Building a Retreat Center

That is meant to be about me.

You see, we’re trying to start up a retreat center, and after my last post, I proceeded to stretch (and over-extend?) myself for a project at work.  Alas, it is essentially complete, and satisfyingly so.  But I would have liked to avoid any great gap in this blog.

We’ll continue with the chapters of The Overload Syndrome in the near future.  For today, a run-down of developments.

First, we decided that Joliet is out, for reasons which can be discussed if you wish.  So, I expanded our search for land, and found several interesting properties with 2+ acres.  After visiting a few, we were beginning to settle on this one.  We were getting into our due diligence, and if the house was even 10 minutes closer to my job, we probably would have put an offer on it.

It was just far enough (over an hour), and the notion of buying a house then gave way to a second notion:  Why not live and work at an existing retreat center to prepare for our own place?  This has several benefits, including:

- Under the right circumstances, we would not require any kind of salary.

- We can learn through hands-on training, which is probably the most effective method for me.

- The retreat center would benefit from our free/cheap labor.

- We could build up resources toward the development of our own retreat center.

This is much to be preferred, so we’ve begun talking about the retreat center with a wider circle of family and friends.

Just yesterday, my Aunt Mary offered that there are a few monastic communities in the area which might be open to the idea of using their property for a retreat center.  She suggested a couple – one in Olympia Fields, the other in Palos Park – and briefly added that she is in a position of influence concerning one of them.

(This is obviously a vague description on my part, but I don’t want to presume anything, or even emit a whiff of anything like presumption).

The amazing thing to me is that someone like my Aunt Mary would care.  This has nothing to do with her (she’s an exceptionally compassionate and patient woman) and everything to do with my expectations.  I want to believe that there are people who would be interested in helping, but I hardly allow myself to trust it.

Anyway, there are some promising leads, and if/when we start making visits and establishing relationship, I look to be a bit more specific in the telling.

The Overload Syndrome has two parts, and the first part has two chapters.  Those are:  ”Overload and the Reality of Human Limits” and “Blame Progress.”  Today, a brief bit on the first chapter.

Swenson begins with a story by Tolstoy entitled, “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”  The principal character of the story, Pakhom, is told that he can claim as much land as he wishes in a particular region.  The only conditions are that he must physically walk/run the perimeter of the land he wishes to claim, and he must return to his starting point by sunset.

Well, Pakhom dies (spoiler alert!).  He dies of exhaustion, his heart failing after exerting himself all day under the hot sun.  Swenson reflects on the story and asks, what is it that actually killed Pakhom?

This sets up the doctor’s thesis – ambition, physical exertion, want of a place to own, and so on are not bad things, unless they are present in excess.  As he puts it, “Overload is like that.  The problem is not with load. The problem is with over.”

Swenson goes on to discuss human limits.  He points out that accepting limits is not only ok with God, but that God, in fact, designed us with limits.

Consider the four minute mile as an example.  This feat was once, universally, considered impossible.  Now some high school students can accomplish it.  That’s where the author begins testing his reader’s notion of limits.

What do you think about the following:  No one will ever run a mile in under one minute.

Maybe, he notes, “you paused to consider the possibility.”  Immediately he adds that he is not a blanket nay-sayer, and that such consideration before offering an answer is typically wise.  ”But just the fact that we are willing to even consider the possibility of a one-minute mile in itself illustrates the fact that we have a problem truly accepting our limits.”

Is it really a possibility?

Alright, he challenges.  What about a 30 second mile?  5 seconds?  Somewhere, Swenson says, there is a limit.

He also acknowledges and treats the notion that people are different, and some seem not to have as short a limit as others.  To this he says, in a nutshell:  Naturally, there are differences in where the limits lie, but they exist for every single person, without exception.

Notably, he says, Christians in active ministry will fancy themselves as exempt from this rule.  God, somehow, will preserve them from being incapacitated this way.

While there is nothing like complete proof against the idea, Swenson does again offer a challenge to this thinking.

Suppose, he says, you’ve just come home from a 17-hour day.  All of your work was important, all seeming to be necessary.  It’s done.

