News

GilChrist: A Place to Remember is a book that tells the story of GilChrist Retreat Center, the public retreat center of the Fetzer Institute. The book recounts how the place came to be, the countless people who contributed to the creation, and the stories that shaped it.

This summer we made a sojourn to the Parliament of the World’s Religions, both as a sponsor and to present our work. Known for being “the birthplace of the interfaith movement,” the Parliament was a perfect setting to be with others who are catalyzing a movement that brings spiritual solutions to societal issues.  

The Fetzer Institute announces the election of Anna Sun, PhD, to its Board of Trustees, effective June 1, 2023.

Dr. Sun is an associate professor of Religious Studies and Sociology at Duke University. Her scholarly work focuses on Confucianism and contemporary Chinese religious life.

Please join us in honoring John Howie as he retires after 28 years of contemplative labor and service at GilChrist Retreat Center! John’s gentle, compassionate spirit has been a profound blessing to this land and to all who have made this place a part of their story. We warmly invite you to join us in celebrating this enormous transition with gratitude for all of the gifts John has brought into the world, and all the gifts he will continue to bring as he enters the next phase of his journey.

The past few years of the pandemic have taught us so many lessons, among them how deeply interconnected we are and how we depend on cooperation with one another in a crisis. While COVID continues to present a serious health risk, particularly to medically vulnerable and unvaccinated individuals, we also have more tools available to us now to prevent widespread outbreaks, serious illness, and death, including:

As we look into the new year, we have decided to increase our rates, beginning in January. Our prices have stayed the same for a number of years, and out of an effort to remain comparable in cost to our neighboring retreat centers, we'll be adjusting the overnight rates and WindHill rental rates for 2023.

At GilChrist, we love a hearty gathering, filled with deep sharing and meaningful connections. A lot can happen when people get together for a day or a weekend or a week, and we're glad to be a part of it.

The results are in! Fetzer is excited to share news of 25 interventions that can help strengthen American democracy. This work, the Strengthening Democracy Challenge, took place over the past few years in a project we co-funded with our allies to support Stanford University’s Polarization and Social Change Lab. The challenge was designed to identify ways to  

The Fetzer Institute has long held an interest in the lived experience of democracy. So rather than focusing on issues, challenges, or policy, our work in this area addresses questions like How are we expanding the idea of “we” the people? What does it mean to build mutual respect and relationships across difference? How can we get better at sharing power?

"Welcome to GilChrist, a place where natural beauty strengthens our human capacity for compassion, gratitude, reverence, and creativity." So states our home page, which invites you to explore a