A silent directed retreat provides an opportunity for individuals to spend dedicated time with God and is a rich means of being open to God’s grace and love. Unlike a conference or guided retreat, there are not group sessions or daily presentations. Instead, the ‘content’ of the retreat is your own ongoing relationship with God. Individuals meet daily with a spiritual director, whose aim is to collaborate with the work of the Spirit as together you reflect on God’s presence and movement in your life. Spiritual directors may make suggestions related to your conversations (prayer forms, Scripture, reading materials, quotes, questions, wonderings) to support and deepen your experience and awareness of God with you. The rhythm of the day is decided by each individual and may include walks, reading, writing, art-making, mindful movement, liturgy, etc. The Retreat Center affords plenty of places and spaces for prayer, with beauty abounding. We come to directed retreats as individuals and as part of a community of others who are also seeking and listening. This spiritual community joins you in silence, offering support by being prayerfully aware of all the individual journeys, gifts, and needs to which God is attending.
This is a silent retreat. Check-in begins at 4pm on Friday, and the retreat will begin with an orientation session at 5pm. Silence will begin after dinner. The retreat will end after lunch on Thursday. Mass will be available each day. Lodging and meals are included.
Please indicate your preference for a spiritual director in the “Special Needs” part of the online registration form.
Fr. Patrick Bergquist, M.Div., MFA., MATW — after nearly twenty years as a missionary priest along the Yukon River of Northern Alaska — has turned to look into a wilderness far less charted, but far more wondrous — that of the human heart and soul. Now a retired priest of the Missionary Diocese of Northern Alaska, Fairbanks, he spends his time as a spiritual and retreat director. He holds master’s degrees in Divinity, Creative Writing, and Theopoetics, as well as two certificates in spiritual direction, including the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. As a writer, a poet, and a priest, he’s written for publications such as Spiritual Life and America Magazine, as well as authoring a book, The Long Dark Winter’s Night: Reflections of a Priest in a Time of Pain and Privilege. He is currently working on a spiritual memoir called Springtime Beneath the Snows: Confessions of a Priest-Turn-Poet.
Joanne Cahoon, D.Min. holds a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies, master’s degree in Religion/Pastoral Ministry, graduate certificates in spiritual direction and in spirituality studies, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where her specialization was spirituality and practical theology. Along the way, Joanne has taught in elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate school settings. She has also served as youth minister, high school campus minister, consultant, writer, national trainer, diocesan staff member, staff member of a graduate school, spiritual director, facilitator of retreats, and professional coach. Joanne has welcomed and worked with many individuals and groups, serving them as they listen for God’s invitations in their personal and corporate lives. She finds it a privilege to be involved in spiritual and human formation — bringing deep listening, presence, creativity, and a commitment to her own ongoing formation to her work.
Amy Sorensen Kulesa, OFS, M.Div., MSW is a spiritual director, retreat leader and certified Introspective Breathwork™ facilitator. She earned a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Master of Social Work from Rutgers University. She is a graduate of the Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality, the Bon Secours Spiritual Direction Institute, and One Breath Institute. Immersed in both the Bon Secours and Franciscan charisms, Amy enjoys facilitating retreats in which participants have the opportunity to discern the narrative of their own lives within the larger story of God’s abundant healing, grace, and mercy.
Two other directors TBD – please check back soon