Institute Retreat | Annual Fallow in Cambridge, England
2026-05-12 15:00 - 2026-05-15 12:00 (America/New_York) | Jesus College, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8BL, United Kingdom
When: Tue, May 12 (arrive between 3 and 5pm) – Fri, May 15 (end 12:00pm), 2026
Location: Cambridge, UK. All group sessions held at Jesus College.
Joined by the Goldenwood staff, Board, and Deans, this unique 4-day experience represents an annual rhythm of the Goldenwood Institute. Enjoy highlights and photos from 2024: “Slowing Down, Cultivating Community, Enlivening Work”
What is a Fallow Retreat?

The essence of a fallow retreat lies in embracing the inherent value of rest and recognizing that seasons of non-productivity can be essential for long-term growth and sustainability. Inspired by the agricultural practice of allowing land to lie fallow and rest, our hope is for you to experience a deep sense of replenishment, inspiration, and reawakening, ultimately leading to greater productivity, creativity, and spiritual vitality in the seasons to come.
Goldenwood is committed to creating this space and time annually to remember what we’ve forgotten about who we are, what we’ve been created for, and who we are becoming.
Why Fallow?

For the “over”worked (those who find themselves in seasons of great responsibility and limited margin): fallowing increases your capacity towards greater fruitfulness.
For the “under”worked (those in seasons of transition, underemployment, or retirement): fallowing opens up space for the soil to be tilled, for new seeds to be planted for future realities yet to be seen.

Included in your cost:

Three nights lodging in clean, simple rooms on the beautiful grounds of Jesus College. (Single, double, or family occupancy available.)
Breakfast each morning onsite for those lodging at Jesus College
1-2 group meals, including celebratory culminating group dinner onsite at Jesus College
Guidance for times of spiritual reflection and renewal, individually and communally led by David Kim and Amilee Watkins
Stimulating morning conversations with members of the Goldenwood Leadership Team, including singer-songwriter Sandra McCracken Nicholson, and poet and professor Shann Ray
An insider’s conversation on Haejin and Mako Fujimura’s new book Beauty X Justice.
Multimedia conversation and performance from honored guest, Theologian and Musician Jeremy Begbie

2026 Rates:

Individual (1 room, Single occupancy, private bath): $1950 onsite / $1150 offsite {Collective Members: $1650 / $1000}
Couple (1 room with 1 bed, Double occupancy, private bath): $2700 onsite / $1950 offsite {Collective Members: $2300 / $1700}

A non-refundable deposit of 1/3 your total amount is required upon registration to secure your spot, with the remaining balance due by Mar 30th. Rooms at Jesus College are available on a first come first serve basis.*
*For offsite lodging alternatives: Check out the University Arms Hotel (a Marriott Bonvoy hotel) or the Hilton Cambridge City Center for those who may have & wish to book with points. The Fellows House by Hilton, The Varsity Hotel, and Arundel House Hotel are also within close walking distance from Jesus college. There may be other lower-priced accommodations in the area as well. See booking.com to explore current rates and proximity (including helpful walking estimates!) to Jesus College.
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INTERESTED? Space is limited for this retreat. Please register below. We look forward to returning to Cambridge and invite you to fallow with us!
Updated Travel Note as of Feb 2025: All visitors traveling to the UK now need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). While this should be fairly painless and can be done digitally, it does require an extra step before traveling. Here is the guidance on how to apply.

Summer Fallow Retreat (U.S.)
2026-07-23 16:30 - 2026-07-25 11:45 | Lancaster, PA
We’re heading back to Lancaster for our summer listening retreat! This carefully curated weekend of rest includes times alone and times together, designed to give you the space to slow down and the structure to process the rapidly moving pieces of your life. The primary goal of our seasonal retreats is to help you discern God’s voice above all other voices in your life, empowering you to confidently move forward in your calling.
Our annual retreat rhythm each summer is a FALLOW RETREAT: We have 44 hours to put on pause all external pressures, deadlines, and expectations and allow yourself to lay fallow. This means intentional un-productivity and instead allowing yourself the time to do the things that you enjoy, things that normally get pushed aside or that you would feel guilty doing because of all of life’s exigencies. This weekend is a balcony moment, a chance to step out of your regular routines of busy-ness and intentionally practice inactivity to restore the unseen places of our lives.
Just as the flourishing of a tree is dependent upon the health of its roots and soil, so too are work and spirituality interconnected and interdependent. Spirituality is the root system from which our work arises. Our hope for each retreat experience is that your inner spirit might be expanded with new hope, reviving your work with love.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

Thur July 23, 4:30-9:30p: Arrival Hour and Welcome Dinner, check-in available anytime after 4pm.
Fri July 24, 8:30a-9:30p: Entire Sabbath day as structured by you with recommended guidance provided. Includes a visit to Lancaster’s historic Central Market.
Sat July 25, 8:30a-11:45a: Morning Listening and Stillness, departure before lunch.

