A Natural Sanctuary for Spiritual Deepening and Global Transformation

Our mission is inspired by the Franciscan tradition of St. Francis and St. Clare At the Christine Center stillness calls us to personal deepening and spiritual growth for the sake of the world’s transformation. We welcome you no matter your spiritual path and offer contemplative support for your inner work in a natural woodland sanctuary.

At the Christine Center we offer

Nourishing body, mind and soul requires some get-away time with yourself, with nature, with God. Here’s why so many people choose us for a personal retreat. 1. 2. 3.

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World-saving Limitless Truth

 Daily meditation practice

April 20 – 24 (Thursday evening-Monday noon) Also with our Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD Tuition: $300 (20% early registration discount of $240 by March 15), plus meals and lodging

 Spiritual Guidance  Art studio

 Homemade meals—mostly vegetarian; lots of gluten-free

 A bookstore and library for the spiritual seeker  Meditation walking trails  Sauna

Visit us at

christinecenter.org

A beautiful woodland sanctuary where the quiet invites deep listening. Imagine living as a hermit in the woods for a few days or a week (or more). Burdens fall away, rest is possible. Choose to receive support from the spiritual community. Meet kindred spirits. Join the daily meditations. Eat nourishing food shared in the dining room. Balance solitude with time spent in a friendly, supportive community. Discover new authors at our library and bookstore through an exceptional collection of books about creativity, spirituality, healing.

Special Spring Retreat with Robert Sardello Knowing Self:

 A welcoming and supportive staff

 Beautiful meditation hall

Christine Center

January-April 2017 Four Great Reasons to Come for a Personal Retreat this Winter

 Retreat programs; private retreats for yourself, for family, friends, and co-workers; sabbaticals; volunteer retreats

 Chapel contemplative space

The

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Join in the meditation practice of bridging inner life with world life. Savor the freedom and life-fullness of living from essence and truth. Open an inner light to the true beauty of the Living Spirit that we are.

Robert writes: My visit (October 2016) was incredible in

all respects… the group was extremely receptive, and the soul field there is so strong… And the people, the Center, the hermitages, the meals, well, truly everything there is completely astounding! Such a rare, rare, rare occurrence in this culture. Robert is an author, teacher, founder of the School of Spiritual Psychology and Founding Fellow of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture.

Programs for Spiritual Deepening Inner Work, Prayer, Silence and Meditation increasingly deeper levels of truth. Our work includes meditations, teachings, movement, and experiential exercises. Carol and Neal are senior Ridhwan teachers of the Diamond Approach. They have studied directly with A.H. Almaas, the founder. Visit www.ridhwan.org.

Sound and Silence

Mid-life: What do I do? Where do I go? February 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) With Tom Roberts Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging Come explore how your mid-life uncertainties and indecisions are an integral part of your spiritual journey. Where am I? Who am I? What is important? What will give my life a greater sense of depth and meaning? Learn how to embrace yourself and your life with more patience, openness and compassion. Tom has over 35 years of experience in clinical psychotherapy and his own personal Zen Buddhist practice. He is the author of The Mindfulness Workbook: A Beginners Guide to Overcoming Fear and Embracing Compassion.

Diamond Approach to Inner Work March 9-12 (Thursday-Sunday) With Carol or Neal Carbon Contact Johanna Seubert at [email protected] or call 715.267.7902. The Diamond Approach is a path of spiritual realization characterized by sincere inquiry into one’s experience, fueled by the love of truth. The immediate contact with the truth of our experience allows the unfoldment of our Soul to reach

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March 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) With Cecilia Corcoran, FSPA, PhD and Wendy Kohlhaas, ICS, CSAC, LPN Tuition: sliding scale $75-$150, plus meals and lodging Experience wordless prayer as you inwardly rest in the essence of sound. You’ll learn the art of deep listening by experiencing silence. You will find your own response to the resonant tones of gemstone singing bowls. “When I attune my intention in silent awareness the tones allow me to release tensions and respond more freely moment to moment.” Cecilia and Wendy both studied with Jonathan Goldman’s Healing Sounds Intensive in 2013. Cecilia has a PhD in Women’s Religious Studies. Wendy is a drug and addictions counselor and is developing a practice of Sound Healing and Energy Medicine.

