October 2026: The men’s and women’s team hosted three overnight retreats each over the summer with participants from agencies all over the greater Cincinnati area. One participant shared, “The retreat gave me the strength to keep moving forward.”  We know that these retreats are exactly that for many–strength for the journey ahead. 

The chapel walk is a highlight for many of the participants on the women’s retreats and is a special experience created by the team. This evening prayer, which takes place in a candlelit chapel, invites the women to walk in meditative silence around the chapel–almost like a labyrinth–with a simple invitation to be open to their Higher Power. One of the participants shared, “The chapel walk was my favorite activity. God clearly spoke to me and I felt His presence and unexpected peace.”

And then there was the Whoosh. Here is what one of the facilitators shared after an early June retreat. “Whoosh. That was how Fr. Mike Graham, S.J., described it. Not the breath of June, hot and humid, as it stirred the lush green hugging the Transfiguration Spirituality Center in Glendale, OH.  But the Holy Spirit—cool and invigorating…The Spirit whooshed from go: The very first partners introduced each other not through a ledger of faults or failings, as much as we would bear them during the retreat, but instead through biographies of hope. Of who we hope to become in recovery. Of how we hope to grow in our hearts, through our relationships, and, above all, with the God of our understanding.”

We are so grateful for our team, supporters, and participants who make these ISP retreats possible!