Newsletter Article: "Grace at the End of the Rope: Reflections on a Desert Sojourn"
Happy 25th Anniversary to ARC!
Unheard of Deaths on 9/11/01
Book Review: Nine Parts Desire: the Hidden World of Islamic Women, by Geraldine Brooks
Upcoming Events in the Life of ARC
Upcoming ARC Retreats
Private Retreats
Gifted Retreats
Response Form
Two Summer Recipes
ARC Needs List


Grace at the End of the Rope: Reflections on a Desert Sojourn

Some people believe God’s grace is a grease that makes the gears of life run
smoothly. They expect this grace to bring happy endings to all their
stories and shield them from the tragedies and deformities of life (“There,
but for the grace of God, go I.”). In a culture addicted to comfort and
ease and control, whatever readily makes a person feel good, uplifted, and
affirmed is often made out to be divine grace. However, writer Belden Lane
has noted, grace is a “harsh and dreadful thing. . . something we are first
tempted to flee.” Those of us on ARC’s recent desert sojourn to the
Badlands of South Dakota encountered that kind of grace.

We encountered it in an Apache man who, with his family, had spent the night
with two stranded young women in a remote and dangerous place in the
Badlands. From Mexico, he and his family had stopped by this place on their
way to the Black Hills. There they happened upon, as we did the next day,
the two women who, because of bad judgment, were in dire trouble. “We’ll
stay with them however long it takes for them to get out,” he said. “If we
can’t get to the Black Hills for a couple days, that’s okay. If we never
make it, we can always come back. For their safety we’ll stay.” Grace.

We marveled at the gift of time and presence this “alien” man and his family
were willing to give the two young women. Marveled at it and at the same
time were measured and humbled by it. I knew that had I been in his place I
would have been very reluctant to give up precious vacation time and plans
particularly if that sacrifice involved others. Not that I would not be
willing to give aid, but I would carefully weigh my options and choose the
least costly to me. His gracious, no-alternative, but costly choice would,
for me, have been at least a troubling choice. His grace was beautiful and,
at the same time, an assault on my tendency toward calculated caring. That
assault was, itself, a gift of grace. Painful. Unwelcome. But a gift.

We encountered this grace on the last day in the Badlands when afternoon
temperatures reached 112 in the shade, and shade was as rare as electric
fans. It was too hot to read, too hot to write in our journals, too hot to
do anything but sit and drink lots of water. Oh, that we should be cursed
with such heat and with a breeze that did not cool but torched us like
dragon’s breath. “Did you bring us into this wilderness to die?” (The
Hebrew’s complaint to Moses.) Yet in this, the group realized later, was a
gift. The heat wrenched control from us, and that was a grace. “We were
not able to do anything, but just be,” said one participant, “and that was a
lesson.” “The heat caused me to see within myself in ways I otherwise would
not have,” said another.

Alan Jones, dean of St. Mark’s Cathedral in San Francisco, writes, “Grace
enters into our experience precisely at the point where we are wounded,
where our longings are deepest and most inarticulate.” He notes that grace
comes when “the believer is brought to the end of his or her rope, placed in
extremis, forced to wait in weakness.” Much more welcome than the end of
our rope is a God who won’t let us slip that far. Much more pleasant than
being driven into a threatening extreme is being able to keep life’s cruise
control set on comfortable. Much more to be desired than waiting in
weakness is confidently taking the reins of your own destiny. If grace
requires the likes of being wounded and waiting in weakness, who wants that
kind of gift?

Spiritualities abound. And although this may not be distinctive about
Christian spirituality, the heart of it entails encounter with God’s grace.
That in itself makes Christian spirituality a shocking, and possibly
revolting, spirituality. For the Christian spiritual journey, unlike most
self-made and often popular spiritualities, is not a journey of ascent.
Rather, it is a journey of descent or, as one person described it in pointed
paradox, “downward ascent.” It is a journey of surrender, of relinquishing
control, of embracing wounds and weakness, of entering the darkness, of
dying. It is a journey toward leaving the doors of our lives more and more
ajar to God’s grace. It is a journey of discovering that this grace comes
unexpectedly in the fiercest terrain of human existence. It is a journey
into the astonishing possibility that those experiences that appear to
contradict divine grace are often the occasions of this grace.

This downward ascent leads to less and less certainty, to appreciation of
ambiguity and paradox, to holding answers more loosely, to greater awareness
of one’s inner poverty. When followed faithfully, this journey gives a
person what the early Christian desert hermits called apatheia—indifference
or detachment. This detachment, this apatheia, is not peripheral to
Christian spirituality but central. Central because of the fruit God
intends the spiritual journey to bear. That fruit is not self-enhancement or
gratification, not wisdom or enlightenment, not meaning or purpose, although
meaning and purpose may follow.

