Thanks to all who have responded so generously to the appeal sent in November, and to friends and staff who brought new ideas, expertise and energy to the appeal, including a QR code, and a special website feature. 

There are many ways to support the Center and its meditative work; see here for more information. Please use the button below to donate. 

Only the guest cabin is still available for this retreat for a single person or a couple. Because the Center closes December 14, please contact us by December 13 to check for availability before applying to attend in person, or to be placed on a wait list. Online attendance is unlimited. Click here to register to attend online. 

More information about Wayne, including talks and articles, may be found on his teacher page of the website. Here is a link to the talk Wayne gave at the December 7 All-Day Sitting. 

Springwater Center will close at the end of the day on December 14, reopening December 26 when staff will be preparing for the retreat beginning December 28. Emails and voice messages will be responded to when the Center reopens. If you have an urgent message, please put this in the subject line of your email or voice message.

For 2025 the Center has expanded its commitment to bring new voices to share the  meditative work by inviting Liz Heron to facilitate the January four-day retreat. The invitation to Liz is an outgrowth of the popular Open Meditative Dialogues that began in 2024 on some Saturday afternoons with guest speakers and which will continue in 2025. 

Liz Heron came to Springwater in the mid-1990’s and was deeply touched by the teaching of Toni Packer.  A trustee of the Center, she lives in the woods of New Hampshire in a shared home with other people who sit at Springwater. She is an educator who mentors puzzled children, young adults, and their families.

In this retreat Liz will give talks, be available for private meetings and take part in group meetings.

The retreat with Liz Heron described above is just one of many 2025 events. Check out the Calendar for retreats, all-day sittings, Saturday programs and open meditative dialogues. Please note that some 2025 retreats will be in-person only. 

The first event of the new year will be the January 11 Saturday Program with a recorded talk by the Center’s founder, Toni Packer. A reminder with a Zoom link will be sent ahead of the program. 

When the Center reopens after the New Year retreat, consider coming as a guest and creating your own retreat, either here in the building or in the woodland guest cabin pictured above.

At their meeting on December 8th, the Center’s trustees approved a 16% increase in retreat rates. We hope everyone understands that this increase simply covers inflation since rates were last raised in 2022. 

An increase in All-Day Sitting rates also takes effect in 2025.

There will be no increase in guest rates. 

The new rates will take effect before the end of this year. If you have already paid for a 2025 retreat, there is no upcharge. If you have difficulty paying for retreat, please consider applying for assistance from the Center’s Retreat Assistance Fund. 

Friends, it’s time. For decades, member dues remained at the very reasonable rate they began with in 1982. Meanwhile the value of the benefits they confer has continued to increase. At their December 8th meeting the trustees approved a modest increase in member dues. The new dues take effect immediately. If you have already paid for 2025, there’s no upcharge, otherwise, U.S. members now pay $60 per quarter, Canadian members $42, and foreign members $30. If you are paying via Membership auto-pay these rates will increase automatically. If you have concerns, please contact the financial office. 

Thank you members and friends, for the many ways you support the Center—with your participation in the meditative work, your volunteering, faithful payments of dues, attendance at events and extra contributions. Without you the Center could not exist.

Thank you to staff who keep the Center functioning year after year, to the trustees and officers who tend to administration and financial issues, and especially to the teachers, who volunteer their time without compensation to convey the meditative work. 

Good year end wishes to all who love this beautiful, nurturing place, (including a neighbor’s appreciative sheep who visit from time to time).