Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center

May Stillness Be Your Companion
2026-07-17 16:00 - 2026-07-19 11:30 (America/New_York) | MD
Given the busyness of our work, summer activities, and more, you are invited to come and allow holy stillness to become the invited guest at your table. We will let Psalm 46 inform our contemplative time of silence, along with experiences of lectio divina, journaling, and how to be a companion to stillness. The contemplative practices will invite us to define and welcome stillness as a rhythm of life. How can we encounter stillness for the rest of the calendar year? Let the gift of being in community embrace the attributes of stillness. Guided by Sandra Dorsainvil.
Check-in begins at 4pm. There will be a brief welcome session at 5:30pm, followed by dinner at 6pm. The retreat begins after dinner at 7pm on Friday and concludes before lunch on Sunday. Mass will be available Sunday morning for those who wish to attend.
Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil is an ordained minister with the American Baptist Churches, USA. She serves as a ministry coach and women’s group retreat facilitator with the Center for Career Development & Ministry. Rev. Sandra offers ministry coaching accompaniment to clergy and BIPOC women through her private consulting agency, CONNECT-SD, LLC. Her bilingual abilities in English and French and experiences living in Africa, Europe, and North America offer a unique cross-cultural approach to clients and organizations. She has graduate degrees in pastoral ministry from Boston College and in rehabilitation counseling and psychology from Boston University. She is an ICF coach certified. She has completed Level 1 of Group Spiritual Direction and the Transforming Community program at The Shalem Institute. Rev. Sandra brings over 35 years of human services, including mental health and disability advocacy, group retreat facilitation, and pastorate, national, and international ministry engagements. Rev. Sandra is a published author of several books in English and in Spanish. The ministry of deep listening and presence is a core element in her work, and she makes sure participants in her retreats and one-on-one coaching sessions are seen, heard, and covered in prayers.

Bon Secours Studio Weekend
2026-07-17 16:00 - 2026-07-19 16:00
Studio space + pool = perfect summer weekend. Join fellow artists and makers of all types for a “séjour artistique” — a retreat-stay focused on art. You’ll have your own workstation in a community space from 4pm Friday through 4pm Sunday. That’s 48 hours of Bon Secours hospitality…so you have nothing to do but create. Work outside too on one of the picnic tables or a bench by the pond. Optional sessions on helpful topics will be offered such as Color 101 and Visual Prayer. The weekend closes with an invitation to share your work. Open to all experience levels and all media except oil-based paints.
Check-in begins at 4pm. There will be a brief welcome session at 5:30pm, followed by dinner at 6pm. Mass will be available Sunday morning for those who wish to attend. The retreat concludes at 4pm Sunday. Guided by Tara Mulder.
Tara Mulder realized she was an artist while painting a still life at the age of 15. Recreating the weathered wood grain of an old sled had such a joyful rightness about it that she knew an artist was who God made her to be. Fast forward through several years as a high school art teacher and a variety of creative day jobs, and Tara is still creating art with a sense of joyful rightness using a mosaic technique she developed. Her work, both faith-themed and non-objective, has been featured in juried and solo shows. For more about Tara and her current body of work, visit TMulder.studio.
