photograph by Cherie Westmoreland
The Alchemy of Connection:
Creating the Container, Inhabiting the Space
May 15 - 20, 2025
Rivendell Lodge, Bowen Island, BC
A retreat for alumni of the Pacific Jubilee Program
We invite you to join us for the 4th annual Alchemy of Connection retreat. Come step into an emergent experience of creating sacred space together. This retreat is an opportunity to gather in community and reconnect with ourselves, each other, and Mystery.
Some of the questions we will explore include: How do we inhabit the spaces in our lives? How does this relate to the sacred space we create in spiritual accompaniment? What might emerge as we explore how we show up (or not) in the space of Being - both in our lives and in the art and practice of companioning?
In the tradition of spaciousness, the retreat will also include a day of silence.
Cost
The cost of the retreat is $500 plus a $50 non-refundable deposit to secure your spot. The retreat fee includes lunches, dinners, and all community gatherings. The cost does NOT include accommodation at Rivendell or breakfasts.
Accommodation
If you are staying on site, accommodation for the 5 nights is an additional cost payable to Rivendell Retreat Centre when you arrive. “Rivendell is committed to accessibility … Rates are based on the ability to pay. Receipts for income tax purposes will be given on request for amounts more than $100.00 per day.”
Meals
The cost of the retreat includes lunch and catered dinner. Please bring your own breakfast foods (there will be refrigerator space). We will be sharing some of the work of meal preparation and cleanup.
Rhythm of Our Days
Thursday Arrival:
3:00 pm check-in and registration
4:00 welcome and gathering
5:00 Rivendell Sacred Hour
6:30 catered dinner
7:30 evening circle
Friday through Monday:
7:30 am embodied practice and silent sit
8:30 self-catered breakfast
9:30-11:30 morning program
12:00 pm lunch and cleanup
1:00 quiet hours
3:00 exploration and integration
5:00-6:00 Rivendell Sacred Hour
6:00 catered dinner
7:30-9:00 evening circle - gathering the day
9:00 into the Great Silence
Tuesday:
morning holy cleaning
closing circle
departure at noon
Registration
Space is limited. Download the registration form (below) and send it, along with your $50 deposit, to the email address that is shown on the form. Retreat and accommodation fees will be collected when you arrive and can be paid by cash, e-transfer and/or cheque. No credit cards will be accepted. Please contact Colleen Tiltman if you have questions about registration.
Facilitators
Ailsa Flynne
A full-time householder and public servant, Ailsa delights in the practice of "making marble cake" to create intersection between the Depths of Mystery and Everyday Life - and is learning that the barriers separating the two are entirely of her own making. She credits spiritual accompaniment, the Pacific Jubilee SoulGuiding program, and 12 years of "Be Still and Know" silent retreats with her deepening understanding of what it means to be fully present to herself and to others.
As a companion and facilitator, Ailsa encourages making space for discomfort, sitting with the unknown, being who you already are, and listening for wisdom. She brings a passion for exploring thresholds and engaging deeply with mystery on the journey with Life.
Colleen Tiltman
brings a listening heart and a warm, grounded presence to her gifts of spiritual accompaniment, bereavement companioning, and yoga teaching practice.
Colleen finds great joy in immersing herself in the invitations that surface in the spaciousness of her day to day living.
As a retreat facilitator, she brings a wonderful capacity in creating a grounded, safe, open, and welcoming container. Colleen completed SoulGuiding in 2018 and SoulMentoring in 2020.
Nan Goodship
is an artist, retreat leader and spiritual director who trained in the Pacific Jubilee Program in 2006. She has an abiding love for contemplative, spiritual, and artistic practices that nurture the creative, growing edge in each of us.
Sandy Pihowich
“Being listened into being“ is how Sandy first experienced the power of spiritual accompaniment.
She was trained in this art through four years in the SoulGuiding and SoulMentoring programs of Pacific Jubilee. Further studies and a regular mindful movement practice have deepened Sandy’s awareness of the dynamic flow of sacred being in and throughout all.
She facilitates groups to reconnect with sacred wisdom through embodied prayer and soul formation.
Read about Sandy’s spiritual accompaniment practice here.