering individu-
als and groups of
all spiritual paths contemplative
support for personal deepening and
spiritual growth. 2016 was a year of
celebrating our past and appreciating
you, our friends and spiritual family.
Many events that reflect the Christine
Center’s mission of Spiritual Deepen-
ing for Global Transformation took
place this past year. And approximate-
ly 1,500 donors contributed $185,000
over the last fiscal year, representing
10% of our total budget.
These generous contributions help us
continue the constant upkeep of the
center’s buildings, gardens, trails,
grounds, and balance our budget.
Now we set our sights on the new year
and building our future together! 6
Time, Talent and Treasure—there
are so many ways to support the
Christine Center!
What are your favorite ways to give?
Attend a retreat and shop in the
bookstore.
Donate by phone, mail or online.
Tell a friend about the Christine
Center or invite them to go with
you on retreat.
Share a post about the Christine
Center on social media and like
us on Facebook.
Forward our emails to your
network of family and friends.
Volunteer your unique talents.
Make an in-kind donation such
as garden tools, recliners for
hermitages, or other items on
our wish list.
Include the Christine Center in
your will or living trust.
We are so grateful for your participa-
tion and generosity to help the
Christine Center continue to be a
place of gentle hospitality, contem-
plative presence, and spiritual deep-
ening for global transformation. May
the new year bring you and your
family peace and many blessings!
May God Bless you!
With Love and Gratitude,
Sr. Johanna Seubert
Director of Donor Development
Ann Swanson
Fund Development Coordinator
Feel free to contact Ann at
612.834.4931 or
About Woodpeckers,
Opening the Door of My
Heart, and Radical
Compassion By Henrita Frost, SSND
Member of Christine Center
Leadership Team
As so often happens when I am
meditating, I hear a woodpecker
pecking away at our wooden home
called Shekinah. Then the woodpeck-
er travels from the House to the bird-
feeder and back again to the House.
One of our maintenance staff told
me that a woodpecker pecked 17
holes in the House in one session.
So what can I expect? It is of the
nature of woodpeckers to peck at
our Home to find nourishment.
My meditations are also preoccupied
by the call to be inclusively compas-
sionate. I remember reading studies
that indicate we humans are hard-
wired for compassion.
Then I remind myself it is of my nature
to be compassionate, as woodpeckers
by nature peck away at wood.
Where do I find my sustenance for
compassion, except by allowing the
suffering of others to meticulously
peck away at the door of my heart
until the barriers to inclusive compas-
sion start one-by-one to fall away.
It’s a long journey of struggling to
surrender – to be free for radical com-
passion.
Pope Francis opened the Jubilee Door
of Mercy at St. Peter’s Basilica, which
has been followed by a world-wide
opening of Doors of Mercy. The
dynamism of these sequential acts
inspires me to believe that every door
that I go through has the potential to
be a Door of Mercy.
My heart also has the potential to
open wide as a Door of Mercy and
Compassion. For me, this is a
profound call to spiritual deepening.
So many times I have received that
call.
Mandala by Henrita Frost, SSND in
memory of the refugees who have
lost their lives at sea.
The Christine Center is a member of
the International Charter for Compas-
sion. Visit charterforcompassion.org.
Read our Circle for Compassion blog
at christinecenter.wordpress.com.
We apologize if we have missed your name. Please let us know and we will Include you in the next newsletter.
Financial Donations Sherryl Andrus &
George Schiffet
Barbara Agard
Allegra Ahlquist
Karen Ailsworth
Sr Dorothy Birk
Teri Blair
Sharon Blattner Held
Fr Tom Borkowski
Sigrid Brooks
Mary Cider
Laura Desmarais
Sr Julie Ann Diebold
Joan Filla
Nancy Foerst
Ann French
Marcia Grayson
Kevin Gregerson
Roberta Hodges
Janet Howard
John & Gwen Hudetz Family
Lois Kubes
Theresa Langfield
Myron Lowe
Bill Matsen
CaSandra May
Carrie Mettler
Mary Nielsen
Kristen Olsen
Ocean Prihoda
Lizzy Salsich
Patrick Siegler
Pat Stremikis
Ann Swanson
Sr Margaret Wagner, FSPA
Mary Wehner
Curt Wessel
Mark Whiston
Urs & Rosemarie Williman
Kathleen Yosko
In-Tribute Donations In Honor of Marge Zulaski
By Karen Ailsworth
In Honor of Cecilia Corcoran,
FSPA
By Pat Stremikis
In Honor of Cecilia Corcoran,
FSPA
By Sister Margaret Wagner
In Honor of Fr. Michael Peter
Hermes
By Curt Wessel
In Honor of Cecilia Corcoran,
FSPA
By Kathleen Yosko
In-Kind Donations Sheryl Andrus &
George Scliffet
Fr. Tom Borkowski
Molly Corcoran
Mary Ann Crosby
Susan Dunne-Guzman
Henry & Paula Eisenhauer
Georgette Frazer
Brenda Gilbert
Roberta Hodges
Hank Maly
Bev & Tim O’Shaughnessy
Laramee Paradise
Sharon Rand
RLJ Entertainment Inc.