COST: Choose your Tier – A Pricing Model Rooted in Generosity & Relationship
At Goldenwood, we believe in a gift economy—where our work and giving is not transactional but part of a relational and generative system. Like a root network, where some trees bear more fruit in one season and others in another, this pricing approach allows for a shared ecosystem of flourishing—some contribute more so that others may receive, and all are sustained together.
Our tiered pricing model reflects this, allowing participants to contribute at a level that aligns with their capacity while supporting the mission to see work revived by love. We invite you to participate in a way that reflects your own season and capacity.
1. Full Value (Sustainable Tier) – $475 + accommodations
Reflects the true cost and value—while balancing affordability—including the unseen work that makes this a meaningful and transformative experience. Includes meals, retreat sessions & materials. Does not include lodging; see info below.
2. Covering Costs (Supported Tier) – $375 + accommodations
Covers only the essentials—venues, facilitators, meals, materials—ensuring the program is financially viable. Includes meals, retreat sessions & materials. Does not include lodging; see info below.
3. Generative Giving – $575 (or choose amount) + accommodations
Goes beyond covering costs, helping make our programs accessible to others and investing in the long-term flourishing of this work. Includes meals, retreat sessions & materials. Does not include lodging; see info below.

Overnight Accommodations

All participants will stay in our retreat housing, either on site or at a nearby Airbnb. During registration you will have the option to secure either a single occupancy room (@ $276 for 2 nights) or shared / double occupancy room (@ $138 for 2 nights), based on your preference and availability. If attending as a couple, please register each person individually, with both selecting the shared / double occupancy room option. Please email info@goldenwoodnyc.org if you have any questions.
REGISTRATION: Due to the limited space available and uniqueness of lodging arrangements, please email us to confirm your spot and we’ll send you the link.
*Your retreat registration includes two breakfasts, two dinners, and one lunch, plenteous beverages and snacks, and all retreat materials. Additional costs for those staying offsite at an Airbnb (we have 2 nearby homes on hold that can be shared) or local hotel (book your own room at the Doubletree by Hilton Lancaster).

Getting there: Lancaster (LNC) is accessible either by car or by train via Amtrak from NY Penn Station (NYP) or Newark International Airport (EWR). The retreat venue is approx. 20 min drive from the Lancaster Train Station. Ubers are available. Feel free to email us for any transportation assistance.
This is our regular location for Goldenwood’s Summer Listening Retreats; we will provide you with guided recommendations to help you craft a weekend of stillness and quiet.

Goldenwood Intensive
2026-08-26 14:00 - 2026-08-28 14:00 | NY
Step into a multi-day immersive experience crafted by Goldenwood to awaken your imagination, deepen your spiritual attentiveness, and reframe your vision of work. Rooted in the gospel and infused with practices of contemplative stillness, systems thinking, and experiential learning, this intensive invites you into a sacred space where pain and exhaustion become a portal to wisdom and calling.
Through embodied exercises, Scripture-based imaginative prayer, and vocationally formative frameworks, you’ll encounter a new way of seeing—God, yourself, your work, and the world. Whether you’re a leader, artist, entrepreneur, or pastor, this intensive offers not just tools but a spiritual ecosystem for hope-filled transformation. Come and rediscover work as a redemptive, relational, and deeply human act. This is more than just a training; it’s an opportunity to connect deeply with God and like-minded individuals, fostering a collaborative spirit that will inspire and empower you to revive work with love.
See highlights from a prior year’s Intensive held in Greenville, SC here.

For those new to this conversation, this intensive provides an experience in an evolving approach to Faith and Work. As Tim Keller used to say, the gospel doesn’t make bad people good; it makes dead people alive. In the same vein, we believe this new approach to F&W needs to focus on how the gospel makes dead work alive—starting with a vibrant spiritual formation grounded in listening to the voice of God.
During this time, we will explore the following distinctive approach to Faith and Work that incorporates:

Defining and Cultivating Critical Spiritual Competencies
Engaging Dreams and Spiritual Imagination
Embodying Key Spiritual Practices and Experiential Learning
Introducing Systems and Relational Thinking
Incorporating Frameworks for Redemptive Action: CityGuilds, Greenhouse, Institute

COST:
Includes two nights lodging in private room with ensuite bath at the Erdman Center (Princeton Theological Seminary), all materials, and several group meals.

Early Bird (before Jul 20): $790
Regular (after Jul 20): $950
Teams of 3+: $750 per person before Jul 20, $910 after (email us for group discount code)

SCHEDULE:
Wednesday Aug 26
2:00p-5:00p – Session 1
5:00p-6:30p – Check in / break
6:30p – Dinner
Thursday Aug 27
9:00a-12:30p – Session 2
12:30p-2:30p – Lunch
2:30p-5:30p – Session 3
Evening event TBD
Friday Aug 28
9:00a-12:30p – Session 4
12:30p – Closing Lunch
2:00p – Depart
REGISTRATION OPENS SOON (May 2026)
Check back and/or email us to express interest!
