# Retreats and Quiet Places ## expand\_more 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 ### Williams Chapel The Preston N. Williams Chapel is our largest spiritual gathering space. Swartz Hall | 45 Francis Avenue ![Christian chapel with large glass windows and chairs set up in an oval](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/williamschapel-08232021-141.jpg?itok=_eGKWmiY) ### Divinity Chapel Prayer rugs, meditation cushions, scriptures of many traditions and prayer beads available. Divinity Hall, 3rd floor | 14 Divinity Avenue ![Sunlit chapel, with dark wooden walls, chairs set up in the center](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/divchapelcard-2012-1.jpg?itok=9AB9Gals) ### HDS Multifaith Space Swartz Hall | 45 Francis Avenue ![Spacious, sunny room with high ceilings, wooden paneling, hanging glass globe lights, and a circle of chairs](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/multifaithroomcard-08032021-073.jpg?itok=56K7aunN) ### CSWR Meditation Room [Center for the Study of World Religions](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/) 42 Francis Avenue | Harvard Divinity School ![Small sunny room with plants, pillows, small stools, and rugs](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/meditationroomcard-05312013-cswr-422.jpg?itok=EvsHq-uu) ### HDS Labyrinth & Contemplative Garden Near Rockefeller Hall | 45 Francis Avenue ![Flat stone circular labyrinth surrounded by shrubbery and a stone bench](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/labyrinthcard-092308-005.jpg?itok=AnIgP3Cy) ### CSWR Courtyard [Center for the Study of World Religions](http://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/) 42 Francis Avenue| Harvard Divinity School ![Spring flowers blooming in the CSWR courtyard](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/cswr-garden-20160510-springcampus-23.jpg?itok=HKWb26gA) ### University Musallah (Muslim Prayer Space) Smith Campus Center, Room 204 Open Monday-Friday 7 am to 10 pm; Saturday and Sunday 8 am to 10 pm ![person preparing for religious service by laying out light blue prayer rugs in room with window to left](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-08/RSL%20website.jpg?itok=J678g8E3) ## Indoor Spaces ### 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 Street and Appian Way - Garden at Longfellow House, Washington’s Headquarters National Park, 105 Brattle Street - Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn Street - Fresh Pond, at Fresh Pond Parkway and Concord Avenue BOSTON - Charles River Reservation and Esplanade - Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston ARLINGTON - LEXINGTON - The Minuteman Bikeway CONCORD - Walden Pond ## 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](mailto:kmaloney@hds.harvard.edu) Kerry A. Maloney, the chaplain and director of religious and spiritual life. [Abode of the Message Retreat Center (New Lebanon, NY)](https://www.theabode.org/) [Adelynrood Retreat and Conference Center (Byfield, MA)](http://www.adelynrood.org/) [Aryaloka Buddhist Center (Newmarket, NH)](https://aryaloka.org/) [Bethany House of Prayer (Arlington, MA)](https://www.bethanyhousearlington.org/) [Blue Cliff Monastery (Pine Bush, NY)](https://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/) [Cambridge Peace House (Cambridge, MA)](https://www.cambridgepeacehouse.org/) [Cedar Hill Retreat Center (Duxbury, MA)](https://cedarhillcenter.org/) [Church of the Woods, Canterbury, NH](https://www.churchofthewoods.church/) [Earthdance (Plainfield, MA)](https://www.earthdance.net/) [Eastern Point Retreat Center (Gloucester, MA)](https://www.easternpoint.org/) [Elat Chayyim: The Jewish Retreat Center (Accord, NY)](http://www.elatchayyim.org/about/) [The Empty Bell (Northampton, MA)](http://www.emptybell.org/) [Evensong Retreat and Spirituality Center (Harwich Port, MA)](http://www.evensongretreat.com/) [Ferry Beach Retreat Center (Saco, ME)](https://www.ferrybeach.org/) [Find the Divine, Friendly Crossways (Harvard, MA)](https://findthedivine.com/) [Glastonbury Abbey (Hingham, MA)](https://www.glastonburyabbey.org/) [Hallelujah Farm Retreat Center (Chesterfield, NH)](https://www.hallelujahfarmretreat.com/) [Holy Cross Monastery (West Park, NY)](https://holycrossmonastery.com/) [Insight Meditation Society/Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (Barre, MA)](https://www.dharma.org/) [Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center (Bangor, PA)](https://kirkridge.org/) [Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health (Lenox, MA)](http://www.kurukulla.org/) [Morgan Bay Zendo (Surry, ME)](http://www.morganbayzendo.org/) [Mount St. Mary’s Abbey (Wrentham, MA)](https://msmabbey.org/) [New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care (New York, NY)](https://zencare.org/) [Online Ignatian Retreat (in the Christian tradition)](https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo-retreat.html) [The Peace Abbey (Sherborn, MA)](https://www.peaceabbey.org/) [Pendle Hill (Wallingford, PA)](https://pendlehill.org/) [Ponkapoag Camp (AMC cabins in the Blue Hills Reservation, Canton, MA)](https://ponkapoagcamp.org/) [RetreatFinder.com (directory)](https://www.retreatfinder.com/) [Rolling Ridge Retreat Center (North Andover, MA)](https://www.rollingridge.org/) [Rowe Camp and Conference Center (Rowe, MA)](https://rowecenter.org/) [Saint Joseph's Abbey (Spencer, MA)](https://www.spencerabbey.org/) [Shambhala Boston (Boston, MA)](https://boston.shambhala.org/) [Sisters of St. Margaret (Boston and Duxbury, MA)](https://societyofstmargaret.org/) [Society of Saint John the Evangelist (Cambridge and W. Newburyport, MA)](https://www.ssje.org/) [Spirit Fire Retreat Center (Leyden, MA)](https://www.spiritfireretreatcenter.com/) [Starflower Farm and Studios (Monroe, ME)](http://www.starflowerfarmstudios.com/about.html) [Star Island (Portsmouth, NH)](https://starisland.org/) [Stony Point Center (Stony Point, NY)](https://stonypointcenter.org/) [The Walker Center (Auburndale, MA)](https://www.walkerctr.org/) [Temenos Retreat Center (Shutesbury, MA)](https://www.temenosretreatcenter.org/) [Woolman Hill Quaker Center (Deerfield, MA)](http://woolmanhill.org/) [Zen Mountain Monastery (Mt. Tremper, NY)](https://zmm.org/) [Zen Peacemakers Montague Farm (Montague, MA)](http://zenpeacemakers.org/)