Advent Retreat: Emmanuel

With Debra Paxton Buursma, Phd of Pax Luminaria

Spiritual Director for Individual & Group Spiritual Direction & Retreats

What: Emmanuel: The Unfolding of God with Us

When: Friday evening, December 4 and/or Saturday, December 5

Where: The Hermitage Community, Three Rivers, MI

Register

Perhaps you too feel life’s uncertain, unsettled spaces. Come slow down and settle into an Advent experience revealing God’s past and present dynamic activity through the unfolding of Divine presence and possibility in human lives. Through prophecy and poetry, story, song and simple concertina (folded) books, we will explore unfolding Advent activity as a window into our own unfolding longing, receiving, waiting, moving, and celebrating Emmanuel, God with Us. Come, join us for the full experience or, if you can’t do both, come Friday evening or Saturday.

Gentle Schedule

Program:

(You are welcome to come in time for supper on Friday evening! Include that in your projected arrival time–first time guests should come by 5:15 to get oriented)

Friday 7-8 pm

Moving into the Unfolding of Luminous Love

A candlelight service of prophecy and poetry, story and song

Saturday, 9:00-4:00

Sessions include group interaction as well as practices for individual silence and creative contemplation. Come as you are; no prior experience or expertise necessary.

9:00-10:30 Session 1: Finding “Us”;  Longing

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-12:15 Session 2: Receiving; Waiting

12:15-1:15 Lunch

1:15-1:30 Individual or Group Reflection

1:30-3:00 Session 3: Moving; Celebrating

3:00-4:00 Session 4: Shared Blessings

Please send in your payment when you register or at least a month before the

retreat to hold your space. Thank you and we look forward to hosting you

then!

Payments can be by check (to the Hermitage, 11321 Dutch Settlement

Road, Three Rivers, MI 49093) or online.

Rates:

The One Who Jesus Loves Women’s Silence & Solitude Retreat | November 18–20, 2026
Cost: $275

“Now there was leaning on Jesus’ chest one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.” —John 13:23 KJV

Come away with a small group of like-hearted women for two days set apart with Jesus—to rest in His love, remember your identity as His beloved, and listen for His voice.

Whether you’re new to silence and solitude or a seasoned retreatant, this retreat offers the spaciousness of time alone with God along with the gentle support of a group experience. Participants will gather briefly to open and close the retreat; the hours in between are yours to pray, read, rest, walk, journal, worship, or simply be still with God.

The retreat will be facilitated by spiritual directors and seasoned retreatants Lori Melton and Stacy Holmes.

To RSVP note in the comments “Feast” and pick any room in the dropdown. 

Thanks!

Possibilities for Wholeness in Life’s Press: 

Spiritual Practices Engaging the Heart, Mind, & Body

with Debra Paxton-Buursma, Phd 

Spiritual Companion for Individuals & Gathering Souls, Retreats, & Consultations

Feeling the press of life’s distractions and divisions? Join Debra for 1, 2 or 3 retreats exploring wholeness and integration of heart, mind, and body in the soulful context of The Hermitage (Three Rivers, Michigan). We will nurture spiritual awakening and deepening through contemplative conversations, silence and gentle practices using scripture, nature and the creative arts (story, poetry, visual arts, & music). Come as you are (with or without art experience) and be welcomed into this grace-filled slow space for hearing, healing and wholeness. Each retreat begins  Friday with supper at 5:30 and concludes Saturday at 4:00. Feel free to come as early as 4:00 and leave by Sunday morning (see below for Saturday evening stay). 

We will be joined by Jo-Ann VanReeuwyk, my good friend, fellow colleague and artist. Jo-Ann wil gallery some of her work at the Hermitage over the months of our retreats and support gentle exploration of creative spiritual practices. As a former art education professor, Jo-Ann brings gentle wisdom and soulful care into every space she enters. 

Cost: $200.00 Includes:

 1 Overnight stay at The Hermitage Spiritual Retreat Center

Friday supper, Saturday breakfast, lunch & snacks

Retreat facilitation, materials, guided & independent experiences

Additional Saturday Night Possibility: Supper, breakfast & lodging

For an additional $75 (leave by or before noon on Sunday)

 Feeling prompted?

Read on…

Retreat 3 Embodied Pathways for Deepening Spiritual Senses

April 24 & 25

Come, bring your beloved body.

Celebrate the beautiful design of you in sacred relationship with the world. Centering activities invite you to explore how your embodied senses open you to ever-expanding Divine revelation. Unfurl with wonder and delight in the dynamic move and mystery of Divine Love through grace-filled, guided and independent practices of slow attention, gentle enfolding, and celebration through music, food, nature, image, conversation and solitude.

