Meals & Amenities

The Episcopal House of Prayer is a contemplative ministry of spiritual transformation.

Providing hospitality through rental of the retreat house is an outreach of this ministry. The Episcopal House of Prayer in Collegeville is a retreat house on five wooded acres provided by Saint John’s Abbey. The space is available for rent by companies and organizations for meetings and retreats. We also welcome individual retreatants. Come and enjoy our hospitality for a day, a weekend or longer.

Meals

Groups renting the House of Prayer facility have three options for meals:

• Bring and prepare your own food in our fully equipped kitchen, which includes a large commercial refrigerator and a freezer.
• Order catered lunch or dinner options from St. John’s Food Service’s standard menu (available for groups of eight or more). St. John’s will deliver to the House of Prayer.
• Order online and pick up from one or more of the local restaurants in St. Joseph (within six miles of the House of Prayer).

More specific information on each of these three options is provided through the reservation process. Our dining room can seat up to 24 guests.

Amenities

Guest rooms: There are 12 guest rooms: 8 single rooms and 4 double rooms, with a total of 16 beds. Each room has a sink, desk, bed, a small dresser and space for hanging clothes. Bed and bath linens are provided. Two baths with individual showers are at the end of the hall.

The Oratory: Our unique, circular meditation space with in-floor heat and air conditioning is the spiritual center of our facilities.

The Hearth Room: This warm, spacious room has a wood-burning fireplace and seating for up to 24 people. The Bishop Anderson Prayer Room at the end of the Cloister is an additional, sunny room for break-out groups or individual space.

To keep costs down, the House of Prayer has minimal services. Guests are asked to change the linens on their beds before they leave and do their own dishes after meals. Assistance is available for planning your stay at the House of Prayer. Contact us at houseprayer@csbsju.edu.

In addition to weekend and week-long retreats, we offer weekly practices of Embodied Spirit Chi Kung and Contemplative Prayer in a Christian setting. These weekly practices are free and open to all.

Surrounding House of Prayer

Enjoy paths through the woods or native prairie just outside your door, or visit St. John’s Arboretum or Outdoor University. Walk the meditative paths or enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty all four seasons. Hike around the lake to Stella Maris Chapel, tour the Pottery Studio, or visit the St. John’s Bible Gallery in the Alcuin Library.

Groups and individuals are invited to join the monks of Saint John’s Abbey or the Sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery at prayer.