A four-hour Silent Mindful Meditation Retreat will be held at St. Stephen’s Church. This retreat will incorporate teaching on mindfulness in daily living, loving kindness, sitting and walking meditations, the Blue Tarp Labyrinth, handouts and a silent meal. Participants are asked to bring mats or blankets for sitting. This session will be facilitated by Wendy Sullivan, LMSW and Peter Sullivan, LCSW. No meditation experience needed – this retreat is open to the public and wheelchair accessible.

St. Stephen's hosts free weekly Mindful Meditation sessions most Tuesday evenings from 7 – 8 pm for adults and 6:30 – 6:50 for children which are open to the public. Mindful Meditation at St. Stephen’s is based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) model.

Mindfulness is a practice that is gaining acceptance in western medicine as an “evidenced based” way for reducing stress; it is a way to manage your emotions from hijacking your brain. It is a way to practice being fully awake in the only moment we have: the present. “Meditation is not to escape from society, but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. With mindfulness, we know what to do and what not to do to help.” Thich Nhat Hanh


NEW: A CD of meditations for children and adults recorded by the facilitators is available for a suggested donation for CD: $15.

Suggested donation for retreat - $20 (Registration is requested for meal planning).