Programs and Events

Welcome to the Rowe Center’s upcoming programs, free and paid, online and on-site. We add events often, so stop back and see what’s new! Use the tabs below to browse our offerings, then click on the event titles to learn more and register. Online programs are available both live and recorded, unless otherwise noted.

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On-site programs, including personal retreats and group rentals, follow best practices for COVID-19; click here for our current policy. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to see all of our offerings!

An Online Sacred Circle for Those Who Have or Have Had Cancer

This is your invitation to join in a sacred online circle with people like yourself who have had or now have cancer, to deeply listen to your own experience and that of others. The monthly online meetings will feature listening exercises, reflection, sharing, spiritual reading, remote Reiki, and meditation to awaken the dynamic and healing presence of Divine Spirit within all participants.

Coming Home to Your Heart: A Weekend Retreat with Edward Espe Brown

Learn how to make yourself at home in your body and in your mind, at this place, at this time, through being present with your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and emotions. You probably know the legendary Tassajara Bread Book and that staple of the Rowe kitchen, The Complete Tassajara Cookbook -- both authored by Edward. He’s also a noted Zen teacher, and this weekend he will share his Zen

Thirteen Ways to Make a Poem from Your Life: An Online Poetry Masterclass with Ellen Bass

For this six and a half hour online masterclass, Ellen has chosen exemplary poems to explore with you 13 specific strategies to transform the events of your life into poetry. Together, you will consider particular elements of the craft that can help you to open up your personal narrative and connect it to the larger human experience. As you work this way, not only will you be transformed—enlarged

Writing with the Ancestors: Honoring the Celtic Feast of Samhain

As the nights grow ever darker in the northern hemisphere we are invited to listen across the threshold for the voices of those we are connected to through blood and bone, as well as those who inspire us through spiritual lineage and wisdom. Our ancestors have lived through their own times of war, plague, and civil unrest. We can hear their whispers in our bodies if we quiet ourselves long enough.

Fermentation Journeys

Join author and fermentation revivalist Sandor Katz for a talk about fermentation as a global phenomenon. Sandor has traveled extensively teaching and learning about fermentation, and he will share stories from his travels and lessons about fermentation that he has gleaned.

Facing the World with Soul

This five-part online program is an invitation to explore multiple ways to foster a soulful life in the midst of uncertainty. What was once stable and familiar has been shaken, and we have entered a steep descent into the unknown. What can we do to stay present and open to our lives and to the world? It is the soul that offers us a deeper ground, one rooted in community, beauty, imagination, myth

A Feast of Losses: Turning Towards Aging, Death and Letting Go

For four decades Kim has been designing immersive environments that support deep and embodied self inquiry. “Feast of Losses” is a culmination and convergence of all the threads of her previous work. Using poetry, ritual, movement, writing, silence and inquiry, Kim will create an exquisitely supportive sacred space for you to welcome the fears, blessings and awakenings that come from opening

Exploring the Stories That We Tell: Ancestral Myths and New Narratives on Spirituality and Social Change

Sherri, an attorney, author, and teacher, draws from the deep spiritual awareness of her Indigenous traditions and weaves them into a multitude of complex issues. Sherri is joined by Tim, whose climate justice activism along with his chaplaincy work demonstrate a deep understanding socially and spiritually. Together, they invite you to examine the old narratives that have defined our current

Radical Gratitude & The Practice of Praise: An Introduction and Q&A

In this hour Erin will introduce you to a short grounding practice and explore with you why praise and gratitude matter so much, especially now. She will read a few praise poems and you'll have a chance to practice embodied gratitude and write your own praise. At the end of the hour, Erin will answer any questions you might have about her forthcoming six part series.

Your Untold Story: Writing as a Path of Awakening

In this transformative workshop, Mark will guide you on a step-by-step journey into your own interior, using his Writing To Awaken method. You will explore profound, targeted questions designed to reveal, engage, and challenge your untold story in a safe, intimate, and supportive setting. Our time together will also include group sharing, inspirational readings, and one-on-one work with him.

A Wild Soul Woman™: An Initiation into the Heart of Five Earth Archetypes to Unleash Your Full Feminine Power

Relying on the strength and power of the five Earth archetypes, a Wild Soul Woman speaks her truth, stands up for her values, and becomes an eloquent defender of life. This weekend online retreat is about stepping up to this moment, to become the kind of woman and feminine leader who is ready to participate creatively and whole-heartedly in re-imagining and actively participating in forming a

Fall Work Week

Fall Work Week is back! Join your Rowe friends for this fantastic opportunity to give back to the community you love. Meet new friends and reconnect with old ones as you take part in a wide variety of service projects around the Rowe campus. Join one of several work teams like landscaping, painting, sewing, beautification, carpentry, meal preparation and more! Individuals of all ages and skill

Drawing Out Your Soul: Opening to Creative Flow through Touch Drawing

Immerse yourself in the enlivening process of Touch Drawing! It is a simple yet powerful way to create drawings through the touch of your fingertips on paper. The body, psyche, and spirit can speak directly through this process. Deborah holds a safe and sacred space while you draw, using her gentle drumming, crystal bowls, and soulful voice. Interior time to draw and write will be balanced

Mystical Healing Paths in Ordinary Life: A Contemplative Retreat

Julian of Norwich and Meister Eckhart both developed a radical healing vision for healing societies much like our own that were torn apart by intolerant and violent orthodoxies. A writer, scholar, teacher, and award-winning poet and translator, Mark will introduce you to these two medieval mystics and their inner strategies for finding wholeness in the midst of chaos and fragmentation.

