Gifts shared

Retreatants at Cedar Cross are inspired in a multitude of ways. Sometimes, those ways can be shared with others. So we hope you enjoy the photo, the poem, the reflection of a retreatant, and the video a group on retreat produced. If you have something you’d like to offer from your experience(s) at Cedar Cross, please send it to the coordinator, Jimmy Allen, at cedarcrossregistrar@gmail.com. 

Insight into three days at Cedar Cross

The writer, Charles Hill, is a native of North Carolina who now lives in Hawaii. He came on retreat with a friend this spring.

One

We come to Cedar Cross for
Rest
Reflection
Renewal

Jimmy welcomes us open armed – greetings are spoken and 
the Registrar opens the invisible gates
and whisks us into a place of peace

After a blessing the reason we have travelled so far begins 

Open hearts
Open hands

A whispering wind walks through awakened leaves;
rustling below our feet
fallen leaves stir echoes of seasons past among the new spring purple and lavender and pink and white and red flowers dotting the mossy green worlds among well laid stones – unfettered feet follow a pattern another traveler designed each pilgrim path lined with the journal of a soul.

Two

Cradled in
Heron’s Nest
against star sparkling skies we awake before sunrise on the first morning 

Open hearts
Open hands

fully
Arrived

every breath  
prayer

A flowing brook,
a singing bird,
a turkey calling for a mate

our map.

Three

The third day comes sitting out on a back porch, we are packed and it’s midmorning near leaving time

Reconnected
Remembering
Renewed

Coming away on retreat to see, listen, and hear the good news again

it happens

Together

Open hearts
Open hands.

Worship.

— C Hill 2022 June 6
 

A video from a group on retreat

A group on retreat prepared a video of their weekend and gave us permission to share it with the Cedar Cross community. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLN9ZuCHr6k&t=13s
 

Life at Cedar Cross

News from Cedar Cross

We are constantly looking for ways to foster an environment that makes Cedar Cross Retreat Center more conducive for retreatants to experience rest, reflection, and renewal. 

— One of our larger projects that is underway is a renovation of the Art Studio. In addition to cleaning and painting, we are preparing packets of art materials to help retreatants experience the wonder of creating art. We are also converting the loft of the Art Studio into a library with a comfortable sitting area for retreatants.

— The Japanese Moss Garden near the Village Green is lush and green even in the heat of summer. One retreatant, who lived in Japan for 23 years, posted photos of the garden on her social media account. One of her Far East friends asked if she were back in Japan. 

— We are looking to provide goldfish guppies to good homes. We have about 50 guppies in our goldfish pond, and the size of the pond is adequate to support about 10. So let the coordinator know if you’re interested in guppies. 

—  Clean facilities at Cedar Cross is a high priority for us. We clean between stays of each retreatant. If you live nearby and would like to be one of our cleaners, please contact our coordinator. This is a paid position. 

— We, of course, love trees at Cedar Cross. Being stewards of the forest, though, means that we sometimes have to cut trees. In the photo below, John Hilpert, who was given the initial vision for Cedar Cross, cuts a section of maple that fell during a recent storm. All of the wood cut at Cedar Cross is used on site, either for firewood, land bridges, lining trails, or filling culverts. 

Community Days

Four of the Mission Group members gather around the fire pit behind the Lodge during a Community Day. Once a month, the Mission Group gathers at Cedar Cross for a time of sharing life experiences, spiritual formation, and completing tasks at the 52-acre retreat center. Others are invited to join us for Community Days, which typically begin with an evening meal and conclude mid-afternoon the next day. If you are interested in being part of a Community Day, please contact the coordinator, Jimmy Allen, at cedarcrossregistrar@gmail.com or 919-729-2586. 

A view from the trail