Retreats and Quiet Places

 

Throughout the year, the Office of the Chaplain and Religious and Spiritual Life offers occasional retreats for those who seek time for renewal. Many of the student-run spiritual and religious organizations also sponsor evening and weekend retreats to which all are welcome. We also regularly refer seekers to the many retreat centers in Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast (see a partial list below). 

Quiet Places

Christian chapel with large glass windows and chairs set up in an oval

Williams Chapel

The Preston N. Williams Chapel is our largest spiritual gathering space.

Swartz Hall | 45 Francis Ave

 

Sunlit chapel, with dark wooden walls, chairs set up in the center

Divinity Chapel

Prayer rugs, meditation cushions, scriptures of many traditions and prayer beads available.

14 Divinity Avenue | Divinity Hall, 3rd floor

Spacious, sunny room with high ceilings, wooden paneling, hanging glass globe lights, and a circle of chairs
The Multifaith Space, added during the Swartz Hall renovation, provides a space to pray, reflect, and engage with the HDS community.

HDS Multifaith Space

Swartz Hall | 45 Francis Ave

Small sunny room with plants, pillows, small stools, and rugs

CSWR Meditation Room

Center for the Study of World Religions

42 Francis Avenue| Harvard Divinity School

Flat stone circular labyrinth surrounded by shrubbery and a stone bench

HDS Labyrinth & Contemplative Garden

Near Rockefeller Hall | 45 Francis Avenue

Spring flowers blooming in the CSWR courtyard

CSWR Courtyard

Center for the Study of World Religions

42 Francis Avenue| Harvard Divinity School

All spaces on campus require an HUID.

 

Harvard Art Museums 
32 Quincy Street 

Memorial Church 
Harvard Yard 

Harvard Graduate School of Education 
Meditation Space 
Longfellow Building 
13 Appian Way, Room 214 
Open Monday–Friday 

Gutman Library (fourth floor) when Longfellow Hall is closed 
6 Appian Way

Harvard Business School 
The Class of 1959 Chapel 
Soldiers Field Road 

Harvard Kennedy School 
Meditation room
Littauer Building, Room G28 
79 John F. Kennedy Street 

Smith Center 
Prayer/meditation space 
Room 728  
1350 Massachusetts Avenue 
Open Monday–Friday, 10 am–5 pm 

Friday Jumua Prayer 
Khutba begins at 1:00pm and ends at 1:30pm 
Located in the Lowell Lecture Hall throughout the academic year until June. There are no Jumua Prayers in the summers. 

Harvard Medical School/ Harvard School of Dental Medicine 
Countway Library 
10 Shattuck St, Boston, MA

Multifaith Prayer Room  
Vanderbilt Hall, basement entry A 
107 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA

Society of St. John the Evangelist 
980 Memorial Drive 
Between their scheduled services, the chapel of the Society of St. John the Evangelist is available to all for quiet meditation and prayer. The chapel is generally open Tuesday–Sunday, 6 am–9 pm. 

Center for Government and International Studies 
Winter Garden Meditation Room 
Knafel Center, basement floor (access through the Harvard-MIT Data Center) 
1737 Cambridge Street 

Harvard College 
Serenity Room
Grays Hall Basement, Room 021 
Harvard Yard 
For first-year Harvard College students only but please note that the guided meditation sessions offered here by the Center for Wellness are open to all. 

Harvard Law School 
Interfaith Prayer and Meditation Space
Wasserstein Hall, Student Organization Workroom
1585 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd floor 
Access for HLS students only. 

Interfaith Prayer and Meditation Space 
Second Floor – Casperson Student Center (WCC) 
18 Everett Street 

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences 
Room 1.306
Science and Engineering Complex, First Floor, Western Avenue 
It is unlocked and available during normal building hours (Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.).
After hours, you can access the space by requesting that Security unlock the room.  
The room is furnished with a small number of prayer rugs and hijabs.
All users are asked to respect the room use rules that are posted inside and on the door outside of the room 

School of Public Health 
Reflection Room 
Kresge LL14  
677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 

Wudu Area  
Kresge LL08 
677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 
 

Outdoor Spaces

Cambridge

The courtyard of the Center for the Study of World Religions, 42 Francis Avenue.

The park on the grounds of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 136 Irving Street.

The courtyard garden of Adolphus Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Monday–Friday, summer and part of the fall.

Radcliffe’s Sunken Garden, corner of Garden St. and Appian Way.

Garden at Longfellow House, Washington’s Headquarters National Park, 105 Brattle St.

Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn Street.

Fresh Pond, at Fresh Pond Parkway and Concord Ave.

Boston

Charles River Reservation and Esplanade.

Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston.

Arlington - Lexington

The Minuteman Bikeway

Concord

Walden Pond

External Links

Retreats and Contemplative Organizations

The sites below are maintained by organizations external to Harvard Divinity School; their inclusion here does not necessarily imply endorsement by HDS. If you know of other resources that you think should be considered for inclusion on this page, please email Kerry A. Maloney, the chaplain and director of religious and spiritual life.

Abode of the Message Retreat Center (New Lebanon, NY)

Adelynrood Retreat and Conference Center (Byfield, MA)

Aryaloka Buddhist Center (Newmarket, NH)

Bethany House of Prayer (Arlington, MA)

Blue Cliff Monastery (Pine Bush, NY)

Cambridge Peace House (Cambridge, MA)

Cedar Hill Retreat Center (Duxbury, MA)

Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (Northampton, MA)

Earthdance (Plainfield, MA)

Eastern Point Retreat Center (Gloucester, MA)

Elat Chayyim: The Jewish Retreat Center (Accord, NY)

The Empty Bell (Northampton, MA)

Evensong Retreat and Spirituality Center (Harwich Port, MA)

Ferry Beach Retreat Center (Saco, ME)

Find the Divine, Friendly Crossways (Harvard, MA)

Glastonbury Abbey (Hingham, MA)

Hallelujah Farm Retreat Center (Chesterfield, NH)

Holy Cross Monastery (West Park, NY)

Insight Meditation Society/Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (Barre, MA)

Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center (Bangor, PA)

Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health (Lenox, MA)

Mary House (Spencer, MA)

Morgan Bay Zendo (Surry, ME)

Mount St. Mary’s Abbey (Wrentham, MA)

New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care (New York, NY)

Online Ignatian Retreat (in the Christian tradition)

The Peace Abbey (Sherborn, MA)

Pendle Hill (Wallingford, PA)

Ponkapoag Camp (AMC cabins in the Blue Hills Reservation, Canton, MA)

RetreatFinder.com (directory)

Retreats Online, Massachusetts (directory)

Rolling Ridge Retreat Center (North Andover, MA)

Rowe Camp and Conference Center (Rowe, MA)

Saint Joseph's Abbey (Spencer, MA)

Shambhala Boston (Boston, MA)

Sisters of St. Margaret (Boston and Duxbury, MA)

Society of Saint John the Evangelist (Cambridge and W. Newburyport, MA)

Spirit Fire Retreat Center (Leyden, MA)

Starflower Farm and Studios (Monroe, ME)

Star Island (Portsmouth, NH)

Stony Point Center (Stony Point, NY)

The Walker Center (Auburndale, MA)

Temenos Retreat Center (Shutesbury, MA)

Woolman Hill Quaker Center (Deerfield, MA)

Zen Mountain Monastery (Mt. Tremper, NY)

Zen Peacemakers Montague Farm (Montague, MA)