Residents of Marshall County and Northwest Indiana in need of a peaceful and natural setting for a retreat or conference should look no further than the Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center in Plymouth, Indiana. As a ministry of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, Lindenwood offers people a place to retreat and participate in a group setting or as an individual to do inner work on pondering, prayer, reflection, journaling, and more. Lindenwood works with church groups and individuals looking to work toward their best selves.
Sue Wilhelm has been the Retreat Development Manager at Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center since March of 2021, but she has been giving back to the community for more than fifteen years. As the Retreat Development Manager, Wilhelm manages three caring sponsored retreats, offering people enriching programs to help clients with their spiritual growth and bring awareness of justice and equity issues so that they can become their best selves.
“Our mission at Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center, as a ministry of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, is to provide an atmosphere of peaceful, quiet, and sacred space in a natural setting. We offer individuals and groups an environment for faith development, personal and spiritual growth, team building, and artistic endeavors. We do this with a welcoming presence for all we serve,” said Wilhelm.
In working to benefit the community, Lindenwood offers many different ongoing events in addition to the regular conference space available.
“Upcoming in the beginning of February, we will have a stillness retreat. We're thinking about folks who are struggling with restlessness and distraction after distraction, especially with COVID-19 and some of the other struggles our society has been experiencing lately. And so, we will talk about what it means to be still, how we take time to breathe, and the practices that can assist us within our stillness,” said Wilhelm.
The Stillness Retreat takes place on February 5 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Lindenwood also offers educational programs.
“Another thing that we have coming in February is the continuation of a series on women who knew God. Thea Bowman is the last one of this series, and she is a wonderful African American Catholic woman. We are going to explore how she urges us forward today. That event will be held on February 11,” said Wilhelm.
The Women Who Knew God series program focusing on Thea Bowman will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on February 11. For those looking for evening programs, Lindenwood offers various programs throughout the day and additional lodging accommodations for those traveling to the retreat and conference center.
“We also have a Couple’s Valentine’s Retreat coming up on February 12 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. That will be an evening of dining, some wine, and a program centered on ways to deepen our relationship with each other and in Christ. For those who want to extend the time to overnight, we have rooms available at our retreat center for overnight guests,” said Wilhelm.
Lindenwood also offers weekend-long retreats, such as the upcoming SoulCollage Weekend from March 4 to 6, 2022. Rev. Dr. Shawn Kafader is the facilitator of the weekend and will teach patrons how to make their own images of their souls.
Wilhelm is proud to be just one of the people making these programs possible, and she reflected on how great Lindenwood and the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ have been as a pillar in the community throughout the Region.
“I like to think of our community as an extending community. It's for the folks that are within a few miles of us, of course, but it's also for those who are willing and are searching for a place to grow spiritually, to grow in their person, and to become their best self. So, we try to offer a variety of things that will help people pause and consider what it is that will help them become their best self. It also encourages people to offer things to the world. Sometimes, folks uncover their gifts that have been dormant or they haven't been thinking about. They come to a program and realize what lights them up to shine on the earth and to offer their gifts to the world,” said Wilhelm.
In the mission to help others find their special gifts, Lindenwood and the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ aim to be an inclusive institution. As a Catholic-based agency, Lindenwood and the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ welcome everyone openly, which includes offering the utilization of space by Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQA friendly community.
“It's important to the Sisters to be open. We can often box people into so many different characteristics, but we can forget that God calls us to love everyone. Jesus said to love your neighbor, and there were no qualifiers. And Jesus said, ‘when you welcome me, when you welcome others, you welcome me.’ So everyone's welcome. We love it when our LGBTQ brothers and sisters join us. We love it when people of different cultures and even different faiths know that they are welcome to use our space so that they can grow to be their best self,” said Wilhelm.
This goal of being a welcoming community and retreat space comes from the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ closely following the teachings of St. Katharina Kasper.
“St. Katharina Kasper was all about responding to the Spirit of God. She paid attention to the movements of the Holy Spirit in her own life. She was a very humble person. She served whoever was in front of her, and so we actually are following in her footsteps very much by our welcoming and our encouragement of people to follow the Spirit's lead. The Holy Spirit moves us to deeper love and greater care for the earth for each other,” said Wilhelm.
The Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center welcomes all and offers many different programs and options for people to continue to better themselves.
“I would encourage people to go to our website to see what other programs and possibilities there are. If they can't do our programs because the dates don't work for them, but they are yearning for a retreat, they can always let us know that they're interested in a personal retreat. They don't have to come and be with a group. We also have retreat packets available for those who want to do a personal retreat but aren't sure where to start. There are several Sisters on the campus who do spiritual direction to help,” said Wilhelm.
For more information on upcoming events at Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center, visit https://lindenwood.org/index.php/programs-retreats/attend-a-retreat/In-Person-Retreats-c69253028.
