A camelia bloom on the dining room table in the Lodge.
 

Holy Day greetings
from Cedar Cross

As we near the season of Christmas, we are grateful for the opportunity to provide a place that is conducive for people from various faith traditions to rest, to reflect, and, we hope, to be renewed in their respective journeys. We are also grateful for the people who support this mission, including those who come on retreat, those who make financial gifts, those who volunteer their time, and those who hold Cedar Cross in the light. Our hope is that this season of recognizing afresh that God is with us is meaningful for you all.

A Day Apart returns in January

Cedar Cross is hosting A Day Apart after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The first re-gathering will be Monday, Jan. 23, from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. 

We’ll begin with a brief time of worship, followed by the introduction of quotes from a writer. Then folks have silence until we regather just before lunch for a time to share about their respective experiences, if so led. After lunch, we’ll introduce more quotes before a time of silence. At 2:30, we’ll re-gather to share experiences and close with Communion. 

During the silence, participants are welcome to do as they are led. Some folks find a quiet place — either inside or outside — to reflect on one of the quotes or something else. Some walk the trails, or the labyrinth, or the meditation trail called the Way of Jesus. 

The suggested donation is $20. Please bring a bagged lunch. Drinks will be provided. 

To register, please contact the coordinator, Jimmy Allen, at cedarcrossregistrar@gmail.com. Participation is limited to 16 people.

We are planning to host A Day Apart on the fourth Monday of each month. 

Guests welcome for monthly Community Day

You’re invited to join with the Mission Group of Cedar Cross to help nurture the land and facilities as well as grow in our faith and relationships. Our next gathering for Community Day will be Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 23-24. The expectation is that we’ll gather on the fourth Monday-Tuesday of each month. 

Community Day begins with a meal on Monday at 5 p.m. This is followed by a time of spiritual formation/community building and then night prayers. 

The next day, we begin with breakfast, followed by morning prayers and then tasks that have been identified. We typically have various projects and want participants to serve in a way that is life-giving for them. We conclude at 3 p.m. 

We don’t ask for a donation to participate. We do, though, seek volunteers to provide or help provide one of the three meals. 

For more information, please contact the coordinator, Jimmy Allen, at cedarcrossregistrar@gmail.com.  
 

Retreatant releases book
Larry C. Williams, a regular retreatant at Cedar Cross, has compiled and edited a book of meditations from the writings of Samuel H. Miller. Part of the birthing of this book took place at Cedar Cross. 

Samuel Miller was a minister of the Old Cambridge Baptist Church for 25 years before becoming the dean of Harvard Divinity School. He served as dean until his death in 1968. Larry writes: “Sam Miller was not a saint in the usual sense. … He knew the right names for things and people involved in the monstrous evils of depression and war, as well as ordinary indignities of daily existence. He often spoke of his own ’embarrassments’ before the Lord, and in his prayers assumed that others shared this experience, which made some nice people quite uncomfortable!”

Larry lives in Louisburg with his wife, Zelma. Before compiling and editing this book, he served two congregations in North Carolina as pastor, directed The Pastor as Spiritual Guide program, and served as the campus minister at Meredith College in Raleigh.

Here is an excerpt, selected by Larry, of some of Samuel Miller’s writing: 
 

The growth of the soul depends on letting your soul speak for itself. Some souls hold conversation with God in music, and some in the sowing of seed, and others in the smell of sawed wood, and still others in the affectionate understanding of their friends. All souls are not alike. Utter your own prayer, in the language of your own joy. Repent of your own sin and let your lament be your own sorrow and not another’s. When you worship, thank God for whatever has given you joy, though it be so slight that no other soul would think it worthy of mention. Let your own insights sing their praise of creation, and your own handiwork adore the Invisible Creator. Quit dressing your soul in somebody else’s piety. Your soul is not a pauper. Let it live its own life. Truth is just as necessary for the life of the soul as faith and humility, and truth is not merely the final and authoritative statement of the universe’s wide design or life’s deepest meaning — no, truth is the soul being itself.

If then you have begun to build, remember that beginning is not enough. Take upon yourself the disciplines of growth: live freely and in faith; keep your eyes alert and your soul humble that you may not miss the visit of the eternal in your neighborhood of circumstance and experience. Most of all, untie your soul, give it room to breathe, let it play, do not be ashamed of it. It is the child of the eternal and destined for greater things than you dream.

Local art

The full-size bed in the Sunrise Suite of the Lodge now has a hand-made quilt that is a gift from Donna Pernell. This is one of the several quilts Donna has made for Cedar Cross. Above the headboard is a piece of art made by the late Margaret Hilpert. 

CPA, cleaners sought for Cedar Cross

We are looking for you — the community of people who know and love Cedar Cross — to help us in a couple areas.