The fruit of the journey is the capacity to love with agape, the love we
call the grace of God. “Teach us to care and not to care,” wrote T. S.
Eliot in getting at the paradoxical character of genuine agape—a love that
is both caring and uncaring. This love is intensely caring of the other
solely for the sake of the other. At the same
time, it is starkly uncaring in its lack of agenda to change or improve the
other and lack of hidden self-interest. But only the journey to apatheia
makes this love possible.

A primary purpose of retreat is to experience detachment. Sometimes we
speak of coming to ARC as coming “to a place apart,” meaning being separated
from one’s routine cares. In this separation one gains perspective; one is
able to practice the craft of discerning what is essential and what is
unimportant or merely important. One learns to rest, which, in its Hebraic
roots, means to let God be God and not try to be God yourself. When you can
let God be God, then you can genuinely love without agenda or motives of
self-interest. Then agape can flow through you. Then you are able to let
wounds and weakness and inarticulate longings simply be without having to
fix them. Then those end-of-rope experiences can be occasions of divine
grace--both for you and for the other.
-- Dwayne Daehler, ARC Co-Director


Back to Top


Happy 25th Anniversary to ARC!
Open House, 1:00-5:00 p.m., Sunday, September 8th

There will be tours of the buildings and grounds, a new roof and screen
porch to bless, food--of course!, a brief program starting at 2:30, music
and an art fair including pottery, paintings, photography, and more! No
reservations needed...just come and bring your friends! (Lots of 'em!)

For Former Community & Board Members -- Come to a reunion starting the night
before, Saturday, Sept. 7th, 7:00 p.m. Share reminiscences with old and new
friends. Call, write, or e-mail to register.

Also, please consider a special gift in honor of ARC’s 25th Anniversary.
Any amount is welcome and all contributions are tax-deductible. We could
still use significant help in financing the new roof and your gift will help
to sustain ARC’s ministry as we look to the next 25 years! Thank you so
much.

Back to Top



Unheard of Deaths on 9/11/01
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 35, 615 children died
from starvation and other preventable conditions on 9/11/01 (& every other
day of the year).
Relevant Statistics:
Victims: 35,615 children
Where: poor countries
Newspaper articles: 0
Messages from the president: 0
Bills before Congress to deal w/ crisis: 0
Minutes of silence: 0
>From the Lutheran Peace Fellowship Newsletter. (Afghanistan is among the
poorest countries in the world today.)

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each
person’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Back to Top



Book Review -- Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by
Geraldine Brooks

Soon we will be marking the first anniversary of September 11th. For a year
we have struggled to understand what could motivate people to commit acts
such as the attacks that day and to come to terms with the aftermath of the
tragedy. On the one hand, we know there is no rational explanation for
terrorist attacks and that those who planned and carried them out are
extremists. They no more represent the whole Muslim community than right
wing fundamentalists who bomb abortion clinics and murder doctors represent
the whole Christian community. But, on the other hand, there is no way to
work for peace in the world without trying to understand other cultures and
belief systems, without trying to bridge the chasms that seem to divide us.

Geraldine Brooks makes a mighty attempt at understanding in this book,
published seven years ago. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after the
terrorist attacks that it gained a prominent place in many book stores’
displays, along with numerous other volumes about the Middle East.
(Especially notable are Karen Armstrong’s books, Islam: A Short History and
The Battle for God.)

Central to Brooks’ work are these questions: “Was it possible to reclaim the
positive messages in the Koran and Islamic history, and devise some kind of
Muslim feminism? Could Muslim fundamentalists live with Western liberals,
or would accommodating each other cost both of us our principles?” To find
the answers, she talked to women in Islamic countries. Often invisible,
voiceless and oppressed, Brooks brings the world of Muslim women to light as
she recounts stories, conversations, encounters and anecdotes about her
experiences in the Middle East and with women whom she interviewed, worked
with, visited, and befriended.

Central to the life of an Egyptian woman who was a colleague of Brooks, is
the question: “How was her desperately poor country going to continue to
feed, educate and employ a population that increased by a million every nine
months? Flirtations with socialism and capitalism had failed to arrest
Egypt’s economic decline. The Islamic movement wanted to abandon these
recently imported ideologies and follow the system set down so long ago in
the Koran.” So, for this woman, and for millions of other people in the
Middle East asking the same question, still today, “Islam Is the Answer,”
or, at least it seems to be.

