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Friends United Meeting |
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April 1999
Seeking Spiritual Renewal Through Retreats in Nature
By Donna Eder
I first heard of the idea of spiritual retreats from a Quaker friend, Paddy Reid. When I heard him describe his experience at Bethany Spring, a retreat house in Kentucky, his words and the peace in his voice convinced me I should seek my own experience of solitude. Until then I thought such experiences were reserved for monks and nuns. As a new attender at the Bloomington Monthly Meeting, I was not yet familiar with the writings of Thomas Kelly. Years later, I found that Kelly strongly believed spiritual retreats are not just for a select few. Such a practice of inward meditation, of inward worship and listening, is not mere counsel for special religious groups, for small religious orders, for special "interior souls," for monks retired in cloisters. This practice is the heart of religion. (Kelly, p.32)
At Bethany Spring, I found my own time in solitude to be deeply renewing. Rather than feeling lonely or isolated, I felt enriched by having extended time for direct communication with God. While there were many new spiritual books to examine, I found I did not want to read much, only a page or two at a time. I would then spend an hour or more reflecting on the personal message for me in this reading. Likewise, after attending prayers either at Bethany Spring or the nearby Gethsemane monastery, I would take time to consider how God was speaking to me through the words of others. On long walks over the rolling hills and through the cedar and oak forests on the monastery grounds, I was often comforted by feeling the presence of God. In the peacefulness of this setting I found I could better reflect upon my deepest confusions and longings.
On this and subsequent visits I was able to find a place deep within me of peace and centeredness. This amazing peace continued to nourish me even after I returned home. Although my daily life continued to be complex and confusing, this centeredness offered a new sense of clarity to help resolve the competing demands I so often faced.
Two years after first coming to Bethany Spring I found myself in a state of deep confusion and inner turmoil after my mother's death from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). More than ever, I needed time for inward listening to reflect on the many changes that accompanied this powerful experience. During the evening prayers on a particularly important retreat, Danielle, the retreat director, read a story about a woman whose life changed permanently when caring for a patient with ALS. The story spoke so well of how transforming this illness was to a complete stranger. Was it not just as likely to be transforming for a daughter? The next day, I heard Matthew Celty, a Trappist monk, speak of how God has a purpose for everything and for each of us, even when we don't know it. I began to realize that my mother's illness had affected me so profoundly that in order to move ahead in my life, I needed to immerse myself more fully in spiritual work. The next morning I woke up with a strong sense that I should try to develop a retreat house near Bloomington. From this new focus I felt a sense of serenity and peace return to my life.
Upon returning to Bloomington I shared this idea with Janette Shetter, a long time member of the Bloomington Meeting. She then told me that she had had a similar leading for some time and felt that now was the time for us to combine efforts and move ahead. When I asked her how we might prepare now for such a future undertaking, she suggested taking a course on spiritual direction so that people on solitary retreats would have someone to guide them through their retreat experiences. Two days later, she happened to receive a notice for an internship program in spiritual direction at the Beech Grove Benedictine Center. We both took this two-year program and began our work as spiritual directors.
Meanwhile, several other members of our Meeting expressed an interest in the idea of developing a retreat center. Within two years we formed the Mt. Gilead Friends Retreat and purchased 62 acres of beautiful wooded land just east of Bloomington. This land with its stately trees, lively creeks, and abundant wildlife has become an inspiration for us all, reminding us of the contact with God that comes especially from time spent in nature. The mission that unites this group is to provide a sanctuary, rooted in the Quaker tradition, for those who seek spiritual renewal inspired by nature.
Many Christians have written about being inspired by nature. For George Maloney, retreat in nature is a retreat into God's silence: When we can withdraw from our busy, fragmented worlds that pull us into so many directions, filling us with frustrations and anxieties, and enter into God's silence found in all of primeval nature, then we are opening ourselves up to deep healing, (Maloney, p. 19). He goes on to say that when we are in nature we can see God's love and beauty in many different forms. Every aspect of nature is an expression of this love and beauty, so one is surrounded by a sense of God's presence in our lives. In nature, we are also able to observe many forms of life in their essential state of being, making it easier to see our own essential natures, our ability to simply be.
Hildegard of Bingen writes beautifully when she speaks with the voice of God as nature: "I am the rain coming from the dew that causes the grasses to laugh with the joys of life. I call forth tears, the aroma of holy work, I am the yearning for good." (Uhlein, p.31) Nature not only fills us with joy and sorrow, but is a continual reminder of our hope and our faith in the goodness of life. This reminder of our hope and faith is why the renewal that comes from time spent in nature is often so deeply healing and so nourishing for our souls.
It is our hope that more Friends will come to see the benefit of spiritual retreat and that some of them will someday find their way to Mt. Gilead Friends Retreat. At this time, we offer opportunities for day long retreats with or without spiritual direction. We hope soon to begin construction of our first building, one that will serve both as a gathering room and as our first hermitage. We envision other, more secluded hermitages for the future. After a recent visit Elise Boulding wrote to say: "The place already has 'spirit.' I can feel it!" From similar comments of those who come to help us on work days, as well as those who come to spend time quietly waiting in the woods, we are assured that the renewed hope and faith that comes from spending time in a place of natural beauty and serenity lasts long after one departs.
Donna Eder teaches sociology at Indiana University and is a member of the Bloomington Monthly Meeting.
Copyright (c) 1999 Friends United Meeting