GROUP RETREAT INFORMATION

St. Benedict’s Monastery- Retreat House

1012 Monastery Road – Snowmass CO 81654

Telephone: 970-927-1162   e-mail: retreat@rof.net

Our Retreat House was designed and built to foster the spirit and practice of silence, solitude, meditation, and prayer.  Our Retreat House ministry is an attempt to foster and share these values and practices with our guests.  Our emphasis is on serving retreat groups who have these values at the core of their retreat experience. Our expectation is that our guests will spend the majority of their time here on the grounds, enjoying the silence, solitude and quiet available here.   We are not in competition with hospitality establishments in the local area.  Please help us maintain this atmosphere of spiritual ministry, at the Retreat House.

General Information

- Private retreat groups are welcome to come on a once-per-year basis.

--Our calendar is currently filled by private retreat groups who come annually, and we are not scheduling any new group retreats for any calendar year at this time.

--We do maintain a “reserve” list of groups that have requested retreat time in the event that there is an opening in our calendar.  We will place your group on our reserve list at your request.

- Our policies are not based on financial considerations, but on a desire to make the best use of our space, resources, and the labor and time of our retreat house staff and the monastic community. 

- We are not able to provide transportation to and from the retreat house for group retreats.

- We wish to provide an atmosphere of calm & quiet for our guests. We request you refrain from bringing pets.

- To help foster the atmosphere of contemplation and prayer the following items are not readily available:

-- Phones (a phone credit card is necessary for long distance calls)

-- Cell phone reception is not dependable (it may be available along Capitol Creek Road)

-- Internet not easily available (dial-up connection, phone cord, and computer modem is needed to connect to your ISP )

-- Wireless access (None provided)

            (The Retreat House Office should not be considered "available" for most administrative needs.  Please plan to provide for your retreat needs (copies, charts, paper, etc)

Access

    Access-  Disabled persons have access to the Main Retreat House and the Monastery, including the Atrium to the Chapel.  Parking, ramp access to the Main House and entrance     are designed to help facilitate access. We maintain one barrier free "apartment" in the Main Retreat House that is set up for those who would prefer the more spacious bathroom and fixtures, lower closets & shelves and a more accessible kitchen area.  Access to the Monastery is also available.  Please contact the Guestmaster's Office to find specific information on those facilities or special accommodations  you may require.

Group Size -Minimum/Maximum

             - In order to balance the needs of individual and Group retreats, it is preferred that private retreat groups are made up of 10 to 19 members. 

--Retreatants are accommodated in the four apartments (which we call “rooms”) in the main retreat house, the hermitage cabins, and the Gate House, a small ranch-style house with three private bedrooms and one shared bath.

--Accommodations are assigned to the group leader by the Guestmaster and  depend on the number in the group. Each  group Leader should assign the rooms and provide the office with a copy of the location of their members.

- In order to provide access to the Prayer Hall, Library and Main House facilities for the greatest number of guests, a we recommend a minimum of 10 people in your Group,

       to necessitate the  need to reserve the Main Retreat House kitchen and dining area for your exclusive use.  (Please check with the

Length of Stay

- To provide a restful retreat for the participants, Group retreats are recommended to be from 3 to 10 nights. This also provides for the best use of the Retreat House facilities.

Room Assignment

-  The maximum number of attendees in each group is determined at the time the reservation is made.

- Approved Groups have the use of the kitchen, dining room and prayer hall in the Main Retreat House, if they occupy, as a minimum, all four rooms in   

    the Main House and either the Gate House or hermitages.  This helps use the space for the greatest number of retreatants. 

- All of the rooms in the main house and all of the hermitages were designed and built for double occupancy.

- We depend on the “good will and cooperation” of everyone who comes on retreat to help us make the best use of our facility. The design and architecture

    of our facility allows for each room/hermitage to be comfortably occupied by two people.  (Individual group members should be made aware well

    in advance that they could be occupying a room or hermitage with another person in their group.)  The Retreat House does NOT assign others, not of

    your group, to share your accommodations.

 - The most efficient use of space for a group is to assign two retreatants per room.  (Anyone needing a private room should be placed in the Gatehouse, if

    available to your group, which has three private bedrooms and a shared bath/shower.) 

- Groups arriving on the opening day of their retreat with fewer attendees than expected, should reorganize to put two persons in each

    room or hermitage.  There should be two persons in each room in the Main House before any hermitages are occupied.   

- Groups generally "arrive"  on the opening day and "depart" on the checkout morning of their "confirmed reservation period".  