But Islam’s strict legal code as applied to women includes restrictive dress
(anything from a head covering to a full-body veil), an inheritance system
that allots daughters half the legacy of sons, and a domestic life in which
husbands are permitted to beat wives, practice polygamy, and get absolute
custody of children in cases of divorce. And that’s just the beginning.
Brooks covers all aspects of women’s lives-- marriage and family, work,
politics, health, education, religious practice, women in the military,
sports, even driving...or, more accurately, the Islamic prohibition against
women driving.

The challenge in reading this book is to not put it down shaking one’s head,
saying, “How can this be?, How can people live this way?, Well there’s
nothing I can do about it but thank God I’m an American.” But that’s not
where Brooks leaves readers and, hopefully, it’s not where participants in
ARC’s book retreat on Sept. 21 will be left either. Please join us for the
day (details below) but, if you can’t, read this book anyhow. It will open
up a world of understanding which could help to bring hope and healing.
-- Katherine Dutton




Why does a spiritual retreat center host and offer book group and reading
retreats? (see below for offerings) There could be many reasons but this
quote from Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue, sums it up
well.-- "Does the world need another painting...? Does it need another
story? Another poem? Yes. We as a people are generally rushing head-long
through the decades of our lives without reflection. We keep an unwholesome
pace. We don’t stop to glory in the sheen of rainwater on a stone or on a
child’s cheek. It’s an oft told tale. If a story or a painting or a poem
can urge us toward more contemplative living by which we discover some
truth, that...is a worthy goal of any artist."

Back to Top



Upcoming Events in the Life of ARC

Come one, come all . . .to the ARC Pancake Breakfast
Sunday, Oct. 27th, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm; Christ the King Parish Hall, Cambridge
ARC bread, baked by Jerry, will be for sale along with items from the ARC
book and gift shop.
If you’d like to volunteer to help with this event please contact ARC board
member, Wally Hed at 763/689-9619.

Mark your Calendars for ARC’s Annual Benefit Event
Saturday, Nov. 9th, 7:30 p.m., Joan of Arc Church, Minneapolis
Concert by Hope Rising; also a silent auction and refreshments
(former community members Suzanne Holtz and Jay Lyons are part of the vocal
group Hope Rising)
Write/call for tickets: $12.50 in advance; $15 at the door.

Back to Top



Upcoming ARC Retreats

Photography and Contemplative Seeing 7 pm Fri-Sun aft,
September 13-15
In this retreat we will contemplate the how of our seeing--a kind of seeing
that clears the heart and mind so one can be truly attentive. We will
examine what helps and what hinders seeing We will consider how photography
can relate to one’s spiritual practice and how we can see beyond our usual
patterns. You don’t need to think of yourself as a photographer to enjoy
this retreat but do bring your camera.
Led by Dwayne Daehler, ARC co-director
Cost: $145

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women 9:30 am-4:30
pm, Sat, Sept 21
Author, Geraldine Brooks, is a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The
Wall Street Journal who spent six years covering the Middle East. This
remarkable book gives readers insights into the lives of women in Islamic
countries. See above for a review of this book.The retreat also includes
time for walking in the fall woods, lunch, and a chance to be with others
who share a love of reading.
Led by Katherine Dutton, ARC co-director Cost: $35
In a certain sense art (paintings, sculptures, stories, poems, music) always
invites our consent. The invitation is, if you dwell here for a little
while, I’ll show you something you couldn’t have seen otherwise. When
you’ve seen it, you will be changed a little. -- Marilyn Chandler
McEntyre

Creative Reading: Retreats for Women Sponsored by the Minnesota Women’s
Press
Five different sessions offered Sept.-Oct. at ARC, some are already full.
Creative reading brings you to a different place that you might not have
come to otherwise. Participants read selected books in advance and then
gather to share insights, opinions, perspectives, and lots of laughter. The
retreat concludes with a poetry walk on the ARC grounds. Contact the MN
Women’s Press for more info. and to register: 651/646-3968,
postmaster@womenspress.com.

Living in Harmony with Nature 9:30 am-4:30 pm, Sat, October 5
Explore the ways the world’s religious traditions and our individual
spiritual paths inform us on how to live in harmony with nature. The day
will include outdoor nature experiences, group discussion and a viewing of
the Bill Moyers documentary, “Spirit and Nature.” ARC, in all its autumn
splendor, is an ideal setting for this day away.
Led by Joe Esker, life coach and founder of SimpleNature
Cost: $45

At ARC’s annual silent Advent retreat, participants will reflect on these
questions: Is there enough silence to hear what the heart is saying?, to
hear the Word?, to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God?
Spiritual Direction/Companioning will also be available during the retreat.
Led by Ruth Halvorson, ARC founder Cost: $145

Looking Ahead . . .

