Pathways to Peace Retreat

Come join in this retreat day as we explore the ways that make for peace in our hearts and into our lives and world. This facilitated day will include group sessions, stations of engagement, contemplative worship, spiritual practices, and an opportunity to connect in community.

Facilitated by Katherine Murray, with guests Esther Wilson & Allyson Jule

Music by Rev. David Taylor

Fee: $50 (drinks, snacks & lunch included) / Registration Deadline: June 14, 2026

Katherine Murray has had a lifelong passion for peace and justice reflected in her studies in Social Work, International Relations, and Theology; training in peacemaking; interfaith engagement; volunteer work with Oxfam, prison ministry, & the food bank; and most recently advocacy with Peace Train Canada. She is especially committed to how we are spiritually formed within to be peacemakers. Katherine is a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She serves as a spiritual director and retreat facilitator. 

Rev. David Taylor is Rector of St Mark Ocean Park. He is also a leader with TWU ONE David has a wonderful story to share and is a remarkable teacher and facilitator of conversation, David is married and has two adopted children. David is both Spiritual and Religious. He delights in the personal spiritual journey of the heart and he works to ensure the marginalised are cared for. He is also a composer of worship music and liturgy.

Esther Wilson grew up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. At age 12, Esther's father was tragically killed by gunmen associated with the conflict. At age 34 Esther immigrated to Canada where she was married for ten years before the sudden loss of her husband in 2020.  For the past decade, Esther worked as a personal skills training facilitator and employment counsellor with Triangle Community Services. Currently, she is in training with Thomas Hubl's Timeless Wisdom focused on the transformation of trauma and spiritual growth. Esther lives in Abbotsford, BC.

Allyson Jule is the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Community, and Human Development at the University of the Fraser Valley. She has been an educator for over 35 years, teaching English in high schools and colleges in Alberta, Ontario and BC before entering academia. Allyson is the Interfaith Commitment Leader with the Peace and Reconciliation Centre, UFV.

Her contributions to gender equity and education were nationally recognized in 2012 by the Canadian Association for the Study of Women in Education’s Award. Over the years, Dr. Jule has received several teaching awards, including Canada’s prestigious 3M 2016 Teaching Fellowship, the national fellowship honouring excellence in teaching in Higher Education. She has written most widely on the topic of silence and language use in classrooms, including ten books and many peer-reviewed articles and chapters. 

Allyson was one of the speakers for TEDxAbbotsford in November 2024. In her talk, Dr. Jule explained the role gratitude has had in her own life and how ‘being realistic’ can impact the capacity to cope with life’s complexities. Watch Finding Gratitude in All of Life on YouTube.