A Sacred Pause - An Invitation to Mindfully Consider Grief, Loss, and Mortality
A Sacred Pause - An Invitation to Mindfully Consider Grief, Loss, and Mortality
Directed by Mark Dannenfelser, MA, LPCFrom Wednesday, November 12 2025, 9:00 AM
To Wednesday, November 12 2025, 3:00 PM
Cost: $75.00
Location: Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center
Register
If you are grieving a recent loss, carrying the weight of long-held sorrow, or facing an end-of-life journey for yourself or a loved one, this day is for you.
Join us for a day of gentle reflection and sacred stillness—a time to tend to your heart in the compassionate presence of others who understand. Through guided mindfulness practices, shared silence, connection with nature, and heartfelt storytelling, we will explore how to not only survive loss, but how to live fully in its wake.
Together we will:
• Engage in gentle mindfulness and meditation practices
• Experience restorative silence and intentional rest
• Connect with the natural world as a source of solace and wisdom
• Share stories and draw strength from our shared humanity
• Explore how to carry grief with courage, meaning, and grace
This retreat may be for you if:
• You are mourning a recent death and feel raw or untethered
• You have lived with grief for a long time and seek rest and renewal
• You or someone you love is facing a terminal diagnosis
• You serve as a caregiver for someone nearing the end of life
• You seek meaning, healing, and peace in the face of loss or mortality
You don’t need to have the right words. You don’t need to be “okay." Just come as you are.
About Mark Dannenfelser, MA, LPC
Mark Dannenfelser, MA, LPC is a licensed psychotherapist, certified mindfulness teacher, and certified spiritual director with a focus on the integration of contemplative spirituality and psychotherapy. He is the founding director of the Mindfulness Center of Atlanta, where he offers clinical services, retreats, and professional trainings that help individuals and communities cultivate presence, resilience, and healing through a synthesis of mindfulness, contemplative traditions, and modern psychological insight. Mark is a certified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), trained through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He brings more than thirty years of experience in mental health, education, and contemplative practice. His work is deeply informed by personal experiences of grief and a profound respect for the healing power of nature, silence, and the arts. He believes these elements—when woven together with mindfulness and psychotherapy—can ease suffering, foster compassion, support psychological well-being, and deepen our connection with one another and the natural world.