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| Association of Retreat Centers | |
|---|---|
| Name | Association of Retreat Centers |
| Formation | 20th century |
| Type | Nonprofit network |
| Headquarters | Various |
| Region served | International |
| Membership | Retreat centers, spiritual communities, wellness centers |
Association of Retreat Centers is an international nonprofit network connecting retreat centers, spiritual communities, meditation centers, monasteries, and wellness institutions. It serves as a coordinating body for hospitality, programming, training, and standards across Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, interfaith, and secular traditions. The association engages with funders, foundations, accrediting bodies, and governmental agencies to advocate for pastoral care, mental health, contemplative practice, and cultural heritage preservation.
The origins trace to mid-20th-century exchanges among monastic orders such as the Benedictine Order, Jesuits, Trappists, and Buddhist monasticism alongside lay movements connected to figures like Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Thich Nhat Hanh, and organizations including the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the World Council of Churches. During the 1960s and 1970s, partnerships formed with institutions like Esalen Institute, Plum Village, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Findhorn Foundation, influencing later networks such as the association. The expansion of wellness tourism and the rise of organizations like the International Association of Retreat Centers and regional alliances in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia paralleled collaborations with museums, universities, and healthcare systems including Harvard University, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and the World Health Organization on contemplative programs. Contemporary development involved policy engagement with bodies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and philanthropic support from entities like the Ford Foundation and MacArthur Foundation.
Membership typically consists of independent retreat centers, conference centers, spiritual communities, monastery guesthouses, hospice programs, and urban retreat ministries. Notable member institutions historically include Grafton Abbey, St. Benedict's Center, Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, Shambhala Mountain Center, and secular sites like Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Canyon Ranch, and Ananda Village. Governance models mirror nonprofit structures employed by Council on Foundations affiliates and boards modeled on Carnegie Corporation trustees, with committees for finance, programming, and accreditation. Funding streams involve grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, earned revenue from retreats, and partnerships with healthcare insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield and philanthropic trusts such as the Lilly Endowment.
Programs include teacher training, facilitator certification, retreat scheduling, online course platforms, and disaster-response hospitality coordinated with agencies such as Red Cross and FEMA. Services extend to marketing consortia, reservation systems, risk-management workshops, and conservation initiatives linked to National Park Service stewardship of historic properties. Educational offerings are delivered in partnership with universities including Columbia University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and professional associations like the American Psychological Association for continuing education credits. The association curates thematic tracks—mindfulness, contemplative prayer, yoga, silent retreats, and ecological spirituality—often featuring teachers associated with Jon Kabat-Zinn, Pema Chödrön, Eckhart Tolle, and institutions such as Naropa University and MIT research labs studying meditation.
Standards address facility safety, ethical codes, accessibility, safeguarding, cultural sensitivity, and environmental practices, reflecting guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, and international norms promulgated by the International Organization for Standardization. Accreditation processes resemble procedures used by regional accreditors like the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and incorporate ethics frameworks similar to those of the American Counseling Association and Society for Human Resource Management. Credentialing for teachers and chaplains aligns with certification models from the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc., the National Association of Social Workers, and interfaith standards promoted by the Interfaith Youth Core.
The association maintains formal and informal ties with monasteries, universities, healthcare systems, cultural institutions, and networks including the Christian Conference of Asia, Federation of Buddhist Organizations, Hindu American Foundation, European Network of Retreat Centers, and national tourism boards. Collaborations extend to research institutes such as the Mind & Life Institute, think tanks like the Brookings Institution, and philanthropic partners including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It works with media outlets—NPR, BBC, and The New York Times—and with disaster-relief networks and conservation NGOs such as Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy to promote resilience, heritage preservation, and sustainable retreat tourism.
Supporters credit the association with professionalizing retreat hospitality, expanding access to contemplative practice, fostering ecumenical dialogue with groups like the World Council of Churches and the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and advancing research collaborations with institutions such as Massachusetts General Hospital and Stanford University. Critics point to concerns raised by activists and scholars associated with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch about cultural appropriation, commercialization, and unequal power dynamics between Western funders and indigenous communities like those represented by United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues delegates. Other critiques address accreditation transparency, gentrification of rural spaces noted by urbanists at Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and debates over therapeutic claims contested by members of the American Psychiatric Association.
Category:Retreat centers