Looking for peace, quiet, and space to reconnect with your spiritual path? Schedule a personal retreat at the House of Prayer.
If you want to visit the House on your own, without attending a retreat or renting out the space for your group, it’s now possible to schedule a personal retreat! The House of Prayer is available Mondays through Thursday overnights (check out Friday at noon) for individual personal retreats. Reservations may be made up to six weeks in advance.
What To Expect
When you schedule a personal retreat, you’ll have access to a private bedroom in our dormitory wing, with linens and towels provided to you. You’ll also have access to the main building (including the dining room and kitchen), Oratory, and grounds.
The dining room, kitchen, and Oratory are shared spaces: other personal retreatants, groups, or community members may also be using these spaces during your retreat. It’s possible that the Hearth Room and/or Bishop Bob Anderson Prayer Room will be rented out for day use by a group: any rental groups will be advised that individual retreatants are present.
The dormitory wing will be available solely for retreatants’ use, and will be maintained as a quiet space at all times. If multiple personal retreatants are staying at the House at the same time, retreatants will decide together on any other quiet spaces or periods of silence during the day.
A staff person will be available to welcome you, check you in, and answer any questions you may have about the space.
While on a personal retreat at the House, you are welcome to participate in any of our regular gatherings: Embodied Spirit Chi Kung (Monday evenings), Contemplative Prayer (Wednesday evenings), or drum circle (first Tuesday evening of the month). All of these gatherings begin at 5:30pm.
How To Schedule a Personal Retreat
Check whether your desired dates are available on our availability calendar.
If your desired weekdays include dates that say “Requested” or “Partially Reserved,” hover your cursor over the reserved dates to see the number of beds reserved. If fewer than 8 single rooms are reserved, space is likely available.
Once you’ve found your date(s), click here to request a reservation.
Personal Retreat Policies
Payment and Cancellations
- The full retreat fee ($75/person/night) is due at the time of registration. Your room is not reserved until we receive payment.
- If you need to cancel your personal retreat, there will be a flat $50 cancellation fee. This fee covers our costs for processing payments and refunds, and is the same regardless of when you cancel your retreat or how many nights were reserved.
Meals
- Your rental fee includes the standard EHoP continental breakfast.
- You are responsible for other meals. The House’s kitchen is available for retreatants who wish to bring food to prepare on-site, or, you can access dining options on the SJU campus or in nearby St. Joseph.
- Retreatants are expected to clean up after using the kitchen and to take all leftovers with them when they check out.
Other Policies
- Check-in is from 3-5pm and check-out is at noon. (We may sometimes be able to accommodate early check-ins, which you can should request when you make your reservation.)
- To preserve a culture of contemplative silence for all guests, cell phone calls are limited to retreatants’ vehicles, the grounds, or between the two closed doors of the entryway.
The House of Prayer will also schedule one communal personal retreat weekend per year. On this designated weekend, the whole house will be available for personal retreats. This event will be included in the general retreat schedule, and guests may sign up as they would for any other retreat.
Please contact the Hospitality Manager with any questions about scheduling your personal retreat.
