Spiritual Retreat Centre
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Volunteers play an important role at Maryholme


They lend a hand with just about everything
that happens on the grounds!

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Every Tuesday from May through September, 10am-noon
there will be other opportunities to do some
of the following things*:


• tending gardens
• potting and watering plants
• planning special events
• making displays
• researching gardening or land stewardship
• collecting seeds
• assisting with ecological restoration projects
Volunteering is a great opportunity to meet great people 
and learn new skills. These Tuesdays will be volunteer drop-in days at Loretto Maryholme, anytime between 10am and noon.

Anyone who'd like to help, but is not available on Tuesdays, please enter your information in the Volunteer Contact Form, 

or call us at (905) 476-4013 between 10am and noon.

Loretto Maryholme also welcomes the assistance

of secondary students looking for opportunities
to complete their community service hours.

If you would like to volunteer fill out our volunteer contact form
or email [email protected]


*Garden Volunteers
Tuesday mornings from May 6 - September 23, 10am - noon
Volunteers play an important role in our many projects & special events. So many of our lovely gardens are the results of volunteer participation and are admired by our many guests. If you'd like to help, come Tuesday mornings from May - September and spend some time between 10am-noon. Please bring your own gloves, hat, water bottle, sunscreen & bug spray. Students needing community service hours are welcome. Call ahead if possible, or just come!
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Calling all hands on deck for annual 
Labyrinth Blessing and Turn-out*

 Tuesday May 27
9:30-Noon
Rain date: Thursday May 29
 Facilitator: Sr. Jane McDonell
Learn about the time-honoured sacred practice of labyrinth-walking… share stories of encounter with the Holy in the labyrinth…  while preparing ours for a new season of retreats, a new season of seekers and friends of the Divine making retreat at Loretto Maryholme.  It helps if you can bend, kneel or crouch for a spell, but there are no pre-requisites. 
Suggestion: bring a water bottle and your favourite insect repellant. Light refreshments will be provided. 
Registration not required, but welcome.
*Turn-out: a clearing out and cleaning; set straight; refresh; renew
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Maryholme’s labyrinth is a full mile-long winding path (in + out) nestled in the forest.
Cardinals and Blue Jays have been known to accompany pilgrims in the labyrinth.
It is fashioned after the famous labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral in France, matching the size and pattern.
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Two years to construct with the help of many volunteers, Maryholme’s labyrinth needs just a few hours each Spring to renew it after the winter’s storms… to set straight, if you will, our winding path. 
 
Sr. Jane McDonell, Maryholme’s founder, will lead off with a blessing and brief walk into the labyrinth. She will share brief story-time about meaning and history of labyrinths. Our land team will provide tools and buckets for gathering fallen branches, weeds, etc. While working together, we’ll share experiences in labyrinths – which are often surprisingly breath-taking. 
 
Labyrinth: a pathway… a journey… a pilgrimage… a physical manifestation of the interior workings. 
Fashioned from field stone, mosaic tile, turf, canvas, paving stone, glass brick….
Found in almost every major religious tradition, including Judaism – Kabala or tree of life; 
Native American – medicine wheel; Christianity – Chartres and other cathedrals; 
Tibetan Buddhism – sand paintings/mandalas
Ultimately a journey of the heart and soul to discover and uncover that which lies hidden deep within.
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379A Bouchier Street, Keswick, Ontario, Canada  L4P 3C8     Tel. 905.476.4013     [email protected]       
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