About our Retreats

A Themed Retreat tends to be a 5-day retreat with a focused theme, such as OI (Order of Interbeing), Summer, Holiday, Silent, Wake Up (for young adults aged 18-35), BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) or other Retreats. Themed Retreats can range anywhere from 30 to 200 participants. However, during our current ongoing kitchen and dining hall renovation, space is limited to 100-120 retreatants. We request all our participants to attend the entire retreat. This helps to support the energy and continuity of the retreat, as well as the stability of the practice center. We invited you to visit our Calendar of Events page to view the Themed Retreats. Please note that info and registration for themed retreats are posted about 3 months in advance of the actual retreat.

A Personal Retreat offers individuals, families, and small groups a unique opportunity to practice with the community when there is no Themed Retreat taking place. A Personal Retreat can be a weekend, a week, a week and a weekend, with a max up to two weeks. 

The environment at Magnolia Grove during Personal Retreats allows for a more personalized and intimate retreat experience. To register for a Personal Retreat, please check our calendar to be sure there are no conflicts with the dates you would like to visit, then go to our registration page and select Personal Retreats and your preferred dates. Our arrival days are Friday and our departure days are either Sunday (weekend stay) or Friday (week+ stay). 

Group Retreats are times for sanghas, schools, or other groups (larger than eight) to practice with the community when there is no Themed Retreat taking place. To organize and plan a Group Retreat, please contact our registration office.

To ensure that we have space available for you, and in order to properly prepare for your visit, it is important that you pre-register at least one week prior to your arrival date for any retreat you may wish to attend. For a personal retreat, please plan to arrive at the monastery from 3:00pm–5:00pm on Friday, if possible, so you can settle into your lodging before dinner at 6:00pm and then the evening program.

All new guests for Personal Retreats must arrive on Friday so that they can attend the Friday evening orientation. (Please note that Arrival Days for Themed Retreats, our 5-day retreats, begins on Wednesdays.)

We ask that you arrive between 3:00pm and 5:00 pm on the start date of the retreat. (Please be advised that registration opens an hour earlier at 2pm for Themed Retreats.) Upon arrival, please come to the registration office at our new location: where our old bookshop used to be, across the basketball court. If you arrive after the registration office has closed, you will find your name and accommodation info posted on the board in the dining hall. You may speak to a monastic or lay resident if you have any trouble finding your way around.

* Do you need a ride or can offer a ride? Please click here to fill out the Google form.

Please see our Getting Here page for more information on transportation to the monastery.

All our retreatants at Magnolia Grove Monastery will stay in a simple dorm-style room with bunk beds ranging from two to eight people, depending on the size of the retreat. There are restrooms and showers at the end of the corridor in both the Women’s and Men’s Dormitory. Sharing a living space with others is part of our practice of community and togetherness. We ask that everyone be courteous and considerate of each other to ensure a safe home-away-from-home practice experience. The cabins are spaces for couples and families when requested. Cabins do not have attached bathrooms, and are a short distance away. There is a public restroom block with showers at the end of the rows of cabins behind our big meditation hall. (There is a coin-operated washing machine and dryer which accepts quarters in this restroom block.) If you have questions or other accommodation needs, please contact our registration office. You may also share with us your preferences or special needs through the Notes section in the online registration form.

To meet our operating costs, Magnolia Grove depends primarily on the financial support of our guests. Through donations, monthly contributions, bookshop purchases, and retreat fees, you help Magnolia Grove to continue. For retreats, we have established a suggested donation. Please consider an additional donation to help us offer scholarships to those in need and to help us renovate and improve our facilities. (You may earmark donations for a specific project or purpose.)

Magnolia Grove Monastery would like to make our place to be accessible to people of all circumstances. If you are currently experiencing financial constraints and would like to attend a retreat, we strongly encourage you to ask for a reduction by contacting the office.

If you would like to camp during the warmer months (April through October), please bring your own tent and equipment. It can range from being cool to cold at night so please check the weather forecast and pack enough supplies as needed. You will have access to a public restroom block with shower facilities which is located just behind the big meditation hall. We do not provide tents so please pack accordingly.