Take Back the Magic: Getting to Know the Dead

How do we recover our lost relationship with our ancestors? How do we summon them and receive their messages? In this five part online program, we will explore the forgotten powers of the dead and how they can lead us to the realm of magic and miracles. To reclaim our lost conversations with the dead is to remember who we really are and why we have been given this precious life.

Rumi: Walking the Path of Love: An Afternoon with Haleh Liza Gafori

The 13th century mystic and sage Rumi was dedicated to unshackling his mind, opening his heart, and accessing deeper levels of serenity, compassion, and generosity. Rumi’s beautiful melding of wildness, insight and untrammeled joy has found a true, unerring voice in Haleh Liza Gafori, whose own fine abilities as a poet bring these hallowed Persian, poetic gifts anew into 21st century English.

Radical Gratitude & The Practice of Praise: A Six Week Online Course

Praise is one powerful way of giving back. Praise feeds the holy in nature, feeds what we love, and feeds life. Each week's class will include: an embodied grounding practice, powerful praise poetry, simple and potent teachings and invitations, time to practice (this may be writing, guided meditation, and/or somatic practices), and an opportunity to connect with others in small groups if you like.

The Way of the Shaman: Exploring the Hidden Universe

Most shamanic techniques are unique to particular cultures, but some of the basic practices of core shamanism-- methods a shaman uses to enter non-ordinary reality for problem solving, well-being, and healing-- can be adapted to modern American life. One of those practices is shamanic journeying. You’ll experience how the journey can restore spiritual power and health and how shamanism can be

Warrior’s Gathering: A Veteran’s Day Mini Retreat for All

Veteran’s Day is the traditional Armistice Day, a time set aside after World War I to contemplate the costs of war and work together for its end. We experience the ravages of war and violence everywhere today and that dream of war’s end has not come true. We invite you to join us for a mini-retreat on this sacred day. Through song, story, teachings, ceremonies and rituals, and small and large

Sandor’s Fermentation Journeys: More Delicious and Nutritious Fermented Foods and Beverages You Can Make at Home

Sandor passionately believes that the magical power of fermentation belongs to everyone, everywhere. This workshop--highlighting processes and recipes from Sandor's latest book Fermentation Journeys--offers you the opportunity to learn how to create fermented foods and beverages at home. In addition to preparing these different ferments, Sandor will tell stories about local customs that surround

Memoir as Medicine: Write it From the Heart

Memoir as medicine is a workshop about the healing power of getting your story out of your body, out of your liver, out of your pancreas, out of your heart! It’s about writing the truth of who you are, taking the risk of saying 'this is what happened to me' and letting it go. This workshop is about being in a safe place to sound like you, to write your story in your own language, your own rhythms

Coming Home to Your Animal Body: An Afternoon with Carl Rabke

When Mary Oliver writes that “you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves,” that could be sufficient instruction for a life well-lived. Many of us, however, are disconnected from our animal bodies. Many of us modern people tend to move around, as Thich Nhat Hanh describes, “lost in thought”, disconnected from our bodily experience and the living, sensual world that

Couples Date Night: Come and Play with Your Lover

Bring your child-like playful curiosity and adult desires to this evening of guided interactions that will enhance your pleasure and relationship. Sara and Thomas have more than 20 years of experience teaching people to deepen their intimacy through physical expression. Married to each other for 30 years, they bring ancient and proven Tantric techniques to take you on a journey that will leave

Gathering of Warriors

Warriors are sworn to preserve and protect. They run into danger, while others flee. They are best suited to respond in times of crisis because they have already served in the zones of hell, and their purpose is to serve and sacrifice for the good of others. At the same time, having been exposed to violent threats, they are vulnerable to increased trauma and breakdown.

Gathering of Grandparents

A Gathering of Grandparents facilitated by Jane Isay, author of "Unconditional Love: A Guide to Navigating the Joys and Challenges of Being a Grandparent Today", was started in the spring of 2020. We are now a place for grandparents to continue to grow and to become vessels of hope and perspective for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. Newcomers are always welcome.

Putting Winter into Words: A Master Class in Nature Writing

In this six-week online class, the former editor of Orion Magazine and Milkweed Editions will help participants to become better writers at the same time that we focus on and learn about nature in winter. We will devote our attention to the bare trees, night skies, unpredictable weather, and the birds and animals that stick around through these cold months. The winter will be the prompt we use to

Fundraising for Social Change: A Four Part Online Course with Kim Klein and Special Guests

Kim Klein has been in fundraising for over four decades and is internationally known as a master teacher and coach. Join her (and special guests) for this four part online workshop to learn how to build your base of individual donors. Kim will help you focus on relationships rather than donations, which will result in loyal donors who give money, time, visibility, ideas, and contacts to your

“Poetry &” Part II: An Afternoon Poetry Masterclass

This second session of Jane Hirshfield's online masterclass -- whose first session in October 2021 was a big success-- will again focus, in new directions, on the poem as an act of connection and interconnection. Returnees and new participants are equally welcome. The series is called Poetry & because a poem is not bottled wine stored in a cellar, but rather a transforming engagement with life

Self-Paced Courses & Recorded Programs

Pre-recorded programs let you set your own schedule, so you can pay now and watch at any time, at a pace that works for you. Many of these programs were originally offered live online; others were designed as pre-recorded programs; and others have an affiliate relationship with Rowe. All of them are led by Rowe’s beloved presenters. Keep your eye on this section, as we will continue to offer more recorded programs.