Writing from the Heart of Creation
A weekend retreat facilitated by Anne A. Simpkinson
Friday, September 26 - Sunday, September 28, 2025
Single occupancy $530, Double occupancy $490 per person
(includes an ensuite bathroom and all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast)
Commuter $325
(includes Friday dinner, Saturday lunch & dinner)
“We are only talking to ourselves.
We are not talking to the rivers.
We are not listening to the wind and stars.
We have broken the Great Conversation.”
- Thomas Berry, priest, cultural historian, and “geologian”
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About this offering
St. Francis saw all aspects of nature as sisters and brothers. When we devote time and focused attention to our siblings, we too can create an intimate relationship. We, human beings, need to write about our experiences of love, loss, fears, and failures, but other-than-human beings—trees, plants, rivers, birds, stars, foxes, moss, and more—are crying out to be heard as well.
This weekend will aim to offer opportunities to re-engage with the Great Conversation. Through Centering Prayer sessions, writing prompts, labyrinth walk, and story sharing, we will focus our attention on aspects of Life around us and begin to tell their as well as our stories—after all, we too are part of Creation. Come listen to the still, small voice and express the stories that are yearning to be heard.
About the presenter
Anne A. Simpkinson is an award-winning journalist, story midwife, and author. She co-edited two anthologies—Sacred Stories and Nourishing the Soul—and co-wrote Soul Work: A Field Guide for Spiritual Seekers. While living in New York City, she rode the wave of media transformations, from websites to digital communications, in her positions with Beliefnet.com, Prevention magazine, WeightWatchers.com, and Guideposts. She also served as Communications Director of Mercy by the Sea Retreat and Conference Center for several years. Anne has been practicing Centering Prayer since 1996. She facilitates contemplative prayer and writing retreats in Connecticut and Massachusetts.