Leading retreats for Spiritual Retreat and Conference Centers and Faith-based Communities

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Contact Mary

Ask about scheduling a retreat program at your location or online.

I received so much good from your workshop… I am amazed. I had no idea how “bad off” I was until I laid down and felt the physical and emotional pain. I didn’t think a few hours would help — and miraculously it did. You have brought together multiple disciplines for holistic healing and support.
~ Patty Chrystycz, Danvers, MA

I am a 57-year-old big city fireman. My wife has been chronically ill for almost five years, with 3 children and a new home, I thought I was handling it okay. But, I realized that I was truly a wreck and needed some support. By the end of the workshop, I felt that I had the needed resources and vowed to take the steps to help myself, in order to help my family.
~ Ed White, Topsfield, MA

Retreat Topics Include:

Family Caregivers: Take Time!
This 3-hour program invites participants to learn, experience and share ways of taking care of self, while caring for a loved one with extended illness or disability. Caregivers come away from to-dos to be still, to rediscover self-love, to share personal stories with a retreat leader and fellow participants who understand, and to hear validation, support, and encouragement. Participants learn and experience practical skills to stay well (body, mind, and spirit). Based upon Mary’s comprehensive wellness program “Take Care of Yourself: A Star and Seven Sustainable Skills for the Long-Term Care Journey,” this program draws upon the findings of international dementia-carer health researchers and age-old spiritual practices; it teaches five points for dementia-carer health plus seven sustainable skills (learn and experience breathing, meditation, restorative yoga, yoga-dance, expressive arts; discuss tips to mitigate stress-effects on body-care routines and 24/7 retreat strategies).

Resurrect, Recover, Renew
The grief journey for a person who has been a dementia or long-term caregiver can be long and more complex than other types of losses due to the death of a loved one. This inter-disciplinary, interfaith 8-week program provides weekly education, coaching, and support to caregivers who are ready to ‘lift themselves up’ and move forward from the experience of long-term illness and loss. Educational material is drawn from long-term caregiver health research literature, grief literature, trauma and recovery literature, and interfaith sources relating to themes of resurrection and renewal.

Music Ministry at Home with Family and Friends
This 90-minute program teaches practical ways to pray with music in the setting of personal prayer, family prayer, and prayer at the bedside of the sick.

Fee Schedule

Mary collaborates with private groups and organizations to create a compensation arrangement that meets the financial capabilities of participants and/or the organization.

Program facilitation, materials, travel (mileage or airfare & local transportation), accommodations, and meals are standard contract items. Travel is based on Mary’s travel from her home in Topsfield, MA. If travel requires greater than a 2-hour drive, overnight accommodation is required. Groups in a region are encouraged to collaborate to share expenses.