Centering Prayer Retreats
Upcoming Retreats
Centering Prayer Retreat
March 4, 2026 – March 12, 2026
Intensive I, Intensive II, Post Intensive
Centering Prayer Retreat
Contemplative Listening
June 9, 2026 – June 18, 2026
Centering Prayer 9 Day I, Advanced Intensive,
and Post Intensive Retreat
Oct 7, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
Facilitator Information
Susan Turpin began a practice of daily Centering Prayer in 1993 and attending an annual retreat starting in 1995. Many of these retreats were with the Snowmass, Colorado staff and Thomas Keating. She has served the Centering Prayer retreats at Mercy Auburn since they began in 2017. She is a Commissioned Presenter of the Centering Prayer Introductory Workshop and a spiritual director, living in Albany, Oregon.
Marty Badgett started practicing Centering Prayer in January of 1991. Marty attended his first 4-day retreat later that year and found the silence to be transformative. Subsequently, he attended numerous annual silent retreats (1-10 days) and has staffed and coordinated 1-10 day retreats for the past 30+ years. He was also very active in the Northern California Contemplative Outreach community from 2007 to 2021. Marty is a commissioned presenter of the Centering Prayer Introductory Workshop and is currently working towards commissioning to teach in 12-Step programs. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Fr William Sheehan, OMI, “Fr. Bill” is a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He attended the first Intensive Centering Prayer retreat given by Fr Thomas at the Lama Foundation in Northern New Mexico in August of 1983. He has served the Centering Prayer retreats at Mercy Auburn since they began in 2017 and serves at many other Centering Prayer events around the country. He is a spiritual director and lives with his Oblate Community in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.
Peter Morgan was introduced to Centering Prayer in 1989 and attended periodic weekend retreats and seminars. In 2013 he began attending 10 day retreats at St. Benedicts every year until the center closed in 2022. In 2021 he was commissioned as a presenter of the Centering Prayer Introductory Workshop and has conducted a number of workshops on Zoom. He has also been serving Centering Prayer retreats at the Mercy Center in Auburn since 2022. He lives in Twisp, Washington.
Kathleen and Bob Gorman have been practicing Centering Prayer since 2015 and attending the 9-day intensive retreats at Mercy Auburn twice a year since 2019. They are both commissioned presenters of the Centering Prayer method and also facilitate Centering Prayer groups either online or in-person several times each week. They are active in both Centering Prayer communities of Columbus, Ohio, where they lived for 40 years, as well as Oak Park, Illinois to which they moved in 2021.
They serve on teams that facilitate 9-day silent retreats for Contemplative Outreach Auburn, California and at the retreat they opened in Ohio.
Lesley Lidge came to Centering Prayer through her 12-Step journey. After attending a silent retreat with James Finley at the Auburn Mercy Center in the early 2000s, she began to practice the prayer and then subsequently joined a weekly Centering Prayer group at the Mercy Center. Lesley decided to attend her first Centering Prayer Intensive in 2018, because she desperately needed to retreat from her house full of children and has been returning ever since, either to sit or serve the retreat. She finds the prayer and the retreats to be utterly transformative and enlivening and enjoys sharing this goodness with others.
Mercy Center offers 9-day and 10-day Centering Prayer Retreats led by an experienced Contemplative Outreach team.
Traveling to Mercy Center (Auburn, CA): Group shuttle transportation can be provided from the Sacramento airport. Book your arrival on the beginning day for 2:00 pm or earlier and departure on the ending day for 1:00 pm or later. A $30/one-way, $60 round trip contribution is appreciated. We can also provide transportation from the Auburn train station. Ask us for details.
See details about the guest rooms at https://www.mercycenter.org/overnight-accommodations. Two private hermitage’s are available for an additional fee of $65/night. See Catherine’s Cottage for more information. Book by calling the office at (530) 887-2019.
Limited scholarship money is available to assist those who would otherwise be unable to attend.
See https://www.mercycenter.org/scholarships for an application.
Video — The Value of Centering Prayer Retreats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D-onKdcS0M
Questions? Please contact Contemplative Outreach staff:
Susan Turpin: (541) 324-1207 slturpin@me.com
Marty Badgett: (650) 862-5461 mbadgettexas@gmail.com
Centering Prayer is a gentle, silent method of consenting to God’s presence and healing action within us.
Based on rich Christian contemplative heritage, Centering Prayer offers us a way to be open to God. By taking time to “rest in God” each day, we open our awareness to the gift of God’s presence.
We also have drop-in weekly Centering Prayer on Wednesday Mornings and Thursday evenings.