Day of Rest & Reflection for Healthcare Professionals
As a healthcare professional, you give generously of yourself to care for the bodies, minds and spirits of so many, and we are offering A Day of Rest and Reflection to generously return that care to you! Join us on June 3rd from 8:30 am-4:30 pm to walk the restored prairies of Holy Wisdom Monastery, engage in somatic and creative activities, find supportive community with other healthcare workers and receive nurture for your own body, mind and spirit.
You will be welcomed with a continental breakfast and served a warm and nourishing lunch. Participants may choose to extend their stay by individually booking a dinner and/or overnight at the Retreat and Guest Center separate from the programmed event and at an additional cost. Contact retreats@holywisdommonastery.org if interested.
This retreat is open to people who work in direct patient care such as nurses, doctors, CNAs, LPNs, radiologists, etc.
Schedule
8:30-9:00 am – Arrive and Continental Breakfast
9:00-10:15 am – Introductions and Reflection Circles
10:15-10:30 am – Break
10:30-11:30 am – Body Meditation and Journaling
11:45 am – Midday Prayer (Optional)
Noon – Lunch
1:00-2:30 pm – Introduction to the Land and Meditative Prairie Walk
2:45-3:30 pm – Creating Meditation Stones
3:30-4:30 pm – Reflection Circles and Blessing of Hands
Facilitators – Amy Alstad, Rita Emmenegger, Erin Trondson and Rachel Young Binter
Amy Alstad is the director of land management and environmental education at Holy Wisdom
Monastery. She has a PhD in prairie ecology from UW Madison, more than a decade of professional experience in the field of restoration ecology and a deep-rooted family tradition of restoring and tending prairies that spans four generations. In her role at Holy Wisdom, Amy works alongside staff and volunteers to tend the restored land and invite people into connection with it. She is excited to share her love of Wisdom Prairie – and her growing conviction in its power to heal – with participants in this day of rest.
Erin Trondson has worked with nonprofits for over 25 years and is currently the executive director of Holy Wisdom Monastery. She is especially moved by the monastery’s mission of hospitality and believes that part of Holy Wisdom’s work is to care for the people who care for the people. Erin will speak briefly about how the restored and healed land, the rhythms of the monastery, the beauty of
nature, the warm and welcoming spaces and the nourishing food will all contribute to a restorative day for those who work so hard to care for others every day. We look forward to having you at Holy Wisdom for a day of rest and reflection.
Rita Emmenegger is a registered nurse who worked at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, for 35 years in the departments of pediatrics and obstetrics. She understands the challenges of choosing a career as a caregiver and not having the time to nourish one’s own body and spirit. Now retired, Rita was the busy mother of four and foster mother of seven and sees the importance of taking care of oneself as a necessity in life. Born and raised in Chicago, Rita and her husband of 48 years, live in Middleton, WI. When she is not with her grandchildren, she enjoys baking, gardening, hiking, regularly donating platelets at the American Red Cross and volunteering at Holy Wisdom Monastery.
Rachel Young Binter is an experienced retreat leader with a concern for caring for the whole person, including our bodies, minds and spirits, our relationships with others and the natural world, and our right to exist within systems of equity and justice. She is the director of the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery and is grateful to have the opportunity to extend renewal and healing to those who bring renewed life and healing to so many.
Cost
$65/person
Register
Please register below by May 26, 2026.
