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| 1680 - 373rd Avenue NE, Stanchfield, MN 55080
| 763-689-3540 (located 8 miles northwest of Cambridge, MN) |
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September 2005 Newsletter TABLE OF CONTENTS: In Times of Transition ARC Ecumenical Retreat Community Next year, 2006, will mark the 30th Anniversary of the incorporation of ARC and the reception of the gift of land from Kenneth and Corrine Skogen! From those fragile and hesitant beginnings, ARC has grown, prospered and been blessed in innumerable ways. Like most endeavors ARC has also experienced many changes and transitions. We do not always control the changes that take place, however, every ending presents opportunities for new beginnings. With every transition we learn something new and gain insights and understanding we did not have before. But transitions can also be disruptive, painful and unsettling for a while. How we handle the challenges and what we do in times of transition requires discernment made in faith. In recent years ARC has experienced several changes due to health, family concerns, vocational choices and personal needs. Transitions can become the occasions to look again more deeply at the essentials, at the roots of a calling and ask the question: What was the vision that prompted this ministry? What nourishes and sustains this mission now? When I/we were in the throes of making decisions about whether or not to go ahead with ARC some thirty plus years ago, (which many thought was unrealistic and idealistic) I took several weeks and visited a number of retreat centers, mostly out East, to learn from more seasoned people and to help in my discernment. I shared my dream at every center and asked the people with whom I met for their counsel. I think I was really hoping they would say, "Great idea. Go ahead. Do it." But they did not. Perhaps, I was secretly hoping that someone else would make the decision for me because it was such a major and risky undertaking. This, of course, could not be. The words I received on that trip which were most helpful to me in my discernment and which have remained with me all these years came from a priest at the Madonna House in Combemare, Ontario. He quoted the wise council of Gamaliel from the book of Acts, "If it is of God you will not ever be able to put it down, but if it is from human origin it will collapse." These words remain as vital today as they were then and continue to give hope and encouragement. Clearly this enterprise would need confirmation from a calling deep within me, yet also beyond me. It would require a solid foundation built upon the trust, guidance and confidence of a gracious God. Just as the initial powerful and relentless prompting within me could not be ignored those many years ago, so we cannot now ignore the on-going prompting of the Spirit which began and continues to lead and sustain this ministry. I am encouraged by a Board that is committed to the vision, to faithful, hard working community members and to devoted volunteers, all who have gone the extra mile many times and who share the joys and the burdens of sustaining a place apart of hospitality and solitude. I know ARC has played an important role in the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people over the years, provided hospitality, solitude, comfort, counsel, insight, clarification, courage and much that we do not know and will never know or even need to know. However, it is not enough to rest in the assurance that ARC has been a good place for many. We must always be challenged by the question: ³Are we being faithful to the original vision and to what more is ARC being called today?² The energy, drive and will that enabled ARC to evolve thus far is something mysterious and difficult to articulate because it comes from within. ARC has always been more a matter of the heart than of the head. And the heart understands well that with every transition we encounter we are also offered new beginnings. These past decades as a nation and as individuals we have experienced good times and bad times, wars and rumors of wars, conflict and resolution, celebrations and losses, plenty and poverty, growth and stagnation, worship and idolatry. May God continue to sustain the Mission of ARC and grant the Community the strength, courage and energy to continue to welcome the hurting stranger, the confused individual, and the pilgrim seeking solitude, rest and discernment. May all sojourners seeking a deepened life be opened to a widened world undertaking to work for justice and peace. In retrospect, I am grateful that this dream did not arise from officially authorized channels, but rather that it came through the fragile, unauthorized power of the Spirit. That is a good place to be. Retreat ministry will always be risky, uncertain and unpredictable, but God¹s presence does not leave us alone. The humble beginnings of ARC remind us that a tiny, fragile seed can grow into a mighty oak when nurtured and tended. Good growth is always slow and can never be forced. True growth unfolds gradually and in its own time. May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you and the pure light within you guide you all your way on. Ruth I. Halvorson, founder of ARC
ARC
Endowment Committee
Retreat Opportunities at ARC We are grateful to the ARC friends who responded to our Phonathon with pledges early this summer. We have already received payment from the following:
“Let the person who cannot be alone beware of community. Let the person who is not in community beware of being alone.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together as quoted by Parker Palmer in A Hidden Wholeness Opportunities of Service--ARC Retreat Community
Short-term volunteers
needed for
2005, 1-3 months, individuals
Resident Community Members
for
2005-6, 1+ year commitment, Handicapped Chair Lift Installed For some time, ARC has been exploring ways to make ARC more accessible to people with handicaps. The first step in this process has been completed with the installation of an electronic one-person chair lift on the main steps to the second floor. We are grateful to a faithful ARC supporter for donation of the lift. It was mechanically adjusted by John Schlagel of Cambridge, who does extensive volunteer work in the Cambridge area, and installed by ARC’s new maintenance person, Bob Carter. Long-time ARC community member, Jerome Belanger, is demonstrating how the lift works.
RESPONSE FORM Click here to download PDF Response Form ARC Retreat Center is very pleased to announce that it has received a Multi-Year Training and Assistance Grant from the Initiative Foundation of Little Falls, Minnesota. ARC board members will begin this training on September 15, 2005. Dick Young, the current Board Chair said, “ARC will be celebrating 30 years of successful retreat ministry in the near future. It is timely for the Board to pause and reflect on where we’ve been, determine where we are at, and set forth clear, coherent, and robust plans for the future.” The grant will provide governance training for the Board, extensive self-assessment, strategic planning, worshops, peer learning, and ongoing consultation. The reason for the unanimous Board excitement is the recognition that the grant’s planning, implementation, and follow-up activities will set the stage for many, many more years of effective retreat ministry based on the core values that are now so firmly in place at ARC. New board members are needed to begin serving in January 2006 for a three-year term. If you would like to participate on the ARC Board of Directors at this interesting time in its history, or know of someone who would, please contact Dick Young at 651-645-6228 or Carol Johnson ARC Interim Director, at 763--689-3540. One-day and weekend volunteers for retreat assistance with hospitality, serving meals, care of rooms, and office tasks, etc. There is a special need during September and October for people who are able to cut logs for firewood to supply the large outdoor furnace ARC uses to heat the lodge. THANK YOU to the many faithful, hard-working volunteers who have helped with numerous tasks during the summer months. Your work has been a blessing to the ARC community and you are deeply appreciated. “The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring; these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in hopes of living without doubt, despair and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope and love.” Parker Palmer in A Hidden Wholeness
Corn Zucchini Bake (from the ARC Cookbook) YOU MAY USE YOUR CREDIT CARD AT ARC We strive to keep things simple at ARC but have found there is a great demand for offering the convenience of using credit cards for our guests. ARC is now accepting Visa and MasterCard for retreat fees, purchases, etc.
ARC Cookbook Order Form
ARC NEEDS LIST "joyful...simple...merciful..." |
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