PRAYING IN A TIME OF UN-KNOWING:
A weekend silent retreat with Psalms and poetry
Holy Cross Abbey, Berryville, Virginia
November 13-15, 2026
Dr. Kathleen Staudt, Leader
In times of transition and change, with all we cannot know about the future, it can help to revisit the Psalms. These prayer-poems have provided a way through times of change and upheaval for millennia, and they still speak to us today. This silent retreat will offer meditations on the words of psalmists and poets, taking them into corporate silence as a way to renew our own ways of praying through times of un-knowing.
November 13-15, 2026
Dr. Kathleen Staudt, Leader
In times of transition and change, with all we cannot know about the future, it can help to revisit the Psalms. These prayer-poems have provided a way through times of change and upheaval for millennia, and they still speak to us today. This silent retreat will offer meditations on the words of psalmists and poets, taking them into corporate silence as a way to renew our own ways of praying through times of un-knowing.
Dr. Kathleen Staudt, poet, scholar, teacher, and spiritual guide, will lead the retreat November 13-15 at Holy Cross Abbey. The Immanuel Benedictine community appreciated her leadership of their Quiet Day this summer. Dr. Staudt has taught classes on spirituality, literature and writing at the Virginia Theological Seminary and at Wesley Seminary. She has published a new book of poems, VIRIDITAS, drawing on the spirituality of St. Hildegard of Bingen. She has also written At the Turn of a Civilization: David Jones and Modern Poetics as well as Shaping a Faithful Life: Discernment and Discipleship for Young Adults. She frequently leads retreats and quiet days. To learn more about her, consult her website, https://kathleenstaudtpoet.com.
The retreat will be held at Holy Cross Abbey in the foothills of the Blue Mountains by the Shenandoah River on a 1,200-acre farm near Berryville, Virginia, where Cistercian monks have been praying seven times a day since 1950. The monks observe silence at all times to aid reflection, prayer, and listening to God. During our retreat, long periods of time will be devoted to silence. For more information about Holy Cross Abbey, consult their website, https://www.virginiatrappists.org. The Abbey is an hour and fifteen-minute drive from Alexandria.
The retreat will begin Friday afternoon, November 13, shortly before the evening meal and will end after the noon meal on Sunday, November 15. There will be ample time for worship, prayer, and exploring the outdoors as weather permits.
The $350.00 registration fee includes all materials, comfortable accommodations, individual rooms each with a bathroom, and all meals. Registration forms are in the bulletin and are available on the Immanuel website:
Two scholarships given in memory of Charles Willis are available; please contact the rector to request scholarship assistance. If you receive a scholarship, please complete a registration form and indicate that you have a scholarship.
Please submit your registration form and check to the church office, 3606 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA. 22304 by Friday, October 2.
If you have questions about retreat logistics, contact Mary Ann Rehnke, [email protected] or 703-989-2159. Participants needing a ride to the Abbey or those wishing to volunteer to provide a ride may contact the retreat carpooling coordinator, Katherine Maas, [email protected] or (571) 216-5690.
The retreat will begin Friday afternoon, November 13, shortly before the evening meal and will end after the noon meal on Sunday, November 15. There will be ample time for worship, prayer, and exploring the outdoors as weather permits.
The $350.00 registration fee includes all materials, comfortable accommodations, individual rooms each with a bathroom, and all meals. Registration forms are in the bulletin and are available on the Immanuel website:
Two scholarships given in memory of Charles Willis are available; please contact the rector to request scholarship assistance. If you receive a scholarship, please complete a registration form and indicate that you have a scholarship.
Please submit your registration form and check to the church office, 3606 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA. 22304 by Friday, October 2.
If you have questions about retreat logistics, contact Mary Ann Rehnke, [email protected] or 703-989-2159. Participants needing a ride to the Abbey or those wishing to volunteer to provide a ride may contact the retreat carpooling coordinator, Katherine Maas, [email protected] or (571) 216-5690.
