Schedule of Retreats
Welcome!
Our seventeenth year of Silent Meadows, A Place of Prayer is here!
All retreats start at 8:00 a.m. and last until 4:00 p.m.
If your group prefers any retreat on a different day than scheduled, please call
and we will try to accommodate your request. This is only possible for retreats presented by Mary Ann. The minimum number for a group is 5 people and the maximum is 10. We look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you on
your retreat.
Silent Meadows is happy to announce the opening of an apartment attached to
our house for Overnight Retreatants. It can be for a day and night, several days,
or a week. It is a fully furnished kitchen, living room, 2 bedrooms, and new bathroom. Call for more information 970-759-2833.
2025 RETREAT SCHEDULE
Lenten Retreat
This retreat is offered two times during Lent in order to accommodate more people:
The Spiritual Combat: A Daily Battle Against Evil “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”(Ephesians 6:12)
Presented by: Phil Wiley, MD
Dates offered: Saturday, March 8, 2025 and Saturday, March 29, 2025
The Beauty and Richness of Mercy
The mystery of God’s merciful love for humanity is enkindled by truth that leads to the desire to reflect God’s mercy in our own hearts to others. But, what are the principles of mercy? How does divine mercy reflect in our spiritual journey?
Note: Presented the day before Mercy Sunday
Date offered: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Discovering Inner Wisdom
Wisdom known in Greek as “Sophia,” will be explored as we seek to discover her presence and importance in our lives. Wisdom is a gift from God that helps us understand what God’s plan and purpose is for our lives. Wisdom is a gift that needs to be cultivated so that the soil of our hearts can hear God’s voice, as Mary did.
Date offered: Saturday, May 17, 2025
The Spiritual Journey
“To be sure, there are as many paths of prayer as there are persons who pray, but it is the same Spirit acting in all and with all. CCC2672 Every soul has a unique relationship with its Creator. This retreat will introduce several spiritual authors and their descriptions of the progression of a spiritual life. We will discover while each uses different images and terms, several common themes emerge which together describe a general shape to the spiritual journey. We will focus on prayer and the interior life as a guide to introduce the stages of conversion in the spiritual life
Presented by: Phil Wiley, MD
Date offered: Saturday, June 7, 2025
Journaling, a Means of Spiritual Growth Journaling is helpful in overcoming the stresses of life. It is an opportunity to express your deepest emotions, allowing healing while deepening your relationship to God.
Date offered: Saturday, June 21, 2025
Be Transformed – Woman’s Day of Reflection & Renewal
Will offer an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be transformed by God’s love and grace. God’s plan for each of us is to be transformed into His image and likeness! When we surrender into our Lord’s loving, merciful and compassionate hands, transformation happens! 2Cor 5:17 encourages us with the promise, “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.” We will learn to recognize the voice of God as we discover our need to be still and say, “Speak Lord, I am listening! This day will also allow us to discover our calling to be women of courage…trusting God and living with a faith that can overcome any fear we might face. Ladies, you are invited to share in this special time of praise & worship, teaching, silence, prayer, and healing.!
Presented by: Erin Blanchette and offered two times to accommodate more people. Date offered: Saturday, July 19, 2025 or Saturday August 2, 2025
Prayer of the Heart
Follow the journey of the historic Desert Fathers and Mothers and their influence on our prayer commitment leading us to a faith-filled contemplative life.
Date offered: Saturday, September 6, 2025
Spiritual Fitness
What do you want to let go of in order to let God in? What are you going to replace it with to let God lead you? We tend to focus more on the mental and physical components in our lives and less on the spiritual, so how can we increase our spiritual fitness, the most important part of self? Learn more as you explore how to be the person God created you to be.
Presented by: Audrey Hockman and Dr. Shellie Gutierrez
Date offered: Saturday, October 18, 2025
Advent Retreats
The same retreat will be offered two different times:
The Seven Joys of Mary
Dates offered: Saturday, November 8 and Saturday, November 15, 2025.
