Stories of Woman Spirit: A 2-Day Women’s Retreat

Living as woman spirit within a woman’s body is both great gift and great challenge. Women of all ages and stages of life are invited to join us at Marywood as we celebrate our woman-ness and journey together toward the alchemical transformation of our pain or wounding to grace and love. Facilitators Wendie Libert, DNP; Amy Kitsembel, CSW; and Madeleine Schad, LMFT-IT will guide creative activities, reflection, and story-telling that honor our bodies, our relationships as daughters and mothers, and our life-long transformation from maiden to mother to crone. This retreat begins with continental breakfast at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, May 9, 2025 and retreatants will meet until 4:00 p.m. Retreatants will return from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 10th, 2025 and the retreat will conclude after lunch.

Retreatants are encouraged to stay onsite in a private room in a shared cabin for $250. The cost for commuters is $175. To register for this event, please call Marywood at 715-385-3750 or email us at marywood.center@gmail.com. Cash, check, or credit card (2.75% fee) payments accepted.

Presentations: 

Stories of Embodiment: Women’s bodies are unique and sacred. Come share with us your stories of living the cycles and rhythms of being women embodied. Participants will engage in body-focused activities, reflect on what their experience of living embodied as women means to them, and share their stories of who they are in their “woman body”. When have or do you feel most aware of who you are in your “woman body”?

Stories of Mothers and Daughters: Welcoming reflection on our roles as mothers and daughters, we will lean into lessons from our stories of these woven relational connections. We will play into the fray and bonding that is so intricate in becoming and being women in our relationships as mothers and daughters. We will explore sacred medicine lessons in us and around us about being a mom and being mothered. We will honor our voices within our lived experiences. How might we grow into a narrative that nurtures us from the wisdom of women before us and as we live and provide wisdom to carry on?

Stories of Transition: The Maiden, The Mother, and The Crone: Experience the tales of the Triple Goddess, otherwise known as The Maiden, The Mother, and The Crone. Throughout this immersive storytelling experience, participants will reimagine their own journeys through each of these archetypes, engaging in experiential practices and connecting with images of the natural world. Reflect on the stories that shape our womanhood throughout life, explore the cyclical nature of your femininity, and redefine your own narrative to introduce a deeper sense of healing, embodiment, and authenticity. How do the archetypes of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone reflect different stages of your own journey, and what can you learn from each to deepen your healing?

Biographies: 

Amy Kitsembel is a gardener, hiker, kayaker, daughter, wife, auntie and jokester.  She has been a lifelong learner and teacher as she earned her Master’s in Adult  Education with the University of Minnesota.  She is a practicing social worker in homes for over 35 years. She is a grief professional with hospice and teaches nationally about end-of-life wisdom and skills and grief work.  She is recognized as a Fellow in Thanatology with the Association of Death Education and Counseling.

Wendie Libert is a spiritual cojourner, daughter, wife, mother, sister, and crone. Wendie earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice and Master of Arts in Holistic Health Studies with a focus on spirituality in health and healing through St. Catherine University at the age of 62. Prior to that she also earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Arts in Servant Leadership at Viterbo University. She has presented programs on spirituality at end-of-life, eco-spirituality, dementia care, service-learning, and nursing faculty development in teaching care that tends the spirit. She currently serves as director of Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center in northeastern Wisconsin.

Madeleine Schad is an eldest daughter, sister, lifelong learner, a lover of nature and animals, and someone deeply rooted in her spirituality. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Madeleine felt called to the field of Marriage and Family Therapy, earning her Master of Science from Capella University. Madeleine works as a therapist in her private practice and is passionate about helping others explore the connections between mind, body, and spirit, while deepening their relational experiences. Madeleine’s journey brought her to Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center through a writers’ retreat, and she now serves as the Hospitality and Communications Coordinator for the organization.