Peace Hill at Avila

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Peace Hill at Avila

Grounding for Justice.

Peace Hill at Avila supports activists and organizers, nurturing contemplative and restorative practices to build a more compassionate and just society.

07/30/2026

What a gift it was to spend time with members of the National Farm Worker Ministry(NFWM) during their recent gathering at Avila. 💚

NFWM is a faith-based organization that supports farm workers who are organizing for justice and empowerment. We were honored to support their important work, in part through a tai chi session led by Evie Craig, one of our board members. We're grateful for the opportunity to share practices that nurture connection, resilience, and hope with those doing the work to build a more just world.

If your organization, community group, or team is interested in learning about Peace Hill's contemplative offerings, we'd love to talk about how we can support your work. Please send us a message or contact us here: https://peacehillavila.org/contact/

Photo credit: NFWM staff

07/10/2026

We're excited to share that local legend Fiddlin' Al McCanless will join the musical jam on the first evening of "Ends of the Earth," bringing his virtuoso Celtic fiddle to the mix. Register by the end of the month to receive a 10 percent discount! https://peacehillavila.org/event/ends-of-the-earth/

"Ends of the Earth" will take place at the Avila Center for Community Leadership on September 18-20. Check out this video for a small sample of what retreat participants can look forward to! 🎻

06/29/2026

We hope you've had a wonderful first week of summer!

Peace Hill at Avila enjoyed a beautiful summer solstice led by Phil Mathews. We had some fun with contemplative play–including bubbles, Play-Doh, and sharing joyful summer memories. Thank you to all who attended–we hope you'll join us for the next Seasons Within retreat on September 22!

Photo credits: Lori Pistor and Jim Evans

06/17/2026

Still thinking about your Father's Day plans? It's not too late to register for Seasons Within!

This year, Father's Day falls on the summer solstice. We'll share this longest day of summer exploring and experiencing contemplative play.

Join us to revisit joyful summer memories, share a meal, and spend some time in nature on Avila Center for Community Leadership's beautiful campus.

Register here: https://peacehillavila.org/event/seasons-within-11/

06/04/2026

Join Peace Hill at Avila on June 21st for Seasons Within: Sweet Summer Days! 🌻

On this summer solstice, we'll share memories from summers in our youth. These memories will serve as an opening into the exploration of what some have called "contemplative play." Do these two words even belong together? Led by Phil Mathews, we'll use various practices to explore this concept, such as being playful in nature, arts and crafts, and revisiting some of the not-so-serious things that brought us joy in our childhood. Please join us as we come together with the intention of setting the stage for experiencing the joys of summer in this period of our lives!

Held on Father’s Day weekend, we hope this retreat might also offer a way to celebrate the fathers, grandfathers, and caregivers who have nurtured and accompanied us through the seasons of our lives. We’d be honored if you choose to spend this Father’s Day with Peace Hill.

Register today! https://peacehillavila.org/event/seasons-within-11/

05/27/2026

"Eternity is the now that does not pass away." -Augustine

We appreciated sharing a restorative morning at Avila Center for Community Leadership with an incredible group of nonprofit leaders during A Brief Respite. Led by Terry Allebaugh, we reflected on giving and receiving, shared wisdom, and where we might find eternity in the now. Thank you to everyone who made the gathering meaningful. We were excited to welcome several new and returning faces!

If you work at a nonprofit and are yearning for time to slow down and connect with folks doing similar work, please join us! We meet every fourth Wednesday for group contemplative practice, silent time, and a free lunch. For more information, message us or email [email protected]

04/23/2026

Peace Hill was honored to welcome Susan Stein and her powerful one-woman play, “Etty,” to Durham last Friday evening. It was an unforgettable experience that brought to life the writings of Etty Hillesum in a way that moved and inspired everyone in attendance. NorthStar Church of the Arts was the perfect setting for the play.

A smaller group also had the unique opportunity to spend time with Susan during a transformative weekend retreat at Avila Center for Community Leadership.

As the founder of Etty Project, Susan propels Etty Hillesum’s little-known diaries into our own time, exploring the dangers and consequences of racism, antisemitism, and discrimination, promoting social justice.

If you’d like to support Susan’s important work, please consider donating here: https://ettyproject.org/donate/

04/14/2026

It's not too late to register! Join Peace Hill this Friday, April 17th, at NorthStar Church of the Arts for a performance of "Etty," a one-woman play adapted and performed by Susan Stein.

Standing alone on a bare stage, Etty Hillesum speaks directly to the audience as she wrestles to write the life she is living–her loves, her work, her sense of humor, her knowledge of self in this moment in history. She loves much of her life in 1942 occupied Amsterdam and even later in the Westerbork concentration camp, yet she also finds it horrifying. In her gentle yet forthright way, Etty asks us not to leave her at Auschwitz but to let her have a bit of a say in what she hopes will be a new world.

A disarming one-woman play, Etty invites the audience to be part of her intimate struggle to find a freedom within herself as the world closes in around her. Music from Westerbork’s cabaret weaves into Etty’s sharp accounts of the transports, the image of a guard picking purple lupines, and the shape of her lover’s mouth. The second act invites the audience to join the conversation Etty begins.

Register here ➡ https://peacehillavila.org/event/etty-a-one-woman-play-by-susan-stein/

(Image from Etty Project: https://ettyproject.org/)

04/01/2026

“Despite everything, life is full of beauty and meaning.”
― Etty Hillesum, Lettres de Westerbork

Join Peace Hill and Susan Stein this April as we find meaning and compassion with Etty’s spirit as our guide.

Susan will perform her one-woman play, “Etty,” at NorthStar on Friday, April 17, and she will lead a two-day retreat at Avila on April 18-19. Register today!

Learn more and register for the play: https://peacehillavila.org/event/etty-a-one-woman-play-by-susan-stein/
Learn more and register for the retreat: https://peacehillavila.org/event/finding-the-jasmine-again-and-again/

Learn about Etty Project, founded by Susan Stein, here: https://ettyproject.org/

02/19/2026

Join Peace Hill and Bhumi Durham on Saturday, March 7, at ERUUF for an evening talk with Lama Rod Owens! As the land around us awakens, we will settle into community practice, grounding ourselves in an awareness that helps us meet the world’s unraveling with clarity and compassion.
Register here: https://peacehillavila.org/event/public-talk-with-lama-rod-owens-2/

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Durham, NC

Website

https://peacehillavila.org/

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