Silent Retreat Days at Gunpowder Friends Meeting House provide an opportunity to gather in community – in silence – to refresh and renew our spiritual lives and to ground ourselves in peace and stillness away from the rush of daily life.

The Silent Retreat day is largely unstructured. The Meeting House is open at 9 am. We settle in to silence by 9:15 am, then rise to our separate contemplative or active ways, indoors or outdoors, as we are inwardly led. Some take walks in the surrounding countryside, spend time in prayer or meditation, or engage in journaling, drawing, reading, knitting, or checking out the library.

At noon a gentle bell calls us to gather for a bring-your-own-brown-bag lunch in the west room (or if the weather is pleasant, we gather on the porch). This provides an opportunity for shared silence and, occasionally, a shared reading. Now and then a Friend may feel led to bring a pot of soup or a dessert to share

After lunch we return to personal silence. At 2:30 pm we gather again in the west room in silence where there may be a spoken reflection on the day, or not, as we feel led. The retreat ends at 3 pm and we transition out of the silence to a brief time of conversation as we close the Meeting House.

Special considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic: Gunpowder Meeting House is generally open, masks optional and strongly suggested for those who have concerns or health complexities. We ask Friends attending activities at Gunpowder to be vaccinated, but no proof of vax status is required. Participants in any activity are asked to follow standard safety procedures such as hand washing and to be respectful of the requests of others for precautions.