In the Shelter of Each Other:
The Sacred Work of Grief in Community
“Life is growth in the art of loss.” - John O’Donohue
Thursday, February 5 through Sunday, February 8, 2026
We are all faced with loss, including the death of a loved one or a beloved pet, loss of health, a relationship, a home, or a dream. These are the losses humans have faced since the beginning of time. Add to these the increasing destruction of the natural world and a diminished sense of community coherence, and the losses can feel overwhelming. They are wounds to the soul.
During this retreat, we will gather in a beautiful nature-filled setting and form what Michael Meade calls an “instant village,” creating a robust container where we can metabolize and transmute our losses in ways largely inaccessible in modern culture.
The Retreat integrates the work of Francis Weller and his book “The Wild Edge of Sorrow.” Francis Weller delineates 5 gates of grief and ritual processes that address the wounds to the soul. These gates are:
All that we love, we will lose.
The places that did not receive love.
The sorrows of the world.
What we expected but did not receive.
Ancestral grief.
Who This Retreat is for:
This retreat is for anyone who is aching with the impact of personal and collective losses and who hungers for a safe, contained, and sustainable outlet for processing their grief.
We were never meant to carry the burden of grief alone, in isolation, or to “get over it” in any amount of time. Perhaps you live alone, have relocated, or lack a community that is willing to hold sacred space for one another, participating in rituals that compost collective energy in nourishing ways.
In this space, we gather to re-connect and re-member that which has always been part of humanity’s shared, soulful experience.