photograph by Cherie Westmoreland
Autumn 2025 Silent Retreat
September 12-20, 2025
with Murray Groom and Nan Goodship
Naramata Centre, Naramata, BC
“Be still and know that I am God” – Psalm 46:10
This is a time to rest, discern, pray, prepare; an opportunity to be alone in community, to be in nature and to deepen your spiritual journey – all in an atmosphere of prayer-filled silence. This is an intentional silence that helps us encounter that still, quiet, healing place within, where there can be openness to the movement of Spirit.
Most days begin with an (optional) hour of spiritual practice time. Each day, retreatants meet one-on-one with their spiritual director. Each evening concludes with vespers – a contemplative practice to deepen the spiritual life.
Between scheduled sessions, each retreatant practices deep discernment about how their day will be spent. We practice a sabbath time of stepping away from our usual busyness, compulsivity, and productivity in order to see clearly, hear deeply, and reconnect with the true self, the Holy, and nature. We seek a different pace.
Rhythm of our days
September 12 | 3 pm arrival, 5 pm orientation/welcome | 7:30 pm entry into silence
September 13-19 | morning spiritual practice
September 13-18 | 7:30 pm evening practice
September 19 | closing circle
September 20 | departure by 10 am
Retreat cost of $2,378.00 (plus applicable taxes) includes private accommodation in Orchard Courts, lunches and dinner meals, individual daily spiritual direction, site use, all community gatherings, and program fees. Participants are asked to bring their own breakfast foods.
If you would like to inquire about a bursary, please email programadmpjp@gmail.com with the subject line Autumn Silent Retreat Bursary.
This event is offered through the partnership of Pacific Jubilee and Naramata Centre
The Reverend Doctor Murray Groom
is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada. Retired from parish ministry, he now exercises his vocation as a spiritual director/soul guide. He regularly conducts extended retreats into Silence at Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo and at Naramata Centre in the Okanagan Valley. His prevailing interests include the role of the guide on pilgrimage, the interface of the wild with the tame, the wisdom of global mythologies and the well-being of his family. When not travelling with his wife Susan, he lives in the South Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island.
Learn about Murray’s spiritual direction practice here.
Nan Goodship
is an artist, retreat leader and spiritual director who trained in the Pacific Jubilee Program in 2006. She has an abiding love for contemplative, spiritual, and artistic practices that nurture the creative, growing edge in each of us.