In recent years it has become popular to walk the 900 km. route in northern Spain called the Camino de Santiago. It is a pilgrimage, a spiritual journey. In our area of Canada people have sought places where they could do a “retreat” and remove themselves from the hustle of everyday life where they could focus on their lives in God. There are such places as Seton House in Kelowna, Fairhaven near Vernon, Rivendell on Bowen Island, Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo, Sorrento Centre, and Entheos Centre near Calgary. You may have heard of the Benedictine hermitage in Big Sur California. Leonard Cohen stayed there for several years. Some think this is more of a Catholic thing, but it isn’t. I have made retreats at Queenswood in Victoria and Glenairlie near Sooke, both staffed by nuns. These were for several days and were life changing for me. Ten days of silence along with spiritual direction can have a profound effect! Sadly, both of these centres have since been closed, due to lack of visitors. The same is true for the monastery in Snowmass, Colorado, where Thomas Keating lived. He was famously known for his books on Centering Prayer. Then there was Unitas, the Christian meditation centre in Montreal, founded by John Main. Perhaps Anglicans aren’t as accustomed to this approach, but it is available. I am writing about this as a way of introducing the Deep Creek Retreat House, which is located between Salmon Arm, Enderby, and Armstrong. We are a very private location deep in the woods and have been here for years.
Many of us just “go to church” and leave it at that. Isn’t that enough? Indeed, many of us are busy with committees, councils, study groups, and social justice initiatives. Once, we had a small parish retreat here at our retreat house and I noticed one person standing at the window in tears. She said that she had been going to church for 50 years and never knew what it meant to really pray. Another time there was a group of women from Kelowna who saw themselves as serious Christians on a spiritual journey. And that meant to be challenged to change and grow. They were learning to do Centering Prayer, which is a contemplative prayer of silence. It was about developing a spiritual practice.
These days we mostly welcome individuals and many of them want to spend their time up on the hill where the hermitage is located. It is nothing fancy! There is an outhouse, electricity, and a wood stove. It is a few hundred feet from the house. We supply water, and supper, which I bring up to them. I have training from Mercy Center in California as a spiritual director and am available to provide that if requested. It is very quiet and totally private.
People pray, read, journal and in season walk our trails. Some just sit! There is no Internet up there. For some this unplugging can be a new experience. For most it is a time of stepping away and personal restoration.
There are no set fees to come here, and people pay by donation.
Contact info is Tel: 832-2934,
[email protected]
