Spiritual Writing
for Student Retreats

University students thrive on meaningful retreats that allow them to connect with others and deepen their understanding of themselves.

Whether you work in spiritual life, campus life, student life, campus ministries, or academics, you know that retreat programming is one of the most important things you can put your time into.

Student retreat activities must be:

  • engaging and interesting

  • beneficial to all students, regardless of major or year in school

  • devoid of anything that feels like academic busywork

  • affordable

I offer customizable Spiritual Writing for Student Retreats. If you are looking for an engaging and meaningful retreat for your students, reach out to me to discuss your options! I am happy to adapt my plans to meet the unique needs of your students.

I offer half-day, full-day, and weekend retreat options. These are built on my years of teaching spiritual writing at
the undergraduate level, to adults online, in chapel services, at conferences, and in faculty development sessions.

Importantly, students do not need to be writers to participate! They are designed for students from all backgrounds. As long as someone is willing to pause, reflect, and express their thoughts and feelings on the page, they can find these workshops beneficial and meaingful!

60- or 90-Minute Workshop

I don't generally offer short workshops for retreats, but if you are interested in a short session, please don't hesitate to reach out, as I am sure we can figure something out!

Half-Day Retreat Session

Half-Day Workshop
2.5-4 hrs (with 1 or 2 short breaks)

This half-day session is designed to fit into a larger retreat or serve as a mid-week or standalone weekend event. This is a great one to offer to your student leaders in anticipation of a new school year!

Participants receive some short-and-sweet information about spiritual writing: what is it, where did it come from, how is it practiced today, and who can benefit from developing a spiritual writing practice? (They're not here for more classtime instruction; let's keep this short and practical!)

Students spend a lot of time writing. (Ideally, they will have spaces to spread out and write, then return for more instruction.) I have spent five years developing spiritual writing exercises that resonate with university students. This workshop uses the best of the best activities that students love.

Small group discussions help students process their experiences during their writing time.

Participants leave with a list of spiritual writing resources if they want to continue exploring this kind of writing, as well as a few guided writing activities to do on their own.

This workshop costs $600.

Contact me to discuss or schedule a half-day retreat session.

Full-Day Retreat Session

Full-Day Retreat Session
2.5-4 hrs (with 1 or 2 short breaks); lunch break; 2.5-4 hrs (with 1 or 2 short breaks)

This full-day session is designed to fit into a larger retreat or serve as a standalone weekend event. This is another great one to offer to your student leaders in anticipation of a new school year!

Participants receive some short-and-sweet information about spiritual writing:
what is it, where did it come from, how is it practiced today, and who can benefit from developing a spiritual writing practice? (They're not here for more classtime instruction; let's keep this short and practical!)

Students spend a lot of time writing. (Ideally, they will have spaces to spread out and write, then return for more instruction.) I have spent five years developing spiritual writing exercises that resonate with university students. This workshop uses the best of the best activities that students love.

Small group discussions help students process their experiences during their writing time.

Participants leave with a list of spiritual writing resources if they want to continue exploring this kind of writing, as well as a few guided writing activities to do on their own.

This workshop costs $800.

Contact me to discuss or schedule a full-day retreat.

2-Day Retreat Session

I am happy to adapt my half-day or full-day retreat sessions into a weekend retreat. Perhaps you want a two full days of activity, or a day and a half. Or you would like to split the full-day session between two days so that students have the opportunity to process and split their time between multiple activities.

The cost of this session is dependent upon the number of hours of teaching and whether or not I need to spend the night.
Please reach out to discuss your options!

Liz Boltz Ranfeld's Credentials

I have been teaching writing as a spiritual practice for years.

I spent 11 years as an English professor before becoming an independent educator and speaker. Some of my credentials include:

  • I taught the Spiritual Practice of Writing course to undergraduates at Anderson University for 5 years.

  • I offer online courses in Spiritual Writing through her independent educator platform.

  • I led the spiritual writing component of the Indiana Faith & Writing Conference for 3 years as director and presenter.

  • I have offered spiritual writing as a faculty development workshop at universities, and I have facilitated spiritual writing chapel services.

  • I studied spiritual memoir as part of my MFA program at the University of New Hampshire.

  • I earned my BA in Writing from Taylor University and my MFA in Nonfiction from UNH. I was a tenured Associate Professor of English at Anderson University until becoming an independent educator in 2022.


Cost

For student retreat sessions, these are the prices for 2022:

A 60 or 90-minute workshop costs $400.

A half-day workshop costs $600.

A full-day workshop costs $800.

A 2-day workshop will start at $1000.

I am located in Muncie, Indiana, but I am happy to travel just about anywhere. Reach out to me to discuss lodging and transportation costs.

Smaller groups may benefit from shorter, virtual events. If you have 15 or fewer participants, please take a look at
my one-time, remote workshops.


Endless Adaptations Are Available!

My workshops can be adapted to meet the needs of your retreat planning.

I am available to facilitate workshops for large numbers of students (open to the entire student body), small student groups, social clubs, groups of faculty, student leadership teams, dorms, residence life staff, and more.

Please contact me to discuss pricing for special events with smaller numbers of participants.

Churches, Bible studies, and other social and religious groups can also benefit from these workshops, but often have smaller groups. If you have a smaller group (fewer than 15 participants), you may want to check out my virtual workshop options, which are priced to keep the cost-per-participant as low as possible.

Are you at a secular university? Not a problem! Spiritual writing can be presented in a completely secular manner. These workshops are easily adaptable to a non-religious audience by a subtle shift in focus to engaging with one's inner world.


Inclusivity Statement

Every group of students is made up of individuals. And every individual deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.

I teach and facilitate from an inclusive background. I want students from all backgrounds to feel seen, heard, supported, and included.

Reading lists and examples will be appropriately diverse, including writers from diverse racial, ethnic, gender, orientation, disability status, and identity backgrounds.

Participants will be affirmed and valued, inclusive of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, economic status, and other aspects of their background. Activities are fully customizable so that students from every background can participate. I enthusiastically accommodate student accessibility needs.


Promotional Materials

Would you like to share some promotional materials with your planning committee or colleagues?

Feel free to download and share this PDF.

Contact me to discuss or schedule a retreat for your students.