A Sacred Start: A day of Rest & Renewal for the Year Ahead (and a Raffle)!
January 24, 2026 @ 9:00AM — 5:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada) Add to Calendar
All Souls Interfaith Gathering - Shelburne Commons Location: 4066 Shelburne Road Suite 2 Shelburne, VT 05482 Get Directions
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Do you wish to restore your spirit and step into the coming year with clarity, calm, and a deeper sense of connection? If so, join us for "A Sacred Start"...
Join us for A Sacred Start: A Day of Rest & Renewal for the Year Ahead . A gentle invitation to begin the year with intention. We pause together to move, to rest, to breathe, and to honor the quiet power of renewal. This is a day set apart, a moment to restore your spirit and step into the year with clarity, calm, and a deeper sense of connection.
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Agenda for the Day:
9:00 am - 9:30 am - WELCOME with Pastor Don Chatfield
9:30 am - 10:15 am - The Calm Scale for Improved Nervous System Self Regulation - with Joann Engelberth
10:30 am - 11:15 am - Gentle Movement Class - with Geri Ann Higgins
11:30 am -12:30 pm - Lunch (bring your own or go out to get it)
12:30 pm -1:00 pm - Winter Forest Immersion for self care (indoors!) - with Katherine Elmer
1:15- pm - 1:45 pm - EFT Tapping and the New Year: Releasing Limiting Beliefs Through Acupressure - with Dr. Julieta I. Rushford Santiago
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm - The Sound Experience: A Journey of Rest & Renewal with singing bowls - with Sonia Lamb
(*Coffee, tea, water and some small snacks will be provided in the morning and afternoon.)
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We will also be holding a raffle as part of this day-long retreat. You have a chance of winning one of the following five (5) prizes if you choose to take part in this:
One-hour Reiki session courtesy of Misty Williams at Vermont Acupuncture and Massage
This event is being offered by donation. We invite participants to donate at one of the following levels:
Angel Donation - $200.00
Star Donation - $125.00
Lantern Donation - $75.00
Candle Donation - $25.00
(There will also be the option to register without a donation. No one will be turned away).
Your donation to A Sacred Start: A Day of Rest and Renewal is an important part of the sacred energy exchange that sustains our community. While our practitioners are generously offering their time and gifts, your contribution helps honor their service and supports the ongoing mission of All Souls Interfaith Gathering. Together, through this exchange of generosity and gratitude, we create the balance that allows spiritual renewal to flourish for all who gather.
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Space is limited. The registration deadline is Saturday, January 3, 2026. If you -register before December 21st, your name will be entered into the raffle for a chance to win one of the five prizes!
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About the Facilitators:
Winter Forest Immersion for Self Care
With Katherine Elmer
Join community herbalist and health coach Katherine Elmer for a sensory journey into the peaceful winter forest to settle the nervous system and tap into the grounding energy of the season. Participants will also learn a simple approach to make evergreen scented infused oils for aromatherapy and respiratory health.
Bio:
Katherine Elmer is a clinically-trained community herbalist, a national board certified health and wellness coach at the UVM Medical Center Comprehensive Pain Program at the Osher Center for Integrative Health, and has been teaching courses for nearly 2 decades on Herbal Medicine, Integrative Health and Food Systems topics at the University of Vermont and Vermont State University. Katherine is co-founder, co-director and a clinical herbalist at Spoonful Herbals (a local educational non-profit) and co-founder and former co-director of Railyard Apothecary on Burlington’s waterfront.
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The Calm Scale for Improved Nervous System Self Regulation
With Joann Engelberth
maitrisomatics@gmail.com
The Calm Scale is a tool designed to assist you in learning how to read and influence your own nervous system for enhanced health and well being. You can not make yourself relax! Relaxing is a side effect of resourcing. In this offering you will learn how to use the scale to identify your current moment state. Then you’ll be guided through a variety of resourcing tools so you can experiment and identify which tools influence your nervous system and how. In this way you gain a greater capacity to respond rather than be carried away by reactions; a greater capacity for modulating your emotions in ways that are nourishing for you; and activating your parasympathetic nervous system for access to healing, recovery and higher mind states.
Bio:
Joann Engelberth teaches people who want to grow from their stress and injury how to heal themselves by developing an empowered relationship with their bodies. She is a certified TRE® provider and Trauma Informed Weight Lifting (TIWL) coach with decades of experience in movement, fitness, and recovery. Joann is also a death doula and Wayfinder with Patient Choices Vermont. Joann (Nirmalā) is an initiated practitioner in the Sri Vidya lineage of nondual Tantra yoga.
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“The Sound Experience: A Journey of Rest & Renewal”
With Sonia Lamb
https://mariposacollectives.com/
Description:
Immerse yourself in a restorative sound experience where vibration becomes medicine. As waves of tone and frequency wash over you, stress dissolves and clarity emerges. Each session is unique—crafted to help you reset, ground, and reconnect with your inner stillness.
Bio:
I serve people through the awakening process, using sound as a tool to connect with higher frequencies and open pathways of remembrance and healing. Through my own life experiences and spiritual journey, I’ve come to understand that sound is more than vibration — it is a transmitter of light, a bridge between worlds, and a way to return to the wisdom within.
I share my love of meditation, sound therapy, and empowerment with those I meet, holding space for transformation in both the seen and unseen. Whether behind the chair, in the Cocoon Room, or through guided subconscious work, my purpose is to help others come home to themselves.
As a hypnotherapist, Reiki practitioner, empowerment strategist, mindful stylist, entrepreneur, and mom, I weave creativity, compassion, and consciousness into everything I do — inviting others to remember their light and embody their truth.
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Gentle Movement Class
With Geri Ann Higgins
This seated class blends easy-to-learn modified yoga poses, Qigong flows, stretches, and stress-reducing body holds. You'll release lines of tension and leave refreshed and reenergized. Optional standing options throughout.
Geri Ann Higgins, owner of Fully Present LLC, teaches yoga, Qigong, sound healing, and stress reduction classes and workshops. She is also a Reiki Master, Health and Well-being Coach, and Yoga4Cancer teacher.
Bio:
Geri Ann Higgins, owner of Fully Present LLC, teaches yoga, Qigong, sound healing, and stress reduction classes and workshops. She is also a Reiki Master, Health and Well-being Coach, and Yoga4Cancer teacher.
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“EFT Tapping and the New Year: Releasing Limiting Beliefs Through Acupressure”
With Dr. Julieta I. Rushford Santiago
EFT Tapping is a powerful way to begin the New Year with clarity and intention. By gently tapping on specific acupressure points while focusing on limiting beliefs or emotional blocks, you can calm the nervous system, release old patterns, and create space for new possibilities. This simple yet profound practice helps shift your energy, aligning your mind and body with confidence, abundance, and a sense of renewal for the year ahead.
Bio:
Dr. Julieta blends modern science with holistic healing to support physical and emotional wellness. With over 30 years of experience in Network Chiropractic, she is also a Certified Aromatherapist, Trauma-Informed Care Practitioner, as well as a Certified Clinical EFT Practitioner. She holds a B.S. in Exercise Science from UMass Amherst and earned her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University. Passionate about empowering others, Dr. Julieta is committed to personalized care and long-term wellness in her community.
In her downtime, she enjoys snorkeling Caribbean waters with her son, Storm.
