Our Ritual & Ceremony Retreats

New Year Ritual Retreat
January 12-14th 2024 ~ Registration Coming Soon

Every January, we offer a weekend retreat exploring rituals for self care & community care. Together, we release what we need to let go of from the previous year, find stillness in the present moment, and create a story vision to guide us forward. This is a wonderful way to welcome a new year and set new intentions for what's to come! We will share more information as it unfolds, including registration dates and details.

Warmly
Megan

Bowen Island, BC

Rivendell Retreat Centre is a living sanctuary. Set in a tranquil, natural environment, the Lodge at Cates Hill is surrounded by forest, lakes, and sweeping ocean views. We will have the Lodge to ourselves, which sleeps 25 people comfortably.

While Rivendell has Christian roots, our retreat offers a secular and universal approach to ritual and ceremony. We aim to create a diverse and inclusive gathering, holding space to acknowledge our relationship with ourselves, with each other, and with the ancestral land that surrounds us.

Be Ceremonial

Being ceremonial is both a way of life and a frame of mind. For many, it begins with unpacking our past expectations and understandings of what ritual and ceremony are and how they can be woven into our daily life.

We all hold a connection to ritual and relationship with ceremony, we may simply need to remember. The retreat will be based on Be Ceremonial's signature ceremony framework of acknowledging what was, what is, and what will be. We invite you to explore our DIY Ceremony App before you join us.

Story Visioning

At the heart of this work is a desire to shift the cultural narratives and personal stories we tell ourselves. Together we will explore, unpack, and intentionally step into the stories we want to create for the coming year.

Over the course of the weekend, we'll each craft a Story Vision Box that holds symbols, metaphors, and wishes for the year ahead. We will fill them up with ritual tools to support us on our individual journeys, while also connecting us to a larger story that we are now each part of.

Investment

The cost for the retreat is $975 for a single and $925 for a semi-private room. This includes two nights accommodation, a fully catered vegetarian menu (6 meals in total), ritual tools, story vision supplies, and more! The cost does not include travel to or from Bowen Island. We have 3 scholarships available for anyone facing financial barriers ~ please inquire for more information.

Schedule

The retreat begins Friday, January 12th at 3pm with our welcome ceremony (plan to take the 2:20pm ferry to Bowen Island). We will then release what we need to from the previous year, and enjoy a beautiful dinner together. Saturday will be focused on crafting and creating, as well as solo reflection time. Sunday invites an opportunity to share our story visions for the year ahead, followed by lunch and our closing ritual. We will wrap Sunday, January 14th at 3pm, with plans to catch the 4pm ferry home.

Ritual & Ceremony with Megan Sheldon

Megan is a Cultural Mythologist, Celebrant, and End of Life Storyteller. She will be guiding the weekend and framing the entire retreat as a ceremony itself. She will share the foundations of ritual, ceremony, and storytelling, offering different ways to weave ceremony into your daily life. With a focus on both self care and community care, Megan will be introducing simple rituals that can support your Story Vision for the year ahead.

Photo Documenting with Corrina Holburn

Corrina Holburn is an award-winning documentary family photographer in North Vancouver. Prior to having a family, she considered the darkroom her second home while she studied photography and fine arts at university. She will be photo & video documenting our weekend together, capturing moments of authenticity and ritual-in-action. Together with Megan, she will be creating a slideshow documentary that explores our evolving relationship with ritual and ceremony.

Hold Your Spot - January 2024

PREVIOUS RITUAL RETREATS

End of Life Retreat - Fall 2021

Photos by Felicia Chang Photography

New Year Ritual Retreat ~ Winter 2020

Photos by Felicia Chang Photography