We offer the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. You will have to register before September as the Scriptures follow the liturgical year with the program lasting 36 weeks. The cost is $50.00 a month. This includes 5 presentations and meeting with each retreatant every other week for the duration. For info call Mary Ann 970-759-2833
All retreats will be presented by Mary Ann Maslak unless otherwise specified. She and her husband were active in Marriage Encounter, the Charismatic Renewal and taught CCD. She is a retired elementary school teacher. She has 30 hours of study in Spiritual Formation and Self Direction from the Diocese of Hartford, CT, a BA in Elementary Education and a Masters in Community Leadership and Spiritual Direction. She and her husband Terry are founders of Silent Meadows, A Place of Prayer. She is the author of "Gentle Whispers, Meditations for a Journey."
We offer the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. You will have to register before September as the Scriptures follow the liturgical year with the program lasting 36 weeks. The cost is $50.00 a month. This includes 5 presentations and meeting with each retreatant every other week for the duration.
For more info call Mary Ann 970-759-2833.
FEES
The fee for each One Day Retreat is $50.00. This includes a light breakfast and full luncheon. The only other expense would be if you wish to make a donation to help the facility upkeep. We also have a small bookstore with spiritual books for sale. We accept credit cards, cash or checks.
- Individual Spiritual Direction (1 hour) by appointment only: $25.00
- All One Day Retreats include light breakfast and lunch.$50.00 per person
- Spiritual Book Store and Gifts We accept credit cards. People may shop for books at Silent Meadows while on retreat or by calling: 970-759-2833.
- Be Our Guest for Overnight Retreats. Call for information.
PRESENTERS
Silent Meadows is happy to announce presenters for retreats this year: Mary Ann Maslak, Erin Blanchette, Phil Wiley, MD, Dr. Shellie Gutierrez and Audrey Hockman.
Erin Blanchette grew up in a home where religion and spirituality were not practiced, yet she was led to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior at the age of 13. In 1990, Erin felt called to join her husband and daughters in their faith and she made her decision to convert to Catholicism. Her life has never been the same. She was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1991 and her heart was set ablaze with the desire to serve the Lord. In March of 2000, Erin heard the Lord’s invitation to establish a women’s retreat ministry. For the past 25 plus years, Erin has dedicated her time and gifts to developing Vine of Grace Retreat Ministry. The Lord gave Erin a passion to share the Gospel and to bring the love, mercy, healing, hope, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit to others! Erin currently resides in Tucson, Arizona with her husband, David.
Philip Wiley, MD is a convert to the Catholic Church. Since that time he has been active in St. Columba parish including middle school ministry, young adult mentoring, and RCIA. He has facilitated small groups including Brothers Bound in Christ. Phil takes a special interest in viewing secular challenges facing young adults and their parents through a Christian lens. He is married to Michelle Wiley, and they have three children. He has been a Durango resident since 1996 and is in private practice. He is a founding member and chairs the Governing board of Animas Surgical Hospital. He also has extensive experience as a sinner.
Dr. Shellie Gutierrez has been teaching and learning alongside her students for 32 years. Her greatest passion is to live a productive life for God and to help others do the same. Along with her bachelor’s degree, Shellie has earned two master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. She has taught adults at the college level for most of her career, and she has developed numerous courses for universities across the nation, with emphasis on creative curriculum that empowers and engages learners. Shellie is honored to be a part of the Silent Meadows Retreat where spiritual fitness is her top priority.
Audrey Hockman has been working in the healthcare field for the past 35 years providing service as a counselor, health educator, and administrator to children, adolescents, and adults. She is a military veteran whose experience has given her a deeper understanding of cultural diversity. Audrey is a licensed Mental Health Counselor especially in wellness and spiritual fitness. She holds graduate degrees in counseling and public health maintaining certifications as a National Certified Counselor, Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselor, Professional Life coach, and Health Ed. specialist. Audrey volunteers in her church as well as non-profit organizations: the Cornerstone Project and Project Sanctuary.