New Year’s Eve Retreat, 7 pm Tues-Weds aft, Dec 31-Jan 1
Mid-Winter Retreat: A Celebration of Winter (Snowshoeing, cross-country
skiing, reflections on wonder) 7 PM Fri., Jan. 24 - Sunday aft., Jan, 26
Snow-Motion: The Skinny on Skis, Wonder, and Play; 5 PM Sunday, Feb. 10 -
afternoon, Thurs., Feb. 14

Back to Top



Private Retreats
Individuals are always welcome at ARC for a time of personal retreat. This
can be for any length of stay as space is available. Rooms are private.
Guests may enjoy resting, reading, walking in the woods, sitting by the
creek or on our newly screened-in deck porch.

The hermitage, a single-person dwelling in the woods, lends itself to a more
solitary retreat. It is a bright, lofty room with a kitchenette and
screened-in porch. Also called Poustinia, which means 'desert space,' it is
a place where one may enter into the emptiness of isolation and silence to
be encountered by God.

The cottage is a cozy but luxurious cabin available to individuals, couples,
or small groups. It has a full kitchen, bedroom, bath, large loft, deck,
and a living room with a gas fireplace and an A-frame window wall.
Call to make arrangements.

Back to Top


Gifted Retreats
Give the Gift of a Retreat to Someone Who Really Needs It!
A recurring concern of the ARC Board and Community is how to make retreating
accessible to people who may not be able to afford it. We have always
offered scholarship assistance upon request but our funds have been limited
and, perhaps, have not reached the people most in need.

Consequently, we have started a program called A Gifted Retreat. We invite
you to send ARC a donation to cover the cost of one or more 24 hour weekday
retreats ($65). We will in turn pass a gift certificate on to people who
can identify someone who would most benefit by it. For example, we might
give the certificate to a pastor, therapist, group leader, or to an
organization such as the Center for Victims of Torture, Minnesota Aids
Project or Chrysalis Center for Women and they would then give it to a
single parent, struggling client, recent immigrant, victim of domestic
violence, and so on.

Feel free to let us know if you’d like your gift to go to a specific church
or organization. You may use the response form below. Know that your gift
will be greatly appreciated by the recipient.
Back to Top



RESPONSE FORM
Mail to: ARC Retreat Center, 1680-373rd Ave. NE, Stanchfield, MN 55080
Phone: 763-689-3540

Name(s): ______________________________________________ Phone: (____)
_____________

Street Address:
__________________________________________________________________

City: ___________________________________ State: __________ Zip:
___________________

Special Needs (diet, accessibility, etc.):
_______________________________________________

PLEASE CHECK APPROPRIATE ITEMS:
___ I am registering for the following retreat(s):
_______________________________________ __________________
___________________
Retreat Title Retreat Date

Deposit Enclosed $__________ ($35 per person per night, nonrefundable)

___ I am contributing to the ARC retreat ministry with a gift of $______.
___ I am contributing a retreat to someone who really needs it (see p.3)
with a gift of $______ .
(All gifts are tax deductible.)
___ I am moving. My new address is above.
___ I would like to volunteer on a weekend ___ or weekday ____. Please call
me.

Back to Top


Two Summer Recipies
Have a few cucumbers or zucchini on your hands? Try these great recipes
from the ARC kitchen.--

Cucumber Gazpacho (a cold soup)--
Blend together in blender:
3 cucumbers, peeled, chopped, and seeded
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
(or 1/4 tsp. chopped garlic in a jar)
3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
3 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix together in bowl:
2 cups sour cream
1 cup plain yogurt
Slowly add the blended mixture to the sour cream and yogurt. Stir or whisk.
Top with chopped tomatoes, parsley, green onions, croutons. Serves 8-10.


Zucchini Bread--
3 eggs 2 cups brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla 1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini

2 cups white flour 1 tsp. salt
1 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2/ cup currants

Beat eggs lightly. Add sugar slowly, add oil and vanilla, add zucchini, and
finally add dry ingredients. Bake @ 325-- 1 hour for loaves, 20 minutes
for muffins.
Makes 3 loaves.

It’s coming...hopefully sooner than later! YES, we are still working on
ARC’s next cookbook. We hope to announce it’s publication yet this year!
Back to Top



ARC NEEDS LIST
CD player
chain saws
fans (any size)
calculator/adding machine
bat houses
piano
bread machine
window air conditioners
plastic ice cream pails
dehumidifiers
cat and dog food
colored copier paper
lamps, end tables
couches, chairs
flashlights
brooms
folding chairs
firewood
cordless electric drill
multi-stitch sewing machine

Back to Top