“Are you done for the day?” the devil’s advocate would ask.  ”Why are you quitting now?  Isn’t there something you could be doing, some good work you could still pursue?”

This would have to be an exasperating series of questions for anyone who takes their ministry seriously.  When would it ever end?

His point is that quitting time is always arbitrary.  You could have stopped working an hour ago, or you could have kept working for another 45 minutes.  No matter how much we work, though, “the job can never be finished.”

“God,” he notes, “does not have to depend on human exhaustion to get His work done.  God is not so desperate for resources to accomplish His purposes that we have to abandon the raising of our children in order to accommodate Him.”

“Quite the contrary, overloading is often what we do when we forget who God is.”

That, for me, is both poignant and a good reason to keep reading.

I complained in an earlier post.  While reading a book by Dr. Richard Swenson entitled Margin, I expressed a desire for more statistics.

Well, Dr. Swenson wrote an earlier book.  The Overload Syndrome has a more statistical underpinning, and for good reason:  TOS is meant to prove that there is a problem, an epidemic even, of overloaded lives in our culture.  Margin articulates the remedy.

Thus, I will begin a series of posts that lay out Swenson’s case in TOS, and after that, get into his remedy.  Stay tuned!

The following is a quote and contextualization from the Facebook profile of an old friend.

“Nothing breeds radicalism more than unhappiness unless it is leisure.”
-John E. Edgerton, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, 1929, on why workers should continue working 40+ hours/week when all the world’s needs could be met in 3 days/week of production.

Interesting, isn’t it?

That subject, as it relates to football, may be metaphorical for me.

In any case, two areas of progress for us:  First, we’ve engaged in a conversation with LaSalle Manor (in particular, Bob and Lori, who run the place) regarding the joys and travails of running a retreat center.  It will certainly be educational, and if that’s all, I’m happy for it.

Two, the best Internet researcher I know is helping us study up.  Ladies and gentlemen:  Chris Pluchar.

Three – BONUS! – I started reading a book called “Margin” by Dr. Richard A. Swenson.  The premise, in my words, is that our age is marked by an epidemic of time, money, and energy overload.  As evidence, how is it that both citizens and governments sustain such incredible debts, and why are so many people so busy, and why do people change locations and careers and spouses so often?

Actually, what I’m saying here is only semi-scientific, and that’s my main trouble with the book so far.  He’s a family physician who left his practice for a more rural setting, in order to establish “margin” in his life, and the life of his family.  Thus, he has time to write a book about it.

What I’m not seeing are any hard statistics to support his thesis.  I think that says something, because I already agree with him, but I’m waiting for data.  There’s plenty of book left, and I know at least one stat is coming, which is part of the reason I bought the book:  Since 1973, despite all kinds of time-saving devices and advances, Americans have 37% less leisure time.  Ought to be the opposite, right?

As I say, though, I already agree with him.  I stated elsewhere on this blog that I struggle with the temptation to busy myself, which eventually comes at my own peril.  To maintain a margin between what I can do and what I am doing leaves space, Swenson argues, to do the things God will call us to do.

That makes sense.  God, after all, invented the Sabbath.

The subject for this one is taken from the name of a group started by a Jesuit to organize retreat centers across America and, presumably, around the world.  I am not able to say what can be done about the Jesuits generally, but in this case the now defunct Retreats International has persisted in fragments.  One such fragment is comprised of Northern Illinois retreat centers, and that’s the meeting I was invited to yesterday (See post from Oct. 30).

Here is the meat:  This was an excellent opportunity for us.  I was blessed with a poignant prayer service, terrific conversation, and a candid look at the nuts and bolts of operating a retreat center.  On top of that, I made contact with directors from six different retreat centers (one of those is now out of operation, but the gentleman is still active in this particular community), each offering information and advice as I may seek it.

What also struck me is that these are people who are passionate about their ministry, and they’re making it work.  Running a retreat center, according to your suspicions, is not a hugely profitable enterprise.  Yet, it is possible to do better than break even.  And the need is growing, even if the demand has plateaued.  (More on this another time).

