St. Francis retreat: Divine silence

Divinity student Jorden Johnson, like many others among the faithful, has spent his life talking to God and hoping for an answer.

"A lot of people will say, 'God, speak to me, God speak to me,'" he observed. "Every once in a while it's required to shut up."

A couple of weeks ago, Johnson got some practice at silent listening when he and other students from North Central University in Minneapolis spent a weekend at Pacem in Terris, a Christian retreat center north of St. Francis. He spent two nights and parts of three days alone in a 12-by-16 cabin, without the connection of a cell phone or laptop, and without the distraction of a television or iPod. It truly was just God and him.

"I left very refreshed," he said. "I left with a closer connection to God. You have all day with nobody else around; I got to pray all day and read my Bible and really kind of focus on the messages that God was trying to speak to me there. It was gorgeous to be up there to see what God created and what he wants for my life."

Pacem in Terris founder Shirley Wanchena is celebrating the center's 20th anniversary this year. One of the surprises over the years, she says, is that as the center has expanded (from three hermitages to 19) so has the center's draw to young people. About a third of Pacem's hermits continue to be college students and recent graduates who come looking for God's guidance in their lives.

"These are young people who have been touched by the truth that God has a plan for their lives, and they want to know what it is," Wanchena said. "They have made a choice apart from what society is holding up as a norm. They recognize there is another norm."

Over the 20 years, more than 8,000 people have gone through Pacem in Terris, which means Peace on Earth. The average stay is two nights, but folks have taken retreats of one to 30 days. About half come back for another experience. The center draws mostly from the Twin Cities, but has hosted hermits from all over the world.

During a recent midweek visit, the wooded grounds glistened with new snow. The crisp air was full of a phoebe's song, and the sound of wet snow glopping off the trees. The guests gathered for dinner in the main house; on this night, no students were among them.

One, Rev. Michael Reding, pastor of St. Bartholomew's Church in Wayzata, said he's not surprised that the current generation of faithful -- who often consider themselves "spiritual," not religious -- would seek out a weekend of hermitage at Pacem.

"If they can bear the silence, they can find whatever they're looking for," he said.

After conversing with his professor, Johnson concluded that the adults and the students went into the silence looking for different answers.

"We were looking for things pertinent to what God is calling us to do in life, whereas my professor, he was more just living the right then looking for what God would speak to him that weekend," Johnson said. "For him it was more of a reflection time, to look back and see the things God had done."

But the hours of silence might be easier for generations that have lived without cell phones, iPods and other distractions.

"Especially college students today, they're used to text-messaging and IMing and having three things going on their computer screen at once," said Cassellius, of Minneapolis. "They always say the first 12 hours is really hard. Some of them, in their lives, have never had 12 hours of unstimulated time."

But they leave transformed, she said: "An experience like Pacem can help define what their spiritual journey looks like for many years. It's a moment they can refer back to."

And Wanchena said the students are a joy to have around.

"Their exuberance in the spirit is a blessing," she said. "The excitement that they feel in being here, the joy they feel because it's a special thing, it creates a sense of reverence and joy and if they come for dinner, they bubble over."