Writing Into the New Year: A Contemplative Writing Weekend

With Anne A. Simpkinson

​​January 22 - 24, 2027

Single $530, Double $490 per person (Inquire about partial scholarships) 
(includes an ensuite bathroom and all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast) 
Commuter $325
(includes Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner)

Register Here

“We all have stories. And they must be told.
In telling our stories, we affirm ourselves, our very being, and
thereby the purpose of our Creator and our lives.”
- Sophy Burnham, author, journalist, and playwright

About this offering

We all have stories to tell, but life is so busy that too often we simply exchange information, tout a success, or tell an entertaining anecdote. Or we may, as one writer put it, “humble-brag” about our “honeyed lives” on Instagram or Facebook. However, when our stories come from our heart, says storyteller Joseph Bruchac, we “develop a sense of identity, self-worth, and empowerment.” We also touch the sacred.

This contemplative writing weekend will offer time and space to turn inward to connect to and communicate the stories in our experiences, dreams, memories, and imagination. It will blend periods of Centering Prayer, writing prompts, talks, and creativity exercises. There will also be time to read, walk the grounds, or gaze at the waters of Long Island Sound. Come to work on a current project, begin stories long thought about, or discover what needs to be voiced. Come write the story that’s calling to you, urging you to bring it into the world.

About the presenter

Anne A. Simpkinson is an award-winning journalist, author, editor, and story midwife. She co-authored Soul Work: A Field Guide for Spiritual Seekers and two anthologies, Sacred Stories and Nourishing the Soul. For ten years, she served as editor of Common Boundary, a bimonthly magazine focusing on psychotherapy, spirituality, and creativity. When living in New York City, she rode the media’s transformation from websites to digital communications in her positions with Beliefnet.com, Prevention magazine, WeightWatchers.com, and Guideposts.  She also served as Communications Director for Mercy by the Sea for several years. Anne has been practicing Centering Prayer since 1996. She was co-coordinator of Contemplative Outreach in New York for three years, facilitated Centering Prayer groups, and currently leads contemplative prayer and writing retreats in Massachusetts and Connecticut.