53 Mill Street, Westfield, MA, USA
18:30 - 19:30
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 finger nails, soaking in sacred silence, taking long walks, singing loudly, and seeking the world’s best wood-fired pizza (recommendations welcome!).
Details of this retreat
Begin your Advent journey this year with creative prayer, calming candlelight, and contemplative coloring. The beauty of Advent can easily become lost amidst the busy-ness of the season. If we are not careful and intentional, the sacred invitation to “wait with bated breath” quickly becomes the cultural compulsion to “shop with stressed-out spirit.”
If you are longing for a simpler and more centered Advent this year, join us as we gather for a quiet hour of rest and renewal each Monday throughout the season. Based on her book Mandalas, Candles and Prayer, we will explore how the spiritual practice of lighting candles on the Advent wreath and coloring prayer mandalas can help bring hope, love, joy and peace to our journey toward the manger as we seek to keep Christ at the heart of Christmas.
Each participant will want to have their own copy of the book Mandalas, Candles and Prayer -A Simply Centered Advent for use during our sessions and throughout the Advent season. Copies can be purchased wherever you typically buy your books. If you would like to purchase directly from the publisher, Upper Room Books is offering a 20% discount for participants in this retreat. Simply enter the discount code CHRM at check out. https://store.upperroom.org/product/mandalas-candles-and-prayer
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