2026 Women's Retreat
A retreat to reconnect body, spirit, and sisterhood on the way with Christ.
Who: All women of St. Stephen’s Parish
What: Annual two-day retreat
When: Friday, October 9 at 5 pm to Sunday, October 11 at 12 noon
Where: The Sacred Waters Center for Restoration and Retreat, a new synthesis of the existing diocesan ministries of St. Andrew’s House, Harmony Hill, Multicultural Ministries and Creation Care.
Theme and Leaders:
The 2026 Women’s Retreat will feature two beautifully illustrated art talks by Victoria Scarlett. Both focus on images of the divine feminine:
The Annunciation: An Invitation to Look and Listen
Looking at images of the Annunciation, we’ll consider the encounter between the Virgin Mary and Archangel Gabriel and reflect on the experience of angelic guidance and listening to the divine. Additionally, we’ll look at how artistic strategies contribute to various types of visual representations—and how they affect and contribute to one’s understanding of and relationship with the story. Along the way there’ll be opportunities to contemplate images and participate in breakout group discussions.
Gestures of Compassion
In this “hands-on” multi-faith workshop you’ll learn a simple but powerful visualization and embodied prayer practice that can help you focus your loving heart, and support you as an active agent of compassion. We’ll look at the Virgin Mary and Guanyin/Kwan Yin (from the Buddhist tradition) as exemplars of loving-kindness and compassion. Beautiful slides of devotional art will show how these two female figures express body wisdom through a series of specific hand and arm gestures. During the exploration we’ll do each gesture ourselves, and then at the close meditatively practice the entire sequence.
Victoria Scarlett specializes in the understanding and appreciation of sacred art, its visual culture, and its place in devotional and meditative practices. Her teaching balances scholarly care with a genuine passion for the ways sacred art can speak to, and inspire, individuals today. For more about Victoria and her work see www.centerforsacredart.org
Rhythm of the Retreat:
St. Stephen’s Women’s Retreat at St. Andrew’s House on the Hood Canal will be a time to relax, play, explore nature, hike, grow spiritually, and let someone else cook and clean. On top of all that, we will enjoy rich times of fellowship to learn about each other and share our stories. The retreat will balance plenty of free time with a rhythm of prayer and spiritual practices.
Accommodations:
St. Andrew’s offers views of the water and the beautiful Olympic Mountains. There are two wheelchair accessible rooms. The food is wonderful with farm-to-table, organic, free-range fare that can be gluten-free, vegetarian/vegan, and accommodate other special dietary needs with prior requests noted on your registration form. The historic lodge and gardens have panoramic views of Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountains. There are many nearby trails for hiking close at hand as well as a labyrinth on the campus.
Retreat Cost:
The cost for two nights’ lodgings, six meals, materials, and program is $300.00. Partial and full scholarships are available upon request. Please note your request on your reservation. A full refund can only be provided if your cancelation is received before October 1st.
Your spot will be confirmed when you’ve made the $75 deposit. Pay the deposit and fee by:
- Online. Please specify what the payment is for.
- A check payable to St. Stephen’s. Write “Women’s Retreat” in the memo line. You can mail it, drop it off at the church office, or put it in black drop-box located to the left of the Parish Hall exterior entrance.
The registration and payment deadline is September 26th.
