04/18/2008
Bethany Spring retreat offerings announced
by The Merton Institute Retreat Center
Bethany Spring, The Merton Institute Retreat Center, offers retreats in a peace-filled, rural atmosphere. The Center is located just one mile from the Abbey of Gethsemani in New Haven, Kentucky. The following retreats are planned:
- Thomas Merton and Mary Oliver: Poets of the Sacred, facilitated by Jonathan Montaldo, uses Merton’s and Oliver’s approaches to nature and the feminine. Participants discern the “unheard feminine voice” within themselves. This retreat is May 19–21, 2008. Cost for the retreat is $275.00 per person.
- Way-Marks: Writing and Contemplative Living, presented by poet and psychotherapist Rusty C. Moe, May 30–June 2, 2008, encourages participants to reflect upon ways in which they can creatively communicate their inner experiences to others as a means of continuing their personal search for truth and beauty. Cost for the retreat is $275.00 per person.
- A Men’s Meditation Retreat featuring Dick Sisto, June 2–4, 2008, offers opportunities to experience what it means to meditate. Inspiration for this retreat is drawn from the teachings of Christ, Buddha, and other great spiritual masters. Cost for the retreat is $275.00 per person.
- Bridges to Contemplative Living Retreats offered May 9–11, May 16–18, and May 23–25, 2008. Participants will reflect upon readings from Thomas Merton and other spiritual writers and engage in contemplative dialogue on these readings. Each Contemplative Living Session focuses on aspects of our relationships—with self, our neighbors, with nature and with God. By attending to these core relationships in our daily lives we become “contemplatives” who are learning that “our every day life is our spiritual life.” Cost for each retreat is $225.00 per person.
During each retreat experience participants will have opportunities to attend the prayer services at the Abbey of Gethsemani.
Bethany Spring is available for private retreats and group retreats. The facility features two hermitages, one for single occupancy and one for double occupancy. The House, which has six bedrooms, is available for both private and group retreats.