Ann Swanson
Sue & John Twiggs
Tony & Diane Wagner
Joan White
Volunteers Jean Abreau
Sherryl Andrus & George Sclif-
fet
Fr Steve Brice
Wade Britzius
Linda Cates
Tracy Chipman
Jay Coldwell 7
Molly Corcoran
Cecy Corcoran, FSPA
Barbara Dannhausen, OP
Tom & Sharon Deavers
Dennis DeNuccio
Amy Donaldson
Michael Dunn
Susan Dunne-Guzman
Anastasia Dzenowagis
Henry Eisenhauer
Jean Feraca
Henrita Frost, SSND
Delmarie Gibney, FSPA
Karen Gordon
Valerie Haberman
Christie Haight Williams
Jeanne & David Hamlin
Lola Higgins
Roberta Hodges
Sue & John Jenkins
Theresa Kiel
Carole Kretschman
Annie & Christian Lea
Jack Li
Nicole Stremikis Luoam
Bela Maroti
Linda Mershon, FSPA
Bill & Suzie Miller
Tom Roberts
Barbara Schweder
Johanna Seubert, FSPA
Kristen Spatafora
Shannon Spear
Marianne Stonis
Marie Stratford
Sharon Street
Sandy Sultzer
Ann Swanson
Gabriele Uhlein, OSF
Patty Wack
Joan White
Edna Wilson
Ann Winschel
Kathleen Yosko
Sandy Zimmerman
Marge Zulaski, OSF
The Benefits of Monthly
Online Giving
Why give monthly?
It’s Convenient: use a debit or
credit card
It’s Simple: sign up once
online. Go to christinecenter.org
and click on Donate Now
button.
It’s Helpful: budget your
Giving Plan by selecting an
amount that works for you.
How monthly giving helps the
Christine Center?
Recurring monthly donations
provide support for continual
upkeep of the Center.
Consider joining our Trails and Garden
Volunteers this Spring and Summer.
Donors & Volunteers August–October 2016 We express heartfelt appreciation to our special friends, our
donors and volunteers. You help the Christine Center to
flourish. We couldn’t fulfill our mission without you!
Many blessings.
Board of Directors
Sherryl Andrus
Fr. Steven Brice
Wade Britzius
Jay Coldwell
Amy Donaldson
Jean Feraca
Henrita Frost, SSND, ex officio
Delmarie Gibney, FSPA
Carole Kretschman
Christian Lea
Joan White
A. Bela Maroti, Emeritus
Leadership Team
Henrita Frost, SSND
715.267.7901
Johanna Seubert, FSPA
715.267.7902
Gabriele Uhlein, OSF
715.267.7903
Marge Zulaski, OSF
715.267.7905
Christine Center Staff
Administrative Support
Sue Jenkins, Marketing Coordinator
Stacy Mathis, Financial Manager
Liz Poehnelt, Administrative Assistant
Ann Swanson, Fund Development
Coordinator
Housekeeping
Pat Stremikis
Diane Wagner
Kitchen
Tracy Hart, Manager
Katherine Banbury,
Sherlina Brzezinski
Brenda Gilbert
Lana Ormond
Cheryl Plechacek
Sharon Rand
Sheree Watts
Maintenance
J.R. Pohl, Supervisor
Wally Ormond
Tony Wagner
Non-Profit Org
US Postage Paid
Eau Claire WI
PERMIT NO
2000
The Christine Center W8303 Mann Road
Willard, WI 54493
To register: 715.267.7507
866.333.7507
We accept Visa,
Mastercard, and Discover.
Dining Room Meals
Delicious, nutritious homemade
meals are mostly vegetarian with
gluten-free options.
Breakfast $11
Lunch $16
Supper $11
Sunday
Cont. Breakfast $9
Brunch $16
Supper $11
Travel Directions
For travel directions, please see
our website for an easy-to-read
printout at christinecenter.org/
Plan Your Stay.
Lodging & Meals Rates are per person, per night.
Visit christinecenter.org/
Reservations for more details.
Modern Hermitage, bath and
kitchenette
Friday and Saturday
$79 single
$53 each, shared
Sunday through Thursday
$63 single
$42 each, shared
Guest House Room, private bath
Friday and Saturday
$69 single
$48 each, shared
Sunday through Thursday
$55 single
$38 each, shared
Rustic Hermitage, w/o water
Friday and Saturday
$49 single
$37 each, shared
Sunday through Thursday
$39 single
$30 each, shared