A message from Cedar Cross

 Dear Friends and Supporters,
  
As the seasons turn, we are ever reminded by the forested sanctuary here that our mission is to provide a place for rest, reflection, and renewal along the journey, with all the chapters that come. As always, we appreciate your financial and prayer support.

Our retreatant numbers are up (524) compared to last year at this point (336). More importantly, retreatants’ qualitative experiences seem to be deepening, especially for individual retreatants. A wide range of groups are also returning to Cedar Cross following the decline of those retreats during the pandemic.

The Cedar Cross Mission Group remains organizationally light, relying on bottom-up energy rather than top-down structure. New initiatives among us this year include John Hilpert responding to opportunities to listen and offer support for small emerging communities of faith; the revamping of the studio space and establishment of a library in the studio loft; improving our systems for scheduling cleanings between retreats; and scheduling our own visioning retreat for the mission group to imagine, covenant, and plan for the future.

We welcomed three new members this year – Julie Purcell Hilpert, Jane Williams, and Dustin Williams. Their arrival is a much-needed answer to prayer as they bring new ideas, questions, perspectives, and energy. We are continuing our practice of monthly Community Days when we share 24 hours together to accomplish various indoor/outdoor tasks as well as share meals and prayers. You are always welcome to join us for these times to connect tangibly with Cedar Cross.

Financially, including donations from retreatants and your ongoing contributions, we continue to break even. This is very rare since most retreat centers get large denomination grants and are still closing or struggling to stay afloat. We have received a few larger donations, such as those following the death of  co-founder Margaret Hilpert (and her presence is still felt by us all). These were dedicated to a capital fund that will be used to cover major expenses such as replacing aging roofs and HVAC units. Because the capital fund allows the ministry to cover major infrastructure needs, your donations can be focused on providing and enhancing our operational needs in providing a simple retreat space set in the beauty of nature. We will also be reviewing our suggested donation rate for retreatants, and there likely will be a modest adjustment to cover increased costs.

We are clear that we are meeting an essential purpose of revitalizing faithful journeys. As a Mission Group, we continue to allow our work to reveal God in our midst, and what we are to do next. We are deeply honored that you are part of this journey, ask for your continued support, and hope you will allow this space to enrich your journeys and ministries.
 
Gratefully,

John, Julie, Butch, Vickie, Jimmy, Ginger, Mac, Dustin, Jane

(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.)

On the journey … 

A patient and determined Eastern Box Turtle makes a way toward the Lodge this summer before heading to the surrounding woodlands. Box turtles are a familiar site at Cedar Cross, finding the woodlands, creeks and ponds much to their liking. Box turtles like this one can live to be 100 years old. 

Cedar Cross to host
survivors of atom bomb

From November 7-11, an eleven-member delegation of Japanese survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 will be hosted by Cedar Cross in what is being called a Hope and Healing Tour. 

The delegation will be visiting the Triangle area (prior to going to Chicago and Portland, OR), speaking at several regional schools and churches.  Their visit is in connection with efforts to support this fall’s UN Conference for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  (The treaty is presently signed by 92 countries, not including the U.S.).

The delegation is multi-generational and lead by Dr. Masao Tomonaga, head of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital and a personal friend of Cedar Cross Mission