Be Loving Kindness March 31-April 2 (Friday-Sunday) With Henrita Frost, SSND and Johanna Seubert, FSPA Tuition: $75-$150, plus meals and lodging We invite you to enhance your meditation practice and experience quiet and renewal. With an emphasis on the cultivation of loving-kindness, reminiscent of loving your neighbor as yourself that Jesus taught, we can develop compassion for ourselves and others. When troubled by difficult emotional situations and the pressures of our lives, this skill can help us deal with them. Life’s challenges can become sweetened and changed, and our minds and hearts can become open and calm with this form of concentration meditation. Henrita is a gifted spiritual guide and delights in the experience of facilitating spiritual deepening experiences. Johanna gives retreats on various spiritual topics, is a trained spiritual director, and a certified teacher of the Diamond Approach.

A Mindfulness Retreat March 31-April 2 (Friday-Sunday) With Betsy Witt Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging Watching the muscle of the mind as it works overtime, we learn our mind's habit energy. Experience how to accept and hold your habit energies with patience, non-judgment, and non-striving for greater ease and equanimity. Betsy trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn in mindfulness meditation. She completed a Masters Degree in Human Development with a specific internship with Judith Lies (seedsofmindfulness.com). Betsy offers Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction courses and "Lessons in Mindfulness" courses.

Programs for Spiritual Deepening Art as Spiritual Practice Intuitive Painting and Mandala Making Open Studios with Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD Painting from Soul: Intuitive Painting Open Studio

Hope: Intuitive Painting Studio

January 12-15 (Thursday-Sunday: February 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) Daily 10 am-12:30; 2:30-5:00 pm, including Sunday Jumpstart your natural creativity in supportive community. Each day includes two creativity coaching sessions with Gabriele. Optional evening sessions too. No previous art skill is required! If you are an artist, here is a chance to dare yourself to stretch into fresh creative possibility! Bring your curiosity and willingness to deepen insight! Materials provided.

Spirit Jewel

The Christine Center Bookstore Find an author for the next step on your spiritual journey. Hundreds of spirituality titles, plus lots more: art, gemstone jewelry, handmade soaps, art supplies, childrens’ books.

Mandala Making: Open Studio January 5-8 and March 16-19 (Thursday-Sunday) Daily 10 am-12:30; 2:30-5:00 pm, including Sunday Mandala-making can bring healing energy and awareness to the body, mind, and spirit. The meditative process helps open the heart to divine love. The work gives form and expression into spiritual truths by releasing the inner light of the soul. You’ll have historical, spiritual and cross-cultural examples of mandalas available for inspiration along with expert instruction and support. No previous art experience is necessary and all materials are provided.

Tuition for either retreat: $40 a day, plus meals and lodging and a one-time $15 materials fee. Half days are $20; evenings are free. Commuters are welcome bring a bag lunch or purchase a lovely vegetarian meal for $16. Gabriele trained in the intuitive painting method of Michele Cassou and has over 30 years’ experience in using art expression as a personal contemplative practice. Her intuitive art studio provides a “judgement-free zone” for daring freedom, breaking old patterns and discovering fresh creative possibilities. Gabriele is a member of the Christine Center Leadership Team.

Learn More at christinecenter.org/retreat calendar for more program descriptions, schedules, testimonials, videos, photos, and links for deeper insight.

Christine Center garden sculpture by our friend Henry Eisenhauer. Read his story on our website under Our Stories/Art and Writing as Spiritual Practice.

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Programs for Spiritual Deepening with Body, Mind, Spirit Healing Practices Heart Centered Meditation and Yoga

Resting in Darkness...Full of Light January 6-8 (Friday-Sunday) With Iris Mickey Tuition: $200, plus meals and lodging Embrace your inner light. Even at times of greatest darkness, we have access to our innate goodness, love and light. We will use a variety of practices from yoga to explore and enhance this inner light of consciousness. Practices suitable for all levels and will include daily asana, yoga nidra. Iris teaches a synergistic Hatha Yoga class infused by her deep knowledge of biomechanical alignment. Her therapeutic yoga practice is further enriched by many years of studying Anusara Yoga and her specialized training as a licensed rehabilitation bodyworker.

Shine: Yoga, Sound and the Sun January 13-15 (Friday-Sunday) With Aveen Banich, MD Tuition: $175, plus meals and lodging Come restore balance. Experience a blend of yoga, gemstone alchemy, bowl sound baths, chant and writing practices. Explore various asana styles including vinyasa, yin and restorative yoga with a focus on gentle and nourishing practices to refill our well. Aveen is a Registered Yoga Instructor, a sound and energy healer and a physician.