- The group leader should contact the Guestmaster at least 30 days in advance of the start date of the retreat to reconfirm the number of those attending, and also

    provide the Guestmaster with a complete list of names of all individuals staying at the Retreat House Facilities.  

--Cancellations after the 30 day deadline are the responsibility of the group.

---Group leaders who have cancellations after the 30 day deadline should contact the Guestmaster.  (We are sometimes able to fill vacancies with private retreatants if we have sufficient advance notice.) 

Food Preparation/Catering

- Groups bring and prepare their own food and drink, or may contract a caterer.

-- The kitchen is fully equipped for meal preparation and cleanup. 

-- Ordinary regular and decaf coffee is provided in our kitchen. 

-- Each room also has a small kitchen, fully equipped. (Stove, refrigerator, microwave & cooking utensils)

- Groups may arrive anytime after 2 PM on arrival day.  The Guestmaster will provide the Group with a list of your accommodations, by room name.  

-- Either the Group Leader, or a member of the group, should assign the rooms to the group members.  

-- A list of these assignments should be left at the Guestmaster's Office, and is used for contacting guests in emergencies and for messages.

Check-OUT

- There is no “formal” check-out procedure.  Please let the staff know if your group will be leaving earlier than scheduled.

- On departure day, group members should completely remove all their personal items from rooms and hermitages by 10 AM. 

                   Please check with the Guestmaster if planning to use any of the facilities beyond 10 AM. 

- In general, groups may use the kitchen, dining room, and prayer hall until 12 Noon on the day of departure as long as all rooms and hermitages are vacated by 10 AM.

--Due to variations in our scheduling, some groups may also be required to be completely checked out of the kitchen, dining room, and prayer hall by 10 AM as well. PLEASE CONTACT THE GUESTMASTER IF YOU PLAN TO REMAIN PAST 10 AM FOR ANY REASON. (Our staff cleans the rooms and hermitages between 10 AM and 2 PM.) 

Cost-Donations & Deposits

- The "housing donation" to cover the cost for a group retreat is recommended at $80 per night for each room/hermitage.  The recommended

    "donation" for the Gatehouse is $120 per night.  (It is preferred that the Group Leaders collect the donations, or they may be combined in one check, or

    may be left with the Guestmaster, as you desire.)   The Guestmaster's Office now accepts Major Credit cards for Bookstore purchases or Retreat House donations.

            - We recommend a non-refundable donation/deposit for group retreats of $40/room.

- Groups who wish to have a massage therapist on site to provide massage should make arrangements directly with the massage therapist.  . (A list is

    attached at the end of massage therapists who serve the local area.  Please make direct contact with one of them and arrange for your group’s needs.)

    Groups may, for a "suggested donation" of $35 per day, use the conference room next to the Guestmaster’s office as a massage room, if it is available

(This conference room is not generally available as a private accommodation for individual retreatants, but used for staff members serving large group

    retreats. Please check with the guestmaster before assuming it is available for group use.)  

--  Available Massage Therapists for you to contact:

--- Jennifer Johnson-      970-309-3848

--- Kim Defries-               970-618-8700

Liturgies/ “Monk Conferences”/Spiritual Direction

-Groups who wish to have a retreat talk by a member of the monastic community should arrange for this well in advance.   Individual conferences can also be arranged, but we do not offer directed retreats or ongoing spiritual direction.  A priest is usually available for the Sacrament of  Reconciliation.

-Retreat groups are invited to attend the liturgies at the monastery as part of their retreat experience.  The schedule of services is below.

·         4:30 AM  Vigils  (every day including Sunday) 

Please enter the main part of the church (please do not

sit with the monks in the atrium) and sit on

the benches on the left side of the church.  The monks

sit in the atrium until the 4:30 chime, when they

begin a chant and process into the church.    

·           7:30 AM  Lauds & Mass  (On Thursdays, only

                                Lauds)  

·         7:00 PM  Vespers  (On Thursdays, Vespers & Mass)

·        There is no public Sunday Vespers.

·       Sunday Mass is at 8:15 AM all year.

(Note: for the Vigil Liturgy, retreatants should sit on the left side of the main Chapel.  At all other services, seating may be on either side of the chapel or in the atrium, when you enter.  Please also take time to listen to the "monks chant" and if you decide to join in, take  into account the volume and cadence of the music.  Thank you)

If you have further questions, please contact the Guestmaster at retreat@rof.net or 970-927-1162.