Midwest Pilgrims, an LDS women’s retreat, provides an opportunity for active, inactive, and former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, plus fence sitters, doubters, believers, and questioners to learn from each other. We seek to find and give solace to each other as we navigate our spiritual paths through life.
We welcome women and gender minorities at our annual pilgrimage, or retreat, which has been operating since 1983,
Unlike some retreats, we are entirely volunteer operated. Nobody earns a salary for serving at Midwest, which is why our costs are so low.
Midwest is small — always fewer than 75 people — so we can maintain our welcoming, supportive atmosphere and foster friendship and intimacy among attendees.
Below are some of the things you might expect at a typical Midwest Pilgrims retreat:
Sample Schedule
Friday:
3:00 pm Check-in begins
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Welcome and Opening Activities
Saturday:
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Keynote Address
10:30-12:00 Workshops
12:00 Lunch
1:00-3:30 Workshops
3:30-6:00 Free time and choir practice
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Evening Activities
Sunday:
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Sunday Service/Quaker Meeting
11:00 Check out/Goodbyes
12:oo Sit down lunch (no box lunches)
Retreat Activities
Choir/Music
Music is a big part of pilgrimage, and we sing together at every opportunity! Songs range from rowdy to spiritual and come from all sorts of faith traditions. Our songbook includes selections ranging from chorale to spirituals and selections by Shakers and suffragettes. We welcome musical performances, and we have enjoyed performances from pilgrims on accordians, drums, flute, guitar, piano, cello, and much more. Every skill level is welcome to make a joyful noise with us!
Game Night:
Some years we have a game night — bring games that are fun for a crowd or ones that you want to share and teach.
Silent Auction:
We often hold a silent auction to support future Midwest Pilgrims Retreat scholarships and technology. Donations to the silent auction are completely optional. Past auctions have included donations of original artwork, small gifts, handicrafts, preserves, massage, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. In order to ensure that all donations go directly to the Midwest Pilgrim Retreat Scholarship and Technology Fund.
Participation in the silent auction is optional.
Book Sales:
Our presenters often bring copies of books they have authored for purchase at the retreat. If you’d like to make a purchase from a presenter, arrange purchase directly with that individual.
If you have published work that you think other pilgrims would be interested in purchasing, you are very welcome to bring copies to sell.
Book and Media Recommendations
We love to share what we’re enjoying! Discover new books to read, must-listen podcasts and music, and movies or shows to binge curated by you!
Variety Show
Some years we hold a variety show that includes singing, dancing, rescitations, poetry readings, and much more. Please bring your talents to share!
Hiking/Quiet Time
The daffodils and redbuds are in bloom in Indiana during pilgrimage, and with several miles of walking trails, Waycross is a perfect location for a quick stroll in the woods. Bring a buddy and some water for safety, and take some time for yourself to heal and commune.
Sunday Service / Quaker Style meeting
It’s a tradition to hold a Quaker style meeting to close out Midwest Pilgrims. All are welcome to participate, regardless of their current religious involvement.
Safe Retreating
It’s crucial to provide a safe retreat community. Here’s how we do it:
Confidentiality
- What happens at retreat, stays at retreat.
- If a story inspires you, get permission before sharing it with others.
- If a story annoys you, don’t take your complaints home. Try to resolve them here.
- No audio or visual recording.
- Photographs may not be shared online without the permission of every person in the picture.
Presume Goodwill
- We are a diverse group of women in terms of our relationship to the church.
- We hold a wide range of view and represent a broad spectrum of opinions relating to church policies, practices, participation, etc.
- Presuming goodwill means believing everyone means well and is speaking what is true for her.
- Presuming goodwill means accepting our differences without judgment or taking opposing views personally.
- We presume no right or wrong, good or bad, righteous or unrighteous.
Community
- Each person is a part of the community.
- Each deserves our attention, care, and respect.
- Community means
- Listening with open hearts.
- Supporting each other’s uniqueness.
- Sharing from our life experiences and beliefs.
- Participating by listening, sharing, caring, and whatever works for you.
Pilgrim Responsibility
- Try to get to know someone new each day.
- Try to get to know someone who is older or younger, more or less outstpoken, more or less liberal or conservative.
- Try to ensure no one feels alone at retreat.
It’s unusual to have an opportunity for active, inactive, former members, fence sitters, doubters, believers, and questioners all together to learn from each other. We aim to take full advantage of Midwest Pilgrim LDS Women’s Retreat to find and give solace to each other as we navigate through our spiritual paths through life.
Past Keynote Speakers
2025 – Katie L. Rich
Katie Ludlow Rich is a writer, editor, and independent scholar whose work focuses on centering Mormon women and their agentive decisions in their history. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Mormon History, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and she is the co-author of Fifty Years of Exponent II (Signature Books, 2024). She lives with her husband and four children in Saratoga Springs, Utah.
2024 – Susan Hinckley
Susan M. Hinckley is a storyteller in words and pictures. A longtime exhibitor with the American Craft Council, she’s created art for books, magazines, and private collectors across the U.S. She’s co-creator of the At Last She Said It podcast, and her essays on faith can be found in books and in Exponent II, Dialogue, and Sunstone magazines. She loves baked goods, convertibles, the desert, poetry, hope, movies, big questions, grandkids, green chile, complaining about her hair, observing people, word puzzles, being surprised by her own strength, reading in bed, nest building, and discussing it all with 3 remarkable adult daughters she swears must have raised themselves.
2023 – Rachel Rueckert
Rachel Rueckert is a writer, editor, and teacher with an Masters of Fine Arts from Columbia University. She also holds an Masters of Education from Boston University and serves as the Editor in Chief for Exponent II. As a seventh-generation Utahan, she splits her time between Boston and Salt Lake City. Rachel is the author of East Winds (Nov. 2022) and If the Tide Turns (Spring 2024). You can learn more about her at www.rachelrueckert.com.
2022 – Margaret Olson Hemming
2020/2021 – Cancelled for Covid
2019 – Amanda Waterhouse
2018 – Fara Anderson Sneddon
2017 – Kristine Haglund
2016 – Pandora Brewer
2015 – Maxine Hanks
2014 – Fiona Givens
2013 – Linda King Newell
2012 – Jana Reiss
Victoria Grover
Image credit: Jenny Smith, used by permission