Rev. Carol Haag--Winter Retreat 2010

The hospitality at Murray Grove was truly magical.

There was a retreat of Metro NY Unitarian Universalist religious educators in January. The group planned its own activities, which centered on retreat and rest and relaxation in the company of new and well-known colleagues. The program was fine. I made new friends among a remarkable group of men and women.

However, the underlying welcome, hospitality, and comfortable surroundings of Murray Grove made it all very special. It was cold and we gathered around a cheery fire in the Lodge. It was dark outside and we were cheered by subtle lights and warm colors. We were tired and slept cozily in comfortable beds. We were hungry and were fed delicious food served attractively and eaten by candle light at round tables where we could talk and listen to each other.

We baked bread in the amazingly efficient and convenient kitchen. We walked the large outdoor labyrinth in meditation. We wandered the path all the way to the bay and marveled at the changing ecological zones. We gazed at the stars in the clear night sky. We visited Thomas Potter’s chapel and grave site and remembered where our roots were.

Murray Grove made this retreat truly magical.

Rev. Carol S. Haag

Princeton, NJ

Rev. Ken Beldon--February 2010 Retreat

I came to Murray Grove for a few days of midweek personal retreat in early February 2010. I arrived as many on retreat do: wanting to disconnect from some things and reconnect to other things. I serve a young, growing congregation that launched a second Sunday service the prior fall and had just recently celebrated its 3rd birthday. I had been too busy for too long not to be on retreat. I know that burnout can come from success as well as failure, and that frequently the former becomes the latter when the inner streams run dry.

I had a simple plan for my time at Murray Grove: nature, silence, prayer, breath, and water. After I checked in with Michael in the office, I kept quiet (except for a brief call home and to order dinner at a local restaurant) for the better part of two days. Murray Grove was mostly empty during the week and the solitude was sweet relief. The voice I heard more than my own was Father Thomas Keating's leading me into and then out of several sessions of the practice of interior silence known as Centering Prayer.

My first night at Murray Grove I had a complete retreat moment. Late in the cold evening I was returning from the dining room to the retreat house along the outside walkway with a cup of hot tea in my hands. Watching the steam from the drink join with the visible exhalation of my breath and draft upward before disappearing, I gazed at the sky above. Murray Grove, far from the light pollution of my home metro area, was covered above by stars in all directions, the kind of view I don't often see. It reminded me of when I was kid at camp and we used to sleep out on the soccer field in August to watch shooting stars. No shooting ones this time. Just still stars. Still and perfect. A peaceful end to the day. Like Ringo sang at the end of The White Album, "Now the moon turns on its light, Good Night, Sleep Tight." I did. Back in my simple, silent room, prayer and then rest.

The next morning I ran through the neighborhoods around Murray Grove, ending my few miles on the walking path down to the bay. Later on I took a five minute drive north to the Berkeley Island County Park (the pics above) to the beautiful, deserted beach, save for a couple dogs and their walkers and three German tourists.

The remainder of my retreat was blessedly much the same: quiet, attention, and rest. I've already talked to my congregational leaders about me scheduling regular midweek intervals of time at Murray Grove for recharging.

One final thing about my time on retreat at Murray Grove. I serve one of the youngest congregations in the UUA. To be received at one of our oldest North American sites was like inheriting a home and finding I was always welcome there. For that, I'm so very grateful.