A different opportunity to witness others grow in their relationship with the Lord and his Church has come to Father David Huemmer in his position of spiritual director/chaplain of the St. Joseph Retreat and Conference Center.
“The retreat center is a unique opportunity to really come and experience the peace of Jesus by taking time away to really listen to the Lord,” he says, as he invites guests to the spacious buildings and peaceful grounds outside of Tipton.
“The experience of silence as well as the atmosphere that the retreat center provides for it” is the most exciting part of the completed center to him.
“My prayer for the retreat center is that it is a place where one can come and rest for a while and be nourished by encountering Jesus in the scriptures, prayer, the sacraments, silence, and the beauty of the Lord surrounding them,” he says.
Father Huemmer’s own experiences in prayer, in the love of the Lord, and in the continuing evolution of his vocation and education will help guide his new ministry.
After receiving his associate degree in business management from Greenville Technical College and his bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, he spent 14 years teaching fifth grade at Harrison Elementary School in Warsaw, Ind., while discerning a religious vocation.
A professed Secular Franciscan in the Lady Clare Fraternity in Kokomo since 2002, his continuing discernment led to attending seminary at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass. Ordained to the priesthood in 2010, Father Huemmer has had parish assignments at St. Joan of Arc and St. Patrick in Kokomo and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Carmel. He became Chaplain & Spiritual Director of the Saint Joseph Retreat & Conference Center September 1, 2017.
He earned a certificate of teaching prayer from the three-year Spiritual Direction Training Program given by the Institutes of Priestly Formation in 2018. In 2018, he also attended a 30-day silent retreat to prepare to lead silent retreats.
Father Huemmer says he hopes his time at the St. Joseph center will help “others grow in their relationship with the Lord and his Church; to really come to understand how deeply each person is loved by our heavenly Father; and to live out of that experience of being loved and extending it to others in daily life.”
He presents retreat topics like silent retreats, “lectio divina” and praying in nature with Scripture. Guests are also welcome to come to the center in groups with their own leaders or on individual retreats.
“Spending time in the peaceful grounds experiencing the wonders of God’s creation or making a private retreat in one of the houses of prayer can revive a weary soul,” Father Huemmer says.
He invites all to “stop by for a visit, or schedule a retreat to come away and rest for a while with the Lord!”