Unfortunately we do not have any electrical or water hookups available. You’re very welcome to come with your RV, but please prepare for dry camping accordingly.

Although we encourage our guests to stay at the monastery whenever possible, you may opt to commute to Magnolia Grove Monastery for each day of the retreat if you live nearby or if you have arranged your own nearby housing. There are several hotels, 15 minutes away from the monastery, which you can contact and make reservation directly if you have great needs. The following hotels offer a small “Magnolia Grove Rate” discount for guests visiting the monastery rate:

Holiday Inn: (662) 563-1234
Days Inn: (662) 563-4999
Quality Inn: (662) 563-6592

(Please inquire with them directly.)

This is an especially helpful option in the event that all rooms at the monastery are already reserved – which typically would only happen for certain Themed Retreats.

Three vegan meals per day are included with your registration fee. There is a variety of options offered at mealtime, but feel free to bring supplementary dry foods for yourself if you have a particular dietary need. Please mention in the Notes section of your registration if you have any food allergies. There may be limited access to a community refrigerator but there is no kitchen access. Due to safety regulations, we request that you do not cook in your room.

Notice of cancellation must be emailed to office@magnoliagrovemonastery.org, attn: “[ NAME OF THEMED RETREAT] Cancellation” or “General Retreat Cancellation,” followed by “[YOUR LAST NAME, FIRST NAME].” Please do not phone in your cancellation.

          The following retreat cancellation charges apply:

• Cancellation more than 3 days before the retreat – a cancellation fee of $50.00 will be charged.

Cancellation less than 3 days before the retreat – 100% of the full fee will be retained by us.
Cancellation of retreats by Magnolia Grove Monastery
Magnolia Grove Monastery reserves the right to cancel a retreat under any circumstances. In this event, you will be offered a full refund for any payments you have made to us already. Magnolia Grove Monastery accepts no further liability for retreat cancellations beyond the retreat registration fee refund. For example, we cannot be liable for any funds spent on advance travel arrangements, such as flight tickets.

Please wear casual and modest clothing that is comfortable for sitting (i.e. long sleeve shirt, shirt covering shoulders; long pants below the knees; loose fitting clothes…). We do have coin-operated washing machines available for you to use. Please bring shoes suitable for walking on nature trails. Please bring your own toiletries, but avoid bringing products that may affect those who are sensitive or allergic to scents.

We encourage our guests to spend their whole stay at the monastery, so please bring everything you might need. Please do not bring non-vegan foods, alcohol, or other intoxicants. Please do not bring pets; only service animals are allowed.

• N95 / KN95 masks (no longer required – optional)
• At home Covid test (no longer required – optional)

• We do kindly ask that if you’re experiencing any symptoms related to illness to please stay at home and take care of yourself; this will also help to prevent exposing others to illness while on retreat. 
  • Water bottle
  • Flashlight
  • Alarm clock
  • Towel
  • Insect repellents
  • Personal items
  • Shampoo & conditioner
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Umbrella
  • House slippers
  • Good walking or hiking shoes
  • Warm clothing and footwear, particularly in winter months
  • Sun hat in summer and warm hat in winter
  • Cloth napkin for meals
  • Bedding and/or sleeping bag (We provide a bottom fitted sheet, a pillow case and a pillow.)
  • Camping equipment (e.g., tent, sleeping pad, etc.), if camping
  • Good ear plugs, eye mask, small reading light, Breathe Right Nasal strips
  • Laundry bag (for dirty clothes)

The weather can be very cool, wet and cold, with icy wind and occasional breaks of sunshine, and even light snow. In cool weather, suggested items to bring are a thermos, sleeping bag and warm clothing for cold, wet and windy weather. Also bring enough warm clothes, and waterproof footwear for walking outdoors.

Below is a typical schedule of events at the monastery. Note, however, that our schedule varies from day to day and from season to season.