I don’t suppose I’ve done this directly, here, but something about yesterday’s meeting and my reflection on it compels me to ask for your prayers.  Please pray for our mission, and that we’ll have every gift necessary to see it through.

Many of you will know what I mean by “Plano,” but I must explain for those who don’t.

Plano, IL is a small town west of the western suburbs of Chicago.  There you can find a retreat center called LaSalle Manor, which was established over 50 years ago by the Christian Brothers, a Catholic religious order.

LaSalle Manor is a terrific place.  An enormous log cabin, once privately owned, was converted for the retreat center, and a dormitory and chapel were added on to it.  The place sits on 47 acres of fields, woods, and a pond.  It is simply marvelous for almost any purpose, and I have had the pleasure of being there on retreat 10 times or more.  For more details, visit www.lasallemanor.org

Bob Dressel is the current and long-time director of LaSalle Manor, and he is familiar to the youth group from my home parish.  I sent him a message this week, asking mainly if he would share his wisdom with me as we proceed with our mission.  Secondarily, I asked whether they have any openings on their staff…

Bob wrote back, and wouldn’t you know:  Twice a year, several retreat centers in the area get together to “talk shop,” and the next meeting is this coming week, at LaSalle Manor.  He invited me to come; additionally, he said he would certainly share his thoughts on running a retreat center, anytime.

He addressed my question about a vacancy by saying that it is worth analyzing the prospect carefully before quitting my job, and all of that.  Naturally, I agree with him.

So, there might be quite a bit to say (at least a little something) at the end of the week.

You might begin to think this is just a blog about green building and architecture, but really it’s worse:  It’s just me looking stuff up, and telling you about it.

No, I promise it won’t always be about green building, but this stuff is just so fascinating.  Exhibit B.

Don’t pretend to be uninterested.

This is fascinating stuff.  I kept saying so, under my breath, as I looked through some of the options available…

Check out this “green” cottage, for example.  Energy efficiency meets cozy architecture.

Would you describe your taste as modern?  Here you go.

That’s right, lefties!  You can stack those houses like Legos.  This is a little kid’s dream.

And a grown man’s dream, as it turns out.  The reason I share the links is that these kits present an exciting possibility (and probably point to even more exciting possibilities) for establishing the infrastructure of a green retreat center.

Need dorm space?  How about stackable, arrangeable block-like units that are incredibly energy efficient?  Need living quarters for more permanent staff?  They can build their own cottage with environmentally friendly materials.

BOOM-shock-a-locka!  (Thought I’d finish with a flourish).

Here’s an exercise I’ve shared with Marcy, and perhaps with Adam Fischer once upon a time.  It can be good for clearing your mind and putting the brakes on restlessness.

Find a place where you will not be needed or called upon for anything, for at least two minutes.  Eliminate any foreseeable distraction.

Sit quietly and comfortably, and close your eyes.  Begin to quiet your mind, but don’t worry if you can’t do it completely.  After a moment or two, simply count to 20, slowly and deliberately.

So deliberately, in fact, that you are thinking of nothing at all.  Do not allow a single thought of any kind into your mind.  Since you are sitting comfortably, and there are no distractions, you should have no concern either about your body or the world around you.

If you start thinking of anything other than the counting, patiently push the thought out of your mind, and start over.  If you need a crutch (as I do), you may visualize the number you are counting.  Let your mind’s eye see each number as you count, and go on that way so that no other thought may enter.

You should find, after you’ve successfully completed the 20-count, that you are a little bit refreshed.  Reflect on the fact that everything – your life, the lives of everyone who depends on you, and the whole universe – kept on going without your active participation.  God is the only one for Whom that statement would not be true.

A few notes:  Absolutely be patient with yourself.  I usually have to start over 4 or 5 times.  Also, if you’re visualizing the numbers, you may discover that they appear in very interesting fonts.  Don’t let yourself get carried away thinking about the font!  Simply accept the form of the number as it appears, or definitively select a font so that it will not be a distraction.

Do you have any exercises like this?