...the words on the cornerstone of ARC.
They embody the vision and the model for the life and ministry of ARC.
ARC is located 55 miles north of Minneapolis (ten minutes north of Cambridge), on 90 acres in central Minnesota's pine woods. We offer four-season hospitality for about 20 people in our cedar Lodge, Hermitage, and Cottage (which is a complete log home). Spiritual direction, retreat ministry, and a labyrinth meditation experience are available to retreatants, as well as a fine library of spiritual books and journals. Trails for walking, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing wind through woods and wetlands. Therapeutic massage can be arranged for an additional fee with advance notice.
Hospitality
ARC offers a quiet place and a reflective atmosphere for individuals and groups who seek to slow down the pace of life, restore balance, and deepen relationships with self, others and God.
The ARC retreat community is committed to welcoming all persons who are on spiritual journeys of search and renewal.
ARC strives to live out a creative, yet simple lifestyle with a focus on peace and justice, unity and ecumenism, and environmental concerns through the integration of action, reflection, and celebration. A small resident community offers hospitality, manages the house and grounds, tends the garden, plans worship, facilitates retreats, prepares meals and performs the other services of ARC's ministry.
“This place has brought me such peace and serenity … It is such a special place that needs to be taken care of always.” Guest ~ April, 2008
The ARC kitchen is well known for its wholesome, homemade food. The simple yet tasty meals respect the global view that invites us to live more with less. Part of our understanding of what it means to live a simpler lifestyle includes trying to consume less and to eat a more wholesome diet. We cook and bake with whole grains, use less sugar, and rely more on vegetables and legumes as a primary source of protein. Meat is used occasionally in main dishes rather than as a principal menu item. ARC also has three published cookbooks. If you have any special dietary needs, please inform us at the time of your reservation. Meals are important times of sharing. However, if you choose to be alone, you may elect to take a tray to your room, or have a basket delivered to Cottage or Hermitage.
Retreat
Retreat is an intentional time set apart for silence, attentive listening, and for opening oneself to the movement of God's Spirit in our lives. Time apart helps one gain new perspectives, be healed, reestablish priorities, or move beyond superficiality. Personal renewal comes through a deepened self engaged in a widened world. The journey inward (personal renewal) and journey outward (social justice) are inseparable aspects of the spiritual life.
Also, facilitated retreats are offered by ARC on a range of topics announced in the quarterly newsletter, website or planned together with a scheduled group. Other groups may bring their own leadership, and, of course, we serve individuals in private retreat.
Spiritual companioning (spiritual direction) and massage can be arranged upon request. A Spiritual Companion provides a sacred space in which to accompany a person in listening, exploring and discerning the presence of the Divine in one’s life.
". . . without silence words lose their meaning; without listening, speaking no longer heals." ~ Henri Nouwen
Facilities
ARC is situated on 90 acres of beautiful pine and hardwood forest. A spring-fed creek flows into a nearby, undeveloped lake. There are trails for walking and skiing. A canoe is also available.
The Lodge accommodates a maximum of 18 guests in 12 single rooms and 3 double rooms. There are three private wings in which the private rooms (with sinks) share bathrooms. The lodge also has a chapel, library, bookshop, large and small meeting areas, two fireplaces, a screened-in porch, and other spaces conducive to rest and reflection. Linens and towels are furnished.
To see information for the Cottage and Hermitage, go to those pages on this site.
Pray and walk the labyrinth, as weather permits.
ARC's seven-circuit labyrinth was designed by Lisa Moriarty of Stillwater. In the summer of 2006, ARC's residential staff members spent a day exploring Moriarty's property, where labyrinths of various designs are open for public use (with prior permission: www.pathsofpeace.com). Inspired in particular by the Peace Labyrinth, Bob Hoxie later mowed the same design into the grass of ARC's front yard. The frequent walking of the labyrinth through the winter months kept the paths intact.In the summer of 2007 ARC received a wonderful gift: the flagstones from a labyrinth at the former home of Carol Kindschi and Larry Greenberg of St. Paul. They wanted the stones to continue to serve a spiritual purpose, so ARC was both a good fit and a place they knew. With the help of volunteers and a financial contribution for the rental of a heavy-duty truck, the twenty tons of flagstone were successfully transported to ARC.
During August and September of 2007 the labyrinth area was tilled, circular paths from the Peace Labyrinth design were mapped out, and volunteers fit the stones into the paths. In subsequent years, other volunteers have participated in landscaping the spaces between circuits with donated perennials. Each year the plants grow a little more lush, holding down the earth between the mosaic of stones and creating diversity and interest on the meditative journey.
Special features of our labyrinth that contribute to the walking meditation are:
- its location on a slight rise, resulting in a walk that has the ups, down and unevenness that mirrors our life's journey
- walking on stones that have various shapes and surfaces and a path that is made up of many broken and uneven pieces
- the prayers and blessings woven into the paths by those who lovingly created them
History
ARC is a non-profit corporation funded through individual and group gifts, pledges, grants, retreat fees and contributed services. An extended community of volunteers and friends also helps to sustain ARC’s ministry.
Prior to 1976, ARC was the dream of Ruth and Loren Halvorson. It became a real possibility in December of 1976, when Ken and Corrine Skogen donated 56 acres of wooded land. Much of the initial labor came from two, month-long summer work-study camps, and was continued by numerous volunteer and professional workers. ARC is the result of a persistent dream, a gift of beautiful land, and the efforts of many dedicated, generous people. ARC opened its doors to retreatants in January, 1978.