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January 27-29 (Friday to Sunday) With Katherine Banbury, CYT and Marge Zulaski, OSF, PsyD Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging Come to relax, restore energy and to enjoy yourself. No prior experience needed. Katherine will lead yoga practice that will bring you back home to yourself with joy, empowerment and harmony. Marge will guide heart meditations that focus on experiencing the heart as a spiritual center of your body. Katherine is a certified Yoga teacher with 30+ years of experience. Marge is a Jungian Analyst and a member of the Christine Center Leadership Team

Compassionate Presence to Mind and Body February 17-19 (Friday-Sunday) Susan Mickel, MD and Pam Eyden Tuition: $175, plus meals and lodging This weekend retreat in silence will offer instruction in both yoga and mindfulness meditation, with an emphasis on gently turning inwards in presence to our experience of mind and body. The meditation instructions will emphasize the role of concentration in stabilizing the mind in order to be able to stay present. Susan will teach the four bases, or foundations, of mindfulness, as well as lovingkindness meditation. In her teaching of yoga asanas, Pam will emphasize mindful awareness of the body and emotion in both motion and stillness. Only by knowing compassionately and deeply our own experience of body and mind can we bring true love and compassion to others. For both beginning and experienced practitioners. Susan has been meditating for over twenty years. For twelve years she has been teaching Buddhist retreats in the Burmese mindfulness tradition and in Tibetan Mahamudra. Pamela is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher and long-time meditator.

Health and Inner Peace with Relaxation and Full Natural Breathing February 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) With Roberta Hodges Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging Relaxation of body and breath releases the tensions caused by stress. Healthful relaxation creates space within for peaceful spirit and life force energy to enter. Come learn many body and breath relaxations of varied length and styles that can be done while lying, sitting, walking or standing. Use in almost any situation when you need calming alone or with others. Practices range from a one minute calming breath practice to the more lengthy Yoga Nidra practice of extreme relaxation. Roberta has been studying, practicing and teaching yoga in the Himalayan tradition for 25 years

Body, Mind, Spirit Healing Practices continued on page 5.

Programs for Spiritual Deepening Our Annual By Women For Women Festival March 6-8 (Friday-Sunday) Tuition: $50-$150, plus meals and lodging Our exciting and dynamic annual fest presented by women donating their talents and wisdom in wondrous and varied ways.

SAVE the DATE 2017 Festivals

Yoga Festival Fundraiser

Hildegard Festival

June 30-July 2

September 15-17

6th Spiritual Deepening for Global Transformation Program to Begin November 2017 Our three-year certificate program to help you thrive spiritually begins November 3-5 (Friday-Sunday). With a skilled team of spiritual guides, inspired by traditions both East and West, our program is four weekend retreats each year. Through a blend of study, contemplation, dialogue and community, you’ll find guidance and support for the questions that draw you towards a rich interior life. Email Marge Zulaski at [email protected] for an application.

Body, Mind, Spirit Healing Practices continued from page 4.

Fundamental Yoga Practices and Beginning Meditation Techniques April 7-9 (Friday-Sunday) With Bill Miller Tuition: $75-$150, plus meals and lodging Come learn the beginning steps of these ancient practices in a supportive, comfortable, and beautiful space. Yoga is a way to balance and ease stress. Meditation helps you to find peace, healing and renewal. Give yourself the gift of a life lived in greater harmony. No prior yoga or meditation experience needed. Bill is a retired police officer and criminal justice teacher. Bill completed a 200 hour Viniyoga Wellness teacher training program, taught by Mary Hilliker.

Yoga Nidra: The Healing Power of Extreme Relaxation and Effortless Meditation April 25-26 (Tuesday-Wednesday) With Roberta Hodges Tuition: $95, plus meals and lodging Yoga Nidra is the most powerful relaxation technique known. It means conscious deep sleep. Experience supreme relaxation of body and the most profound stillness of mind. This transforming, deep, blissful state of consciousness is the perfect condition for physical and emotional healing. .

Holy Week Retreat April 12-16 (Wednesday-Sunday) With the Christine Center Sisters and Fr. Tom Borkowski Cost: Free-will offering, plus meals and lodging Come and celebrate Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Vigil of Easter with our Community at the Christine Center. Each day offers group meditation, a presentation on the theme of that day and liturgy of the Eucharist. We conclude on Sunday with an Easter Breakfast and Morning Prayer. If you wish, you are welcome to stay for Easter dinner at 12:30 pm.

