6-Day Intensive Silent Retreat

Journey Into Deeper Silence

Facilitators:
Jody Reis Johnson and Mary Lapham

Starts Friday June 3rd at 4:00 p.m.
Ends Wednesday June 8th at 1:00 pm.

ARC Retreat Community
Stanchfield, MN [map]

Fee: $700 per person, 50% required on registration
(limited partial scholarships are available upon request)
We're currently at capacity for this retreat. Join the wait list and we'll contact you if there are cancellations.
Minnesota Contemplative Outreach Invites you to join us for this 6-day/5-Night intensive silent retreat.

Our retreat will take place at the ARC Retreat Community, whose mission for 50 years has been to "provide time apart for rest and spiritual renewal." To ensure quiet and solitude, we have reserved The Lodge for our exclusive use. In addition to an attentive and experienced staff, we will be upheld in our journey of silence by the restful quiet and sacred beauty of ARC, which is located "on 90 acres of pristine wetlands and woodlands within a majestic white pine forest."

Experienced facilitators Mary Lapham and Jody Reis Johnson will sustain your experience with a regular schedule of community centering prayer, and sacred listening/soul friending sessions. This Post-Intensive Retreat will consist of continuous periods of Centering Prayer throughout the day with breaks for communal meals in silence. Short pauses for entering and leaving the prayer circle will be offered every 30 minutes. Attendees may participate in as many sessions as they feel called to.

We know that demand will exceed capacity for this first intensive retreat hosted by MNCO, but our expectation is to use our experience this June at the ARC Retreat Center as a blueprint for future retreats, and to conduct additional longer-form intensive retreats on an ongoing basis.

The organizers strongly recommend that participants have an established centering prayer practice, and request that all plan to be present for the duration of the retreat.
Questions? Please send an email to Jody & Mary:
mncontemplativeoutreach@gmail.com
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Important details to consider before you register:
  • We will be requiring proof of Covid vaccination for all participants. The ARC Retreat Community follows current CDC/MN Department of Health guidelines (such as for masking) for the hospitality industry. Since these are always changing, we’ll be monitoring these and keeping people informed.
  • There are 3 double rooms available. You’ll have an opportunity to indicate on the website whether you want a single or double room and who the roommate would be. Cost is the same for single or double.
  • Jody and Mary will conduct brief conversations with each participant, at the start and end of the retreat, around their personal intentions for the retreat.
  • Spiritual direction and massage are available through ARC at an additional cost and can be arranged directly through the retreat center.
  • You may cancel up until April 3 and receive a full refund minus a $30 administrative fee. No refunds guaranteed after April 3, though if you must cancel, we will look to fill your spot from the waiting list.
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The Lodge
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Jody Reis Johnson, a longtime practitioner of Centering Prayer, received her commissioning as a Presenter/Facilitator through Contemplative Outreach in 2013 and now teaches contemplative theology and practice. Jody serves on the Volunteer Board of MN Contemplative Outreach.
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Mary Lapham, M. Ed., is a commissioned presenter for both Centering and Welcoming Prayer. She has served the MNCO Board since 2016, is currently on the CO Welcoming Prayer Service team, and the 12-Step Spirituality Team. Mary leads a weekly Welcoming/Centering hour in the Meditation Chapel.