By Mary McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 3/6/03)
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place to just get away; a place to meditate in a rosary garden, spend some time in quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, contemplate the Stations of the Cross or visit a Catholic library?
With the help of the diocesan Capital Campaign such a place will be built.
Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde has designated $5 million of the "Rooted in Faith — Forward in Hope" Campaign for the construction of a diocesan spirituality center.
The center will be designed to serve all members of the diocese; students, adults and priests; families and individuals, for parish and diocesan functions, as well as personal days of reflection or retreats.
The center, planned to accommodate 300 people for days of recollection and smaller groups for overnight retreats, will be more than just a retreat center. Plans also include areas for meditation, a chapel, and possibly a library.
Talk of a spirituality center began three years ago when Bishop Loverde asked Father Michael Taylor to start a subcommittee on a Retreat Center. Father Chris Pollard, parochial vicar at St. Agnes, offered to research the topic and interviewed over 40 people from across the country that direct retreats or use retreat facilities.
Father Pollard found that a wide spectrum of people find the need to take retreats, but not all find retreat planning in the area to be an easy task. Large groups, especially youth groups, find it most difficult to locate a place to "get away" in Northern Virginia.
"There’s something about going to a place, going away, where there’s no noise, going away with God that makes for a powerful encounter with Christ," said Father Pollard.
In the Diocese of Arlington, there are 10 Catholic retreat facilities, but many of these are monasteries or convents and many do not allow large groups, young people or overnight guests. Because of this, most groups have to make use of non-Catholic facilities, or travel outside the diocese to find a center that will accommodate their needs.
"We have enormous retreat needs that are being met by facilities outside the diocese and at non-Catholic centers inside the diocese," said Father Pollard. He added, "[The new center] is going to have a waiting list as soon as it opens. The presence of a retreat center would generate that much more enthusiasm."
The diocese previously operated a retreat center called Bethany House in Front Royal. The popular center was located on a large farm that included three lakes, a stable that was converted into a chapel, a barn renovated into a three-story dormitory, a pool and basketball court, the main house and the caretaker’s house.
The main house was destroyed by fire, and the retreat center was closed in 1987.
The diocese considered reconstruction and renovation, but there were restrictions in Warren County governing the size of the center and how it could be used.
At the start of the diocesan Capital Campaign, Bishop Loverde contacted diocesan priests and asked them to nominate individuals who they felt would be instrumental in the planning process of the spirituality center. In January, the committee of 11 members held their first monthly meeting, led by Kevin Bohli, diocesan director of youth ministry and chair of the Spirituality Center Planning Committee.
At the initial meeting, the group discussed what each individual can lend to the committee, and they set up a timetable of deadlines for necessary tasks.
The committee is composed of lay people with a variety of skills including architecture and design, project management, banking, and people involved with various groups who would make use of the facility, with priests serving as advisers when needed.
Episcopal Vicar for Finance, Father Daniel Maher, said after the first committee meeting, "There is enthusiasm and real dedication that these people have to see a spirituality center emerge."
The committee will survey members of the diocese to see what types of facilities are wanted.
"The real trick is going to be to listen to all these different organizations and come up with something that is going to please the most people," said Bohli. "I want to make sure it’s a place where youth feel welcome, but that it’s useful enough for everyone to use. A lot of people have a lot of opinions and we want everyone to feel they’ve been heard."
The committee is planning to hold discussion sessions in various locations around the diocese to allow people to discuss their opinions. Bohli has also established a discussion board at Yahoo so that people can post their opinions online. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arlintonspiritualitycenter/)
The design of the center will be the most difficult aspect of the planning process. Accommodations need to be made for group retreats, while some people might want to also experience a quiet reflective retreat. Bunk-bed filled, dormitory-style sleeping arrangements might work perfectly for youth retreats, but they would not fit the needs of a marriage encounter weekend. The committee must consider this and attempt to create a center to cater to everyone.
In the coming months, the committee will develop a budget and cost estimates, and examine diocesan property to find a suitable location. Bishop Loverde would prefer to build on land that is already owned by the diocese, but if the need or opportunity arises, he is not against purchasing new property.
The committee plans to present a complete proposal to the bishop by January 2005.
Youth retreats are held at Hunting Ridge Retreat Center in Winchester, Summit Lake in Emmitsburg and the 4-H Center in Front Royal. All of these centers are over an hour and a half away, and none has the benefit of a church with a tabernacle.
"The Eucharist is such a central part of our spirituality. That is what is missing," said Bohli.
"It’s not impossible to have kids experience Christ [without the Eucharist present], but a place for kids to meditate with Christ would be a wonderful benefit," said John Campbell, youth minister at St. Bernadette in Springfield and member of the Spirituality Center Planning Committee. "It would be so much nicer just to be able to have a chapel."
Father Pollard attended a confirmation retreat at Bethany House when he was in the eighth-grade. "For so many kids, myself included, that is the moment where something clicks in their life with God," he said.
Campbell also feels that retreats are an important aspect to youth ministry, but he has had a difficult time finding a retreat center to meet his needs. He often has to call 25 centers before he can find a place to accommodate his kids, and sometimes the waiting list is two years long.
Priest Field Pastoral Center in Kearneysville, W.Va., is probably the closest Catholic center, about two and a half hours away. "It’s no fun to drive that far. A weekend is not long enough for a retreat anyway," Campbell said.
For more information contact Kevin Bohli at 703/841-2559.
Copyright ©2003 Arlington Catholic Herald. All rights reserved.
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