Learn More at

christinecenter.org/ retreat calendar

For more program descriptions, schedules, testimonials, videos, photos, and links for deeper insight. 5

About Woodpeckers, Opening the Door of My Heart, and Radical Compassion By Henrita Frost, SSND Member of Christine Center Leadership Team

Mandala by Henrita Frost, SSND in memory of the refugees who have lost their lives at sea. The Christine Center is a member of the International Charter for Compassion. Visit charterforcompassion.org. Read our Circle for Compassion blog at christinecenter.wordpress.com.

Donor Report

By Ann Swanson The Christine Center is now into its 36th year of offering individuals and groups of all spiritual paths contemplative support for personal deepening and spiritual growth. 2016 was a year of celebrating our past and appreciating you, our friends and spiritual family. Many events that reflect the Christine Center’s mission of Spiritual Deepening for Global Transformation took place this past year. And approximately 1,500 donors contributed $185,000 over the last fiscal year, representing 10% of our total budget. These generous contributions help us continue the constant upkeep of the center’s buildings, gardens, trails, grounds, and balance our budget. Now we set our sights on the new year and building our future together!

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As so often happens when I am meditating, I hear a woodpecker pecking away at our wooden home called Shekinah. Then the woodpecker travels from the House to the birdfeeder and back again to the House. One of our maintenance staff told me that a woodpecker pecked 17 holes in the House in one session. So what can I expect? It is of the nature of woodpeckers to peck at our Home to find nourishment. My meditations are also preoccupied by the call to be inclusively compassionate. I remember reading studies that indicate we humans are hardwired for compassion.

Time, Talent and Treasure—there are so many ways to support the Christine Center! What are your favorite ways to give?  Attend a retreat and shop in the bookstore.  Donate by phone, mail or online.  Tell a friend about the Christine Center or invite them to go with you on retreat.  Share a post about the Christine Center on social media and like us on Facebook.  Forward our emails to your network of family and friends.  Volunteer your unique talents.  Make an in-kind donation such as garden tools, recliners for hermitages, or other items on our wish list.  Include the Christine Center in your will or living trust.

Then I remind myself it is of my nature to be compassionate, as woodpeckers by nature peck away at wood. Where do I find my sustenance for compassion, except by allowing the suffering of others to meticulously peck away at the door of my heart until the barriers to inclusive compassion start one-by-one to fall away. It’s a long journey of struggling to surrender – to be free for radical compassion. Pope Francis opened the Jubilee Door of Mercy at St. Peter’s Basilica, which has been followed by a world-wide opening of Doors of Mercy. The dynamism of these sequential acts inspires me to believe that every door that I go through has the potential to be a Door of Mercy. My heart also has the potential to open wide as a Door of Mercy and Compassion. For me, this is a profound call to spiritual deepening. So many times I have received that call.

We are so grateful for your participation and generosity to help the Christine Center continue to be a place of gentle hospitality, contemplative presence, and spiritual deepening for global transformation. May the new year bring you and your family peace and many blessings! May God Bless you! With Love and Gratitude, Sr. Johanna Seubert Director of Donor Development Ann Swanson Fund Development Coordinator Feel free to contact Ann at 612.834.4931 or [email protected].

Donors & Volunteers August–October 2016

We express heartfelt appreciation to our special friends, our donors and volunteers. You help the Christine Center to flourish. We couldn’t fulfill our mission without you! Many blessings. We apologize if we have missed your name. Please let us know and we will Include you in the next newsletter.

Financial Donations Sherryl Andrus & George Schiffet Barbara Agard Allegra Ahlquist Karen Ailsworth Sr Dorothy Birk Teri Blair Sharon Blattner Held Fr Tom Borkowski Sigrid Brooks Mary Cider Laura Desmarais Sr Julie Ann Diebold Joan Filla Nancy Foerst Ann French Marcia Grayson Kevin Gregerson Roberta Hodges Janet Howard John & Gwen Hudetz Family Lois Kubes Theresa Langfield Myron Lowe Bill Matsen CaSandra May Carrie Mettler Mary Nielsen Kristen Olsen Ocean Prihoda Lizzy Salsich Patrick Siegler Pat Stremikis Ann Swanson Sr Margaret Wagner, FSPA Mary Wehner Curt Wessel Mark Whiston Urs & Rosemarie Williman Kathleen Yosko

In-Tribute Donations In Honor of Marge Zulaski By Karen Ailsworth In Honor of Cecilia Corcoran, FSPA By Pat Stremikis In Honor of Cecilia Corcoran, FSPA By Sister Margaret Wagner In Honor of Fr. Michael Peter Hermes By Curt Wessel In Honor of Cecilia Corcoran, FSPA By Kathleen Yosko

