Mennonite Weekly Review

THREE RIVERS, Mich. — Ron Kennel needed a place to slow down. The now-retired Mennonite pastor found that refuge at The Hermitage in the southwestern Michigan woods.

From left, David and Naomi Wenger, co-directors of The Hermitage in Three Rivers, Mich., enjoy the retreat center’s 25th anniversary celebration Aug. 6-8 with founders Gene and Mary Herr of Newton, Kan. — Photo by Laurie Oswald Robinson

“I had a history of depression, and after that I was hospitalized for heart problems,” said Kennel, now a member of College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind. “I knew it was time to take another direction. I came to The Hermitage with nothing but my Bible, my pen and my journal. I had to separate myself away from work and agendas.”

Kennel and about 75 other people came for a celebration Aug. 6-8 to honor the 25th anniversary of The Hermitage. In 1985, Gene and Mary Herr, now of Newton, Kan., founded and co-directed the retreat center in a time when taking time away from daily concerns for silence and prayer was less common among Anabaptists.

“It taught me to observe Sabbath,” Kennel said. “In spiritual direction, Gene gave me his full attention and blessed me with God’s affirmation. I was a pastor and a shepherd, but I needed a pastor and a shepherd.”

The retreat center is run by staff, volunteers and a board, and is loosely affiliated with Indiana-Michigan Conference of Mennonite Church USA. It has drawn people from many faith traditions and from around the world to the 65-acre site 45 minutes north of the Goshen-Elkhart area.

Board members hosted the weekend along with co-directors David and Naomi Wenger and anniversary committee co-chairs Willard and Alice Roth. The celebration offered morning and evening prayer each day, and a silent retreat directed by Eric Haarer, who grew up Mennonite and is now a Carmelite monk and priest.

The celebration also included work sessions for making jam, bread and signs, as well as memory-sharing sessions.

Anniversary participants testified to the transforming power of The Hermitage. Spiritual formation is fostered by focusing on Scripture, honoring silence, engaging with nature, sharing experiences and companionship.

“When my husband, Tom, and I were having problems 18 years ago, a marriage counselor suggested we come here,” said Deborah Johnson Wood, a Catholic writer in Grand Rapids. “I was unsure of my direction in life, unsure of our marriage, and unsure of the church… . After spending time in silence and in nature and in community prayer, we grew individually in Christ and grew in our marriage. God did a miracle.”

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