Sept. 22 – 26, 2024
Registration is now open. It will close as soon as all spaces are filled.
You offer so much of yourself to others through your involvement in ministry. Shepherd Heart is delighted to offer you our 2024 Autumn Retreat for Personal Renewal. (Apply to register here, by Sept 6, 2024, or until spaces are filled). This retreat is designed to be on the smaller side, so space is limited. Fee schedule is listed here.
Come for refreshment and find your hearts warmed during this pastor- and poet-led time for rest, play, soul care, creativity, and fellowship, all nestled in a cozy chalets and cabin-style homes amid ponderosa pines of Northern Arizona. We can choose to go on gentle walks through the pines, receive rest on our neighboring lake, or stand in wonder at cathedrals of whispering aspen– just in time, we hope, for bright, changing autumn colors! In sum, we’re invited to connect with our loving Creator from deep places within.
Pastoral care, lodging, and meals (aside from restaurant dining) are included with fee & approved registration.
Where we stay:
Our cozy chalets and ample cabin-style homes are in the heart of Munds Park, Arizona. Situated between Sedona & Flagstaff, this destination is an easy roadtrip from Phoenix or Las Vegas. Yet, our retreats have welcomed participants every year from coast to coast. (When flying in to join us, we recommend arriving through the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport and renting a car to join us up north, rather than flying into the regional airports, for your greatest travel convenience. For the adventurous among us, you can reach us via an Amtrak stop in downtown Flagstaff. See maps and travel recommendations in the registration form linked above.)
Cozy Chalet
Home away from home, the Cozy Chalet, is one of our accommodations:
Green Mountain cabin, a beautiful home right next to the leaders’ cabin.
Our cabin for pastoral care, creative consulting, prayer, morning sessions, etc. is at the Pinewood Cabin, 2 miles down the street (quick drive) from the Cozy Chalet and across the street from the Green Mountain Cabin. Pictured below is the Pinewood Cabin.
Facilitators:
Rev. Melissa Hofstetter, PhD, offering pastoral care
& Steven Homestead, creative consultant
Hofstetter & Homestead have co-facilitated multiple retreats in soul care, nurturing spiritual needs of those who are active in their call to Christian ministry.
Program Itinerary (provisional & subject to change)
Sunday, Day 1,
3pm-5pm, Arrival/Check-in at the Chalet
5pm-6:30pm, Getting comfortable & settled; re-orienting from “getting here” to “being here”
6:30pm-8pm, Communal supper at Agee’s BBQ
8pm-10pm, free time (socialize, games, rest)
10pm Quiet time
Monday, Day 2,
8am-9am Breakfast at the Chalet
9:30-11am (Pinewood Cabin) Morning Session/ Blessing/Prayer
11-12pm Free time (on your own or in community)
12-1pm Lunch at the Pinewood Cabin
1-5pm Free time (acclimation to high elevation; an invitation to “be still”)
5pm-6pm Poetic exercise at the lake.
(We encourage you to bring your camping chair; let us know if you need one. You are welcome to drive to the lake if you’d like; the walk to the lake is downhill from the Pinewood Cabin, about 0.4 mile)
6:20pm Sunset at the Lake
6:45-7pm (Melissa will chauffeur those who would like a drive uphill back to the Pinewood Cabin for supper…)
7-8pm Supper at the Pinewood Cabin
8-10pm Free time
10pm Quiet time
Tuesday, Day 3,
8-9am Breakfast at the Chalet
9-10am Leisurely preparation for the (optional) community hike on the Aspen Loop trail at the AZ Snowbowl. This is a picturesque, easy-to-moderate 1.5-mile hike through aspen forest
10am Mid-morning blessing
10:30-11am Packing our lunches at the Pinewood Cabin
11am-12pm Travel to Snowbowl
12-3pm Leisurely Hike together through the Aspen Loop
4pm-6pm Free time
6pm-7pm Communal Supper at the Pinewood Cabin
7pm-10pm Free time for cocoa & conversation, Milky Way gazing (if clouds permit; camping chairs are useful), games (Pinewood)
Wednesday, Day 4
8-9am Breakfast at the Chalet
9am-10am Mid-morning Blessing
10am – noon Nature walk/Land Art near the pine trail by the Pinewood Cabin
Noon-1pm Lunch provided at the Pinewood Cabin
1-6pm Free time/Optional Pastoral Care sessions with Rev. Melissa (hourly sign up available) at the Pinewood Cabin
6pm – 7pm Communal supper
7pm – 10pm Free time
10pm Quiet time (Chalet)
Thursday, Day 5
8-9am Breakfast at the Chalet
9-10am Gathering our belongings for Check-out at the Chalet
10:30am Benediction & Departure (Pinewood Cabin)
On the way home, after our time together, you might take advantage of the proximity to explore Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, or the Grand Canyon. We hope the blessings of this retreat together will sustain you in your calling.