One, we are looking for a certified public accountant to guide us in making decisions about the financial strength of the retreat center. If you know someone to recommend to us, please let the coordinator, Jimmy Allen, know at cedarcrossregistrar.com. 

Two, we are looking for help in cleaning the facilities after each person’s retreat. This is a paid position with a somewhat flexible schedule. If you are local and know someone, please contact the coordinator.

Thank you for being part of the Cedar Cross community.

A view from the trail

(We are reprinting the letter we sent in November in case anyone missed it. Once a year, we ask for financial support to help us provide a place for rest, reflection, and renewal.) 

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Retreatants,
 
Our hope for you is that you have weathered this storm of COVID change without too many losses, or that the changes and losses have not been overwhelming. We are grateful to have met our expenses due to the steady stream of individuals coming on retreat with a prayer to “restore my soul.” We are grateful to provide, with your help, this forested sanctuary for all those precious souls.
 
From a friend: “As one who has retreated here often over the years, Cedar Cross has become a ‘spiritual home.’ Perhaps you can resonate with that sense:  the trees, birds, rocks, and moss welcome you; there is a palpable, reciprocal love calling you home, home to your senses, home to your deep soul’s longing for that vast realm within, yet reflected and amplified without. We see and hear from the vast yet tender terrain of the heart.”
 
Our co-founder Margaret Hilpert’s dear, limited form is no longer with us, and we miss her. But her presence is everywhere, continuing to pervade all that we do, and all that Cedar Cross has been, is, and will be. She and John began taking steps to ensure the longevity of Cedar Cross before her death, and our intention is to remain faithful in providing this special place of rest, reflection, and renewal as long as the call continues.
 
In honor of Margaret’s creative legacy, we have dedicated time this year to cleaning, sorting, re-designing, painting, and re-envisioning the art studio, as well as creating a library/writing space in the former Garden Loft. Our hope is that the Studio and Library Loft will be a place of creativity and reflection that enriches our offerings here as we carry forward the lessons we learned from Margaret about spiritual formation through creative expression and study. We are grateful for all the gifts in memory of Margaret that we received last year.
 
We consider you a vital community of prayerful support and encouragement. We rely on you in those ways and financially as well. We ask for and appreciate your financial support.
 
Every season has its own beauty. Spirit is transforming lives here. We thank you for helping us create space for that transformation to happen.
 
Cedar Cross Mission Group
John Hilpert, Mac Hulslander, Vickie Grove,
Ginger Allen, Butch Grove, Julie Purcell, Jimmy Allen

A message from Cedar Cross

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Retreatants,
 
Our hope for you is that you have weathered this storm of COVID change without too many losses, or that the changes and losses have not been overwhelming. We are grateful to have met our expenses due to the steady stream of individuals coming on retreat with a prayer to “restore my soul.” We are grateful to provide, with your help, this forested sanctuary for all those precious souls.
 
From a friend: “As one who has retreated here often over the years, Cedar Cross has become a ‘spiritual home.’ Perhaps you can resonate with that sense:  the trees, birds, rocks, and moss welcome you; there is a palpable, reciprocal love calling you home, home to your senses, home to your deep soul’s longing for that vast realm within, yet reflected and amplified without. We see and hear from the vast yet tender terrain of the heart.”
 
Our co-founder Margaret Hilpert’s dear, limited form is no longer with us, and we miss her. But her presence is everywhere, continuing to pervade all that we do, and all that Cedar Cross has been, is, and will be. She and John began taking steps to ensure the longevity of Cedar Cross before her death, and our intention is to remain faithful in providing this special place of rest, reflection, and renewal as long as the call continues.
 
In honor of Margaret’s creative legacy, we have dedicated time this year to cleaning, sorting, re-designing, painting, and re-envisioning the art studio, as well as creating a library/writing space in the former Garden Loft. Our hope is that the Studio and Library Loft will be a place of creativity and reflection that enriches our offerings here as we carry forward the lessons we learned from Margaret about spiritual formation through creative expression and study. We are grateful for all the gifts in memory of Margaret that we received last year.
 
We consider you a vital community of prayerful support and encouragement. We rely on you in those ways and financially as well. We ask for and appreciate your financial support.
 
Every season has its own beauty. Spirit is transforming lives here. We thank you for helping us create space for that transformation to happen.
 
Cedar Cross Mission Group
John Hilpert, Mac Hulslander, Vickie Grove,
Ginger Allen, Butch Grove, Julie Purcell, Jimmy Allen

(Those of you on our mailing list will also receive a copy of this letter in the mail. If anyone wants to be on our mailing list, please let us know. Send an email to cedarcrossregistrar@gmail.com.)

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