2024 Making Room in Advent Retreat

The 2024 Advent Retreat will be led by Bette Dickinson. Join us for advent mediations on Christ’s incarnation…

Saturday 7 December

Optional for overnight guests on Friday:

7pm – Friday evening session

Led by author and artist Bette Dickinson, this retreat invites you to journey through the Advent story in a contemplative setting, drawing from Bette’s book, Making Room in Advent. As we reflect on the lives of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, and others in the first chapters of Luke, we are invited to find ourselves in their stories—stories of yearning, questioning, and transformation.

Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, we too know what it is like to wait in barrenness, longing for God to answer our prayers. Like Mary, we have asked “How will this be?” when faced with the mystery of God’s call. Through these stories, we catch a glimpse of God’s unfolding plan of redemption, not just for Israel, but for all people—including us.

This retreat provides time for individual reflection, guided by a retreat booklet, and the opportunity to walk with these stories through Bette’s original 18 paintings from Making Room in Advent, on display in the Phoenix Gallery. Through spiritual practices such as visio divina, led by Bette, participants will lean in and listen to what God is saying through their own stories, making room for Him to dwell within.

As God’s salvation transforms the characters in Luke, we too are challenged to receive His presence in our humanity, yearnings, and longings. Together, we will make space for Christ, trusting that as He makes His home in us, the world will see Jesus in the flesh. There will also be opportunities to connect in community, share reflections, and prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ this Advent season.

Bette’s art will be on display at the Hermitage in the Phoenix Gallery and buildings throughout the fall 2024–come check it out!

Bette Dickinson is a prophetic artist, writer, and speaker who invites audiences to connect with God through visual parables of the spiritual journey in her ministry Awakening the Soul. She has worked with organizations like Barna, World Vision, InterVarsity, Infinitum, and Community Christian Church to awaken the soul through beauty and wonder. Bette and her husband live in Traverse City Michigan with their two boys.

Bette has an MDiv. in Pastoral Studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and is the author of Making Room in Advent: 25 Devotions for a Season of Wonder (IVP, 2022)

Register for the Advent Retreat! (If only registering for Saturday and not overnight, select ‘any room’ in the form and note in the comments that you are just coming for Saturday. Please note in the comments if you would like to join the additional session on Friday evening)

Price for the Retreat:

Day Retreat with Lunch

$125 individual day retreat suggested donation

– Subsidized Price: $75

Overnight + Day retreat with meals:

$225 (single) individual day retreat + overnight

– Subsidized Price: $175

$255 (double) individual day retereat + overnight

– Subsidized Price: $205