In-Kind Donations Sheryl Andrus & George Scliffet Fr. Tom Borkowski Molly Corcoran Mary Ann Crosby Susan Dunne-Guzman Henry & Paula Eisenhauer Georgette Frazer Brenda Gilbert Roberta Hodges Hank Maly Bev & Tim O’Shaughnessy Laramee Paradise Sharon Rand RLJ Entertainment Inc. Ann Swanson Sue & John Twiggs Tony & Diane Wagner Joan White

Volunteers Jean Abreau Sherryl Andrus & George Scliffet Fr Steve Brice Wade Britzius Linda Cates Tracy Chipman Jay Coldwell

Molly Corcoran Cecy Corcoran, FSPA Barbara Dannhausen, OP Tom & Sharon Deavers Dennis DeNuccio Amy Donaldson Michael Dunn Susan Dunne-Guzman Anastasia Dzenowagis Henry Eisenhauer Jean Feraca Henrita Frost, SSND Delmarie Gibney, FSPA Karen Gordon Valerie Haberman Christie Haight Williams Jeanne & David Hamlin Lola Higgins Roberta Hodges Sue & John Jenkins Theresa Kiel Carole Kretschman Annie & Christian Lea Jack Li Nicole Stremikis Luoam Bela Maroti Linda Mershon, FSPA Bill & Suzie Miller Tom Roberts Barbara Schweder Johanna Seubert, FSPA Kristen Spatafora Shannon Spear Marianne Stonis Marie Stratford Sharon Street Sandy Sultzer Ann Swanson Gabriele Uhlein, OSF Patty Wack Joan White Edna Wilson Ann Winschel Kathleen Yosko Sandy Zimmerman Marge Zulaski, OSF

Consider joining our Trails and Garden Volunteers this Spring and Summer.

The Benefits of Monthly Online Giving Why give monthly?  It’s Convenient: use a debit or credit card 

It’s Simple: sign up once online. Go to christinecenter.org and click on Donate Now button.

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It’s Helpful: budget your Giving Plan by selecting an amount that works for you.

How monthly giving helps the Christine Center? Recurring monthly donations provide support for continual upkeep of the Center.

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The Christine Center

Non-Profit Org US Postage Paid Eau Claire WI PERMIT NO 2000

W8303 Mann Road Willard, WI 54493 Board of Directors Sherryl Andrus Fr. Steven Brice Wade Britzius Jay Coldwell Amy Donaldson Jean Feraca Henrita Frost, SSND, ex officio Delmarie Gibney, FSPA Carole Kretschman Christian Lea Joan White A. Bela Maroti, Emeritus

Leadership Team Henrita Frost, SSND 715.267.7901 [email protected] Johanna Seubert, FSPA 715.267.7902 [email protected] Gabriele Uhlein, OSF 715.267.7903 [email protected]

Lodging & Meals Rates are per person, per night.

Marge Zulaski, OSF 715.267.7905 [email protected]

Visit christinecenter.org/ Reservations for more details.

Christine Center Staff

Modern Hermitage, bath and kitchenette Friday and Saturday $79 single $53 each, shared Sunday through Thursday $63 single $42 each, shared

Administrative Support Sue Jenkins, Marketing Coordinator Stacy Mathis, Financial Manager Liz Poehnelt, Administrative Assistant Ann Swanson, Fund Development Coordinator

Housekeeping Pat Stremikis Diane Wagner

Kitchen Tracy Hart, Manager Katherine Banbury, Sherlina Brzezinski Brenda Gilbert Lana Ormond Cheryl Plechacek Sharon Rand Sheree Watts

Maintenance J.R. Pohl, Supervisor Wally Ormond Tony Wagner

Guest House Room, private bath Friday and Saturday $69 single $48 each, shared Sunday through Thursday $55 single $38 each, shared Rustic Hermitage, w/o water Friday and Saturday $49 single $37 each, shared Sunday through Thursday $39 single $30 each, shared

Dining Room Meals Delicious, nutritious homemade meals are mostly vegetarian with gluten-free options.

Breakfast Lunch Supper

$11 $16 $11

Sunday Cont. Breakfast $9 Brunch $16 Supper $11 Travel Directions For travel directions, please see our website for an easy-to-read printout at christinecenter.org/ Plan Your Stay.

To register: 715.267.7507 866.333.7507 [email protected] We accept Visa, Mastercard, and Discover.