5:00am – Wake up 
5:30am – Sitting meditation*
6:45am – Exercise
7:30am – Breakfast
9:00am – Dharma talk / Working meditation
11:00am – Walking meditation
12:00pm – Lunch
3:00pm – Dharma sharing or other activity
4:30pm / 5:00pm – Sitting meditation & chanting*
6:30pm – Dinner
7:30pm – Activity or personal practice time
9:30pm – Noble silence

• * Friends are welcome to sit anywhere in the meditation hall (on either side) behind the monastics for ceremonies, precepts recitation, sitting meditation, and formal lunch.

For descriptions of the practices above, see our Be Mindful in Daily Life page.

Mindfulness is woven into all of our daily activities: speaking, eating, walking, sitting,  enjoying a cup of tea…etc. Although Magnolia Grove Monastery is not a silent retreat center, stillness and quiet are at the heart of our practice. Everyone is encouraged to generate this peaceful and healing energy by taking time to stop, slow down, be present for ourselves and others, and to be aware of each of our actions throughout the day. You may read more about the many ways we practice mindfulness at the monastery on our Be Mindful in Daily Life page.

We emphasize community practice so that we can support each other and benefit from each other’s presence. We ask all who join us to help create the energy of community and togetherness by participating in all scheduled activities and by sharing their living space with others. Please be considerate and kind to others. If you see something that needs to be addressed, such as inappropriate or unwelcome behaviors, for the collective well being of the community, please don’t hesitate to notify our office, sister-taking-care-of guests, or any of our monastics. 

The Five Mindfulness Trainings are the foundation of our practice and represent the Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and ethic. In order to create a safe, harmonious, and healthy environment, we ask all of our guests to live in accord with these trainings during your stay here with us. Retreatants are requested to refrain from smoking, drinking alcohol, and sexual activity while at the monastery. Please take a moment to read through the trainings.

To maximize the benefit of your mindfulness practice with us, we suggest that you use electronic devices only when absolutely necessary and always in a mindful and discreet way, especially respecting the calm and quiet of our living spaces, meditation halls, and dining hall. This practice will help all of us to release our busyness and to really rest. Please let your loved ones know that you will be on retreat. In an emergency, they can reach you by contacting our registration office. Internet access, including wifi service, will be limited and often can only be accessed at limited times in the week, in order to encourage disconnecting from devices when at the monastery. Cell phone service is not seldom reliable in our area either. Please make all travel arrangements in advance, whenever possible. Please inform your family and friends of your safe arrival either at the airport or midway your ride to the monastery before signal reception becomes weak or non-existent at our monastery.

To support the monastery, everyone is encouraged to participate in short community service periods that we call, “working meditation.” Work is always done in a light and mindful way, with the support of others. Tasks may include arranging the meditation halls, cleaning bathrooms, chopping vegetables, washing pots, beautifying the gardens, and other simple responsibilities. If you have any physical limitations or health concerns, please don’t hesitate to communicate this with our work-coordinators who will find appropriate tasks for everyone.

Magnolia Grove is deeply committed to inclusiveness. If you have any particular need for assistance or special accommodation please contact us so we can offer you as much support as possible.

In our themed retreats (5-day retreats) we offer youth programs, specifically in the summer: Family Retreat, and in the winter: Holiday Retreat.

Children’s program begins at ages 6-12, and Teen program begins at ages 13-17. Children ages 5 and under are also welcome to our retreats but there isn’t any specific program for toddlers and preschoolers. We welcome them to attend activities (either with the adults or with the Children’s program, but they must always be accompanied by their parents/guardians, at all times.)

Year-round, all youth are welcome to our monastery, even without our youth programs. 

In the spring, summer, and fall, Magnolia Grove Monastery is home to deer ticks which may carry Lyme Disease. While it may sound alarming, we choose to live in harmony alongside nature with everything including ticks, and instead of letting fear lead the way, we can calmly be prepared. It is easy to protect yourself if you take a few simple precautions–most importantly, thoroughly checking yourself and your children for ticks each day. Please see this link to learn more.

If you would like to stay longer than two weeks, you may write a letter to the community during your stay with us, requesting an extension – this is considered an Extended Stay, which for now is our only residential program. Please note that the first two weeks are an opporunity for you to get to know the community better and for the community to get to know you.