(Dates and information for Retreat 1 Hope’s Hold on the Heart)

(Dates and information for Retreat 2 Mindful Spiritual Imagination with Word and Watercolor)

Cost: $200.00 Includes:

• 1 Overnight stay at The Hermitage Spiritual Retreat Center
• Meals: Friday supper, Saturday breakfast, lunch & snacks
• Retreat facilitation, materials, guided & independent experiences
• Additional Saturday Night Possibility: Supper, breakfast & lodging — an additional $75 (leave by or before noon on Sunday)

Want to speak with Debra about the retreat, please reach out: debrapaxbuursma@gmail.com

To register, please fill in the registration request form and note in the comments that you are registering for Debra’s retreat. (please pay once you receive confirmation since space is limited to 15)

Possibilities for Wholeness in Life’s Press: 

Spiritual Practices Engaging the Heart, Mind, & Body

with Debra Paxton-Buursma, Phd

Spiritual Companion for Individuals & Gathering Souls, Retreats, & Consultations

Feeling the press of life’s distractions and divisions? Join Debra for 1, 2 or 3 retreats exploring wholeness and integration of heart, mind, and body in the soulful context of The Hermitage (Three Rivers, Michigan). We will nurture spiritual awakening and deepening through contemplative conversations, silence and gentle practices using scripture, nature and the creative arts (story, poetry, visual arts, & music). Come as you are (with or without art experience) and be welcomed into this grace-filled slow space for hearing, healing and wholeness. Each retreat begins  Friday with supper at 5:30 and concludes Saturday at 4:00. Feel free to come as early as 4:00 and leave by Sunday morning (see below for Saturday evening stay). 

We will be joined by Jo-Ann VanReeuwyk, my good friend, fellow colleague and artist. Jo-Ann wil gallery some of her work at the Hermitage over the months of our retreats and support gentle exploration of creative spiritual practices. As a former art education professor, Jo-Ann brings gentle wisdom and soulful care into every space she enters.

Cost: $200.00 Includes:

 1 Overnight stay at The Hermitage Spiritual Retreat Center

Friday supper, Saturday breakfast, lunch & snacks

Retreat facilitation, materials, guided & independent experiences

Additional Saturday Night Possibility: Supper, breakfast & lodging

For an additional $75 (leave by or before noon on Sunday)

 Feeling prompted? Read on…

March 27 & 28

Come, open the floodgates of your mind.

The vast world of words teems with possibilities for spiritual awakening and deepening. We will slowly immerse, linger, listen and play within sacred metaphors through poetry, story, journals, scripture, and silence.  Explore the graceful flow of words and simple watercolor as they illuminate spiritual gifts for and from us.

(Dates and information for Retreat 1 Hope’s Hold on the Heart)

(Dates and information for Retreat 3 Embodied Pathways for Deepening Spiritual Senses)

Cost: $200.00 Includes:

• 1 Overnight stay at The Hermitage Spiritual Retreat Center
• Meals: Friday supper, Saturday breakfast, lunch & snacks
• Retreat facilitation, materials, guided & independent experiences
• Additional Saturday Night Possibility: Supper, breakfast & lodging — an additional $75 (leave by or before noon on Sunday)

Want to speak with Debra about the retreat, please reach out: debrapaxbuursma@gmail.com

To register, please fill in the registration request form and note in the comments that you are registering for Debra’s retreat. (please pay once you receive confirmation since space is limited to 15)

Possibilities for Wholeness in Life’s Press: 

Spiritual Practices Engaging the Heart, Mind, & Body

with Debra Paxton-Buursma, Phd

Spiritual Companion for Individuals & Gathering Souls, Retreats, & Consultations

Feeling the press of life’s distractions and divisions? Join Debra for 1, 2 or 3 retreats exploring wholeness and integration of heart, mind, and body in the soulful context of The Hermitage (Three Rivers, Michigan). We will nurture spiritual awakening and deepening through contemplative conversations, silence and gentle practices using scripture, nature and the creative arts (story, poetry, visual arts, & music). Come as you are (with or without art experience) and be welcomed into this grace-filled slow space for hearing, healing and wholeness. Each retreat begins  Friday with supper at 5:30 and concludes Saturday at 4:00. Feel free to come as early as 4:00 and leave by Sunday morning (see below for Saturday evening stay). 

We will be joined by Jo-Ann VanReeuwyk, my good friend, fellow colleague and artist. Jo-Ann wil gallery some of her work at the Hermitage over the months of our retreats and support gentle exploration of creative spiritual practices. As a former art education professor, Jo-Ann brings gentle wisdom and soulful care into every space she enters. 

Feeling prompted?

Read on…

Retreat 1: Hope’s Hold on the Heart

February 13 & 14

Come, discover deep heart space. 

Your heart offers a powerful place for becoming more spiritually awake, aware and responsive. Experiences of division, loss or sheer busyness can cause us to shield our heart. Story maps, centers and simple Sgraffito* invite spiritual practices of “heart-listening” that scratch beneath the surface of life stories revealing intertwined experience, emotion and Sacred Presence.

*The Italian art technique Sgraffito invites you to scratch the surface as color and designs emerge. If you’ve used crayons, you can do this!!

