“Nestled among the trees around the foot of the Great North Mountain in the Shenandoah Valley rests the serene community of Orkney Springs. Since the days when the Orkney Spring Hotel was host to 100’s of guests, Orkney Springs has been a place to get away. Since the 1920’s, it has also been a home to a respite of a different sort. Shrine Mont…is a place where people are more important than things, where prayer and reflection, rest and relaxation are more important than appointment and tasks. It’s a place where people give thanks to God for creation.”

This description quoted from the Diocese of Virginia's webpage aptly introduces the too few days that Wayne and I got to spend with members of the St. Thomas’ community and two wonderful guests, together at Shrine Mont. As we all know, the weather this past Memorial Day weekend was glorious, only accenting that God is an amazing artist—sculptor—creator! Matt Cloninger, our devout and faithful retreat leader, set our spiritual stage by focusing our attention on a verse from Isaiah: Cease striving (be still) and know that I am God. And then established as our theme, What does it mean to rest in God, to rest in God’s favor…and what happens (how do we respond) when something goes awry in our lives (what happens to our “favor”?).

Our time together, away from the pace of urban living and the distractions that are particular to each of us, seemed to fall further and further away, the longer we were in the company of one another, while also remaining increasingly aware that God was in the midst of us. The weekend also included ample time for hiking, running, napping, exploring, staring at the night-skies, tasting the bounty of surprises supplied by the master of retreat-goodies, and feasting on the stories of each person present. Let me share just a few of the spiritual desires of your friends in community:

• I wish to deepen my spiritual connections through learning and practicing spiritual disciplines;
• How do I find a way to carve out more and regular quiet time?
• I am glad to have rejoined the St. Thomas’ community—and have committed myself to making an effort to meet new people and become engaged in our spiritual lives together;
• I am really glad I came on the retreat, not really knowing anyone-- I’ve longed for spiritual community for quite a while;
• It was hard to get here…and I’ve made some spiritual progress…I want to make more.

Are any of these longings yours? Do you wish for ‘some of this’ in your life? Let John Dwyer and I know; talk with someone who went on the retreat; share some time with a member of the vestry; tell Dave Kucharski and Wayne Floyd, co-chairs of Education and Formation…and most of all, keep your calendar free for next years parish retreat at Shrine Mont. I can’t wait to be with you!

Love, Nancy Lee+