Women’s Creative Contemplation Retreat
May 7-9 2026
Petersham, Massachusetts
Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes….
-Elizabeth Barret Browning
Cost: $375
Single- Room Occupancy
meals included
Solitude and silence make space. Space in our souls and space in our lives-for God to do a deep work inside us and through us in our relationships with others.
-Bill Gaultiere
Many spiritual seekers wish that they could connect with God not just in momentary experiences, but in a continuous daily consciousness. Can the awareness of God’s presence could be something we experience throughout the ordinary and not just the extraordinary? How can we, as ordinary people, craft a deeply connected and purposeful life?
You are warmly invited to step into a sacred space designed for women who long to slow down, listen deeply, and reconnect with your inner voice and the Divine source.
During this retreat, we’ll weave together contemplative practices and creative exploration — grounding in silence and creative processes as pathways to spiritual renewal.
May 6- Optional night for those who wish to experience silence and solitude
May 7- Program begins
🌿 Reclaim stillness in nature — guided walks among the trees to awaken the senses and remember our oneness with the living world.
🎶 Experience music meditation, allowing sound and vibration to soften the heart and open us to presence and inner harmony.
✨ Create Kintsugi pottery — the Japanese art of mending broken vessels with gold — as a sacred metaphor for healing, resilience, and the beauty of our own imperfections.
🕊️ Engage in gentle reflection, journaling, and soul conversation in a community of women who seek to live attuned to Spirit and inner guidance.
No artistic skill or prior experience is needed — only a willingness to be present, curious, and open to what unfolds!
There will be plenty of time for silence, solitude, prayer and journaling.
Guests can also choose to attend any of the divine offices of the Benedictine community on Friday or Saturday.
5:55 AM Vigils (Monks: 5:00 AM)
6:30 AM Lauds
9:30 AM Mass and Terce
1:00 PM Sext
3:00 PM None
6:00 PM Vespers
8:00 PM Compline
Spiritual direction is available on request.
We will spend our evenings together to share insights, encourage and counsel one another and recognize our gifts and strengths.
About the venue:
The historic hamlet of Petersham Massachusetts, a town untouched by commercialism and suburban sprawl, that is just as it was 100 hundred years ago. Petersham has attracted many contemplative Christians, and has been the home of monasteries and convents for decades. The St. Scholastic Priory and St. Mary’s Monastery was founded in the late 1980’s. Situated across from state-owned Harvard Forest, it sits in the middle of a forest, but within minutes of modern convenience in the neighboring town of Athol.
Come rest, create, and remember:
Your life is a work of sacred art.
Your heart is already whole.
Meet Your Facilitators
Leslie Schroerlucke
Leslie is a professional classical musician, music educator, and composer, with many performing credits throughout the US and Europe and a 30+-year music education career. She has served in worship ministries in Florida and California in various capacities as pianist, singer, composer, arranger, and conductor. She is an adjunct faculty member at UC Riverside and Chaffey Junior College. Leslie is the Director of the Affiliate program for the Assisi Performing Arts Festival, an annual chamber music festival held in Assisi, Italy.
Leslie’s many trips to Assisi, Italy led her to a discovery of contemplative Christianity and the teachings of the desert fathers through Franciscan Spirituality. Her mission is to synthesize her musical gifts and life experience to help others attune to the Holy Spirit in their lives.
A composer, clarinetist, and recording artist, her original works available on Spotify, Apple Music and other major streaming platforms. Leslie is also a sound healing practitioner, and the author of the mini-book Sound Healing for Skeptics. Through music, sound, and poetry, she works to create contemplative spaces that encourage mindfulness and meditation. Her retreats focus on contemplative practices through various creative processes. A graduate of Live Your Vision, Leslie is also a certified meditation leader.
Dr. Tracy Jones is currently a member of the Boston Church of Christ, has been a disciple since 1996 and a clinician since 1997 in Boston, Denver and Central Massachusetts. She received aMaster’s in Counseling Psychology from Lesley University in Cambridge, a Doctoral degree in the field of Christian Counseling from Liberty University and completed a 2-year program in Spiritual Direction. She has published research regarding the use of Christian meditation as clinical intervention as well as authored two chapters in The Journey of the Soul, a book about finding peace through spiritual practices. Tracy has a passion for helping people to grow spiritually and psychologically and for helping people see God’s love and listen to His Spirit by learning to be quiet in His presence. She is a member of the teaching group in her local congregation and has provided mental health and spiritual practices workshops for churches, presented at both professional and spiritual conferences, worked as a clinician and a clinical director. Tracy helps to direct Sabbath and Spiritual Formation retreats as well as women’s retreats. She has private practice in Massachusetts, is part of the executive management team of the nonprofit, CrossPoint Clinical Services, and is an adjunct professor at Regent University in the Graduate Counseling Ministries program. Tracy is married to her best friend, Tyrone, and has 4 children ranging in age from 14 to 28. She enjoys traveling, cheering on her kids in their various endeavors, reading, hiking, gardening, creating pottery and sipping tea! Her favorite scripture is Exodus 14:14: “The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.”

