WHEATLAND — The following retreats are slated at Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat near Wheatland:
• “Knit One, Pray Too,” a day of knitting, fellowship and prayer, will be offered from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, April 13. The fee is $15 and includes lunch. Bring size 11 or 13 knitting needles, three six-ounce skeins of yarn (or a project in progress), and join others as they create a prayer shawl, a scarf or a special gift for someone in need of comfort. Participants will knit and pray together, share “yarns” of their individual journeys, and enjoy the beauty of a spring day at The Prairie. All knitters, including beginners, women and men are welcome! Call (563) 336-8401 for more details.
• Desert Pilgrim Spiritual Memoir Workshop, sponsored by the Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library and Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, will be held from 9:30 a.m.-noon Friday, April 16, at Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Morning fee: free-will offering. The morning program will include readings by Mary Swander from her memoir, “The Desert Pilgrim: En Route to Mysticism and Miracles,” and a discussion of the role of women healers through western civilization.
Participants will be encouraged to meditate and write a short narrative on the courage and strength they have drawn from their own experiences, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Swander, who is also a licensed and certified massage therapist, will discuss the use of some simple herbal remedies and alternative healing techniques.
A private retreat will follow the workshop. Fee for lunch and afternoon: $15.
To register for either retreat, contact Barbara Gross at (563) 336-8414 or olpretreat@gmail.com.
