Nourish: Birmingham Contemplative Retreat Days at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

$20/Retreat
Cost includes coffee, snacks, retreat stations, retreat prompts, opening and closing guided reflections, and plenty of space for silence, solitude, and nourishing rhythms.

Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church
3775 Crosshaven Drive
Vestavia Hills, AL 35223

Upcoming Retreat Days:
Aug 28, 2026—Retreat for the Beginning of the Academic Year and a New Ministry Season
Nov 20, 2026—Retreat to Prepare for Advent and the Holiday Season
Jan 8, 2027—Retreat for Inhabiting Epiphany and the New Year
Feb 12, 2027—Retreat to Prepare for Lent and Navigate the End of Winter
April 2, 2027—Retreat for Eastertide and Springtime

All participants will receive an email with more details 48 hours before each retreat date.

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Many of us carry the weight of others’ needs and stories—the ongoing work of listening, guiding, and caring. Flourish Anyway® Nourish Birmingham Contemplative Retreat Days retreat days loosely follow the liturgical year and natural seasons to offer sacred pauses for those who want to tend their own bodies, minds, and souls.

Through guided yet spacious time, gentle silence, and retreat stations with art encounters, you are invited to rest, reflect, and receive.

Whether reading a poem slowly, walking the labyrinth, sitting with music, or simply resting in stillness, Flourish Anyway® Nourish Birmingham Contemplative Retreat Days offer space to rediscover your own rhythms and restore what daily ministry, caregiving, and other work can deplete. Participants have the option to choose to have a fully silent retreat, honoring a personal practice of quiet throughout the day.

During each retreat, you’ll move gently through self-paced stations of artful nourishment designed to engage the senses and replenish the spirit—no pressure to perform, speak, or produce. Participants can signal times of intentional silence with a clip-on badge, making room for deep personal retreating even in a shared space.

Please Note: Lunch will not be provided. You are welcome to bring your lunch or leave for a lunch break. Several dining options are within a short walk or drive of the church.

Please contact Charlotte Donlon at charlotte@charlottedonlon.com if you have any questions about registration or the retreat days.

Retreat Leader & Guide:

Charlotte Donlon is a writer, spiritual director, and gatherer whose work centers on helping people explore themes of belonging, artful encounters, spiritual growth, and how to Flourish Anyway®, even when life is full, busy, or chaotic. Her work has woven together themes of belonging, art, and soul exploration for more than 25 years. With a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing (2015-2018), a certificate in spiritual direction (2018-2020), and a life coach certification (2026), Charlotte guides writers and other creative souls in developing sanctuaries of acceptance and connection.

A Christian in the Episcopal church who believes the tenets of the Nicene Creed, Charlotte employs a universal framework of belonging and connection in her spiritual direction work. She fosters meaningful, soulful conversations and gatherings that are welcoming to all—regardless of faith tradition or spiritual inclinations.

In 2020, Broadleaf Books published Charlotte's first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life is slated for release by Here Below Books in September 2026. Three volumes of Charlotte's "Guidebooks for the Soul"—Take More Retreats, The Great Belonging Project, and Belonging Through Art—will also be published in 2026.

As the founder of several initiatives—including Spiritual Direction for Writers®, Parenting with Art®, Belonging Through Art™, and Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls™—Charlotte has established herself as a thought leader and an authentic presence at the intersection of creativity and spirituality. Her essays have been featured in publications such as The Washington Post, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, and The Millions, among others. A new essay about art conservation, Joan Mitchell, and mystery is forthcoming with Image journal.

For those interested in staying updated on Charlotte's latest work, news, and insights, subscribehere and visit Flourish Anyway®, Charlotte’s online hub for all of her writing, spiritual direction, small press, gatherings, and other offerings.