(Dates and information for Retreat 2 Mindful Spiritual Imagination with Word and Watercolor)

(Dates and information for Retreat 3 Embodied Pathways for Deepening Spiritual Senses)

Cost: $200.00 Includes:

• 1 Overnight stay at The Hermitage Spiritual Retreat Center
• Meals: Friday supper, Saturday breakfast, lunch & snacks
• Retreat facilitation, materials, guided & independent experiences
• Additional Saturday Night Possibility: Supper, breakfast & lodging — an additional $75 (leave by or before noon on Sunday)

Want to speak with Debra about the retreat, please reach out: debrapaxbuursma@gmail.com

To register, please fill in the registration request form and note in the comments that you are registering for Debra’s retreat. (please pay once you receive confirmation since space is limited to 15)

When: Saturday, December 6, 2025, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm Bonus Evensong: Friday, December 5, 7:00 pm

Where: The Hermitage Community, Three Rivers, MI

To Register: Please fill in the guest reservation request form and note that you are registering for the Advent Retreat. 

Have questions? Reach out to contact@hermitagecommunity.org (or 269-244-8696)

Join us for an exploration of the Music and Mystery of Advent. During this Advent Quiet Day Retreat, we will sample the music of Advent and immerse in lyrics that usher us into the mystery of the Incarnation. Bring your love of music, a willingness to sing, a musical instrument (optional), your sense of wonder, and the courage to create. Musical ability is not required. Bonus: for those wishing to begin their retreat on Friday evening, we offer a candlelit Evensong in the style of Taizé on Friday at 7:00 pm. 

Schedule

Friday 

7 pm Advent Taizé Evensong 

Saturday, 9:30-4

• 9:30-10:30-Session 1
• 10:30-11:30-Personal Reflection
• 1:30-12:15 Session 2
• 12:30-Lunch and personal reflection
• 2:00-2:30-Session 3
• 2:30-3:00 Personal Reflection
• 3:00-4:00-Session 4

Session 1: What is Advent?: Waiting and Watching for Mystery

Session 2: Why is Advent?: Exploring the Incarnation

Session 3: When is Advent?: Reclaiming the Season of Deep Joy

Session 4: How, this Advent?: Sharing our Songs, Becoming Receptive

Please send in your payment when you register or at least a month before the retreat to hold your space. Thank you and we look forward to hosting you then! Payments can be by check (to the Hermitage, 11321 Dutch Settlement Road, Three Rivers, MI 49093) or online. 

Rates:

Day Retreat with Lunch

$100 individual day retreat suggested donation

– Subsidized: $75

Overnight Friday + Saturday day retreat with meals:

$200 (single) individual day retreat + overnight

– Subsidized: $175

$275 (double) individual day retreat + overnight

– Subsidized Price: $225

Overnight Friday and Saturday evenings, all meals, and Advent Retreat

$300 (subsidized $225)

We welcome any who wish to participate in the sabbath garden preparations again this year. We will be setting up a new fence this year, so depending on how far we get by then, some of the work will be planting related and some may be fence related. There are always lots of other options at the Hermitage too! Reach out to contact@hermitagecommunity.org with any questions or to let us know you’re coming. Come for all or part of the day. If you would like to come overnight, please fill in the registration request form. 

Have you been to the Hermitage for a personal retreat and wondered what it might be like to invite your child(ren) into this spiritual experience? Join us for a parent/child retreat for two nights, June 11th (2-5pm arrival)-13th! There will be rhythms of child-friendly contemplative prayer practices in the mornings and evenings led by Daina Kraai, Ministry Director at Creston Church in Grand Rapids. Daina has 15+ years experience working with children in spiritual settings and three children of her own. She believes deeply in the agency of children as worshippers and hearers of God, alongside adults. 

After breakfast, there will be opportunities to work side by side with your child(ren) in The Hermitage’s garden, led by Lance Kraai, an urban farmer and youth worker at New City Neighbors. After lunch there will be self-led free time options open including water play if it’s hot, scavenger hunt trails, labyrinth, etc. 

We invite you to enter into a space of both prayer and play, silence and curiosity as we learn from each other (of all ages) how to experience and encounter a God who meets us right where we are. This retreat is designed for children ages 3-12. (Other ages are welcome, but they may not be as engaged with the materials). 

If you are worried about keeping silence with your children, don’t fear! We will help shape language around this in an inviting way that is age appropriate and not overly restrictive. We’ll work together for it at the appropriate times, while also appreciating that children are children made in the image of a playful God! 

Spaces are limited, so sign up soon! Cost for a parent and child for the event is $335 ($385 for parent and two children in same room).  Please pay in full at time of registration to save your spot!

Pay online: (scroll down to donate link)

Pay by check to: The Hermitage 11321 Dutch Settlement Rd, Three Rivers, MI 49093

Contact dainakraai@gmail.com  for programming questions.

To register please complete the registration form and include your child(ren)’s name(s).

For questions about possible rooms/beds/cabins, please reach out to Hermitage staff: contact@hermitagecommunity.org