53 Mill Street, Westfield, MA, USA
September 17 - 20, 2026
About this Retreat
Rev. Sharon Seyfarth Garner is a spiritual director, retreat leader, author and United Methodist pastor. She founded Belly of the Whale Spiritual Direction & Retreat Ministries in 2014 and finds great joy in helping fellow seekers nurture spiritual vitality in daily living. Sharon is an award-winning author of two books on contemplative coloring Praying with Mandalas: A Colorful, Contemplative Practice and Mandalas, Candles & Prayer: A Simply Centered Advent and anticipates the release of her third book with Upper Room Books in the summer of 2026 The Jonah Retreat: Still Enough to Know & Bold Enough to Go. Sharon has led spiritual retreats and workshops widely including on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, Spiritual Director’s International Annual Conference, Wild Goose Festival, Weird Church Camp, a school in Liberia and a women’s prison in Cleveland. In addition to her M.Div., she also holds graduate certificates in Spiritual Direction (Ignatian Spirituality Institute, John Carroll University), Diversity Management (Cleveland State University) and Ecumenical Studies (World Council of Churches). Perhaps more importantly, however, Sharon enjoys savoring this wild and wonderful gift of life by getting dirt from the garden under her fingernails, soaking in sacred silence, taking long walks, singing loudly, and seeking the world’s best wood-fired pizza (recommendations welcome!).
Details of this retreat
Immerse yourself in the ancient practice of sacred silence, inspired by the story of Jonah. Together we will explore creative, prayerful, and playful ways to nurture a life of faith that is both deeply contemplative and compassionately active. Every morning and afternoon, we will gather briefly for reflections on Jonah and to engage in spiritual practices inspired by his story. These sessions are drawn from Sharon’s soon-to-be-released book, Praying with Jonah: Practices for Imperfect Pilgrims, and each participant will receive a complimentary signed copy. In the evenings, we will share quiet Vespers together.
The rest of the time will be held in deep, shared silence. You are invited to immerse yourself in the silence in whatever way feels most life-giving to you – whether through exploring creative expression (painting, drawing, pray-dough, origami, collage, mandala coloring, and more), reading, journaling, sleeping (napsio divina!), walking the labyrinth or sauntering through the serene grounds of Genesis. All meals will be held in silence (with quiet background music).
If you are new to silent retreats, this is a beautiful way to ease into the practice within a supportive community. If you have already experienced the blessing of silent retreats, this offers space to deepen your practice guided by the reluctant yet relatable prophet, Jonah.
Join us for 3 days & 3 nights of spacious, sacred silence to slow down, breathe deeply and explore what it means to be still enough to know and bold enough to go wherever God is calling.
Thursday
3:00 Check-in begins
4:30 Welcome and Opening Session
6:00 Dinner (sharing during the meal is invited)
7:00 Session I
(All meals from this point on will be held in silence.)
Friday
8:00 Breakfast (in sacred silence)
9:00-10:00 Session II
12:00 Lunch (in sacred silence)
1:00-2:00 Session III
6:00 Dinner (in sacred silence)
7:00 Quiet Vespers
Saturday
8:00 Breakfast (in sacred silence)
9:00-10:00 Session IV
12:00 Lunch (in sacred silence)
1:00-2:00 Session V
6:00 Dinner (in sacred silence)
7:00 Quiet Vespers
Sunday
8:00 Breakfast
9:00-9:30 Session VI
9:30-10:30 Room Check-out
10:30-11:30 Emerging from the Sacred Silence & Sending Forth
11:30 Departure
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