Genesee Abbey Retreats

Day Retreats

Want a day away to rest and recharge, but can’t stay overnight?  Come for a silent day retreat at Bethlehem House.  You’ll have a room of your own in which to rest if the house is not full.  Enjoy  Monks’ Breads and more for breakfast.  Dinner and supper are prepared for you and enjoyed in the dining room with the other guests.  Coffee, tea, and snacks are always available.

Fill your day with what will most restore you: (you choose, all activities are optional)

• Sit by the pond
• Join the monks in their daily prayers at the abbey chapel (6:00am, 11:15am, 4:00 or 4:30pm, 6:40pm)
• Read in your room or on the deck or porch
• Take a walk on the farm roads down to the beautiful Genesee Valley Greenway and the river
• Bike or ski the country roads or the Greenway
• Join the retreatants for a conference talk given by the Guestmaster
• Sign up for spiritual direction or counseling or just to chat with the Guestmaster
• Pray in Bethlehem’s quiet chapel, where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved

*Note: Bethlehem is a silent house.  Speaking is allowed only in the Speaking Room at the front of the house.  The deck and porch are also silent areas.

Depending on availability, if you wish to have an apartment to yourself (yourselves) for the day, Nazareth House or Bethany House can be reserved.  These are not silent houses and you provide your own meals.

You can make a reservation for a day retreat by emailing guestrsv@frontiernet.net or by calling Kathe at (585) 243-2220.

Parish Meeting/Planning Day/Staff Retreat

Two houses of the Abbey of the Genesee, Nazareth and Bethany, are available for day-long meetings or parish staff or parishioner retreats.  These houses provide an ideal quiet place for uninterrupted reflection, prayer, planning, or other agenda.  Each has an equipped kitchen and large dining room, plus living room.  Bethany, the larger of the two houses, has a double living room with pocket doors in between to divide the space. 

Milk and abundant Monks’ bread are provided, along with pantry staples: coffee, tea, sugar, sweetener, etc.  Guests provide their own meals.

You can reserve a house by calling Kathe at (585) 243-2220 or by emailing her at guestrsv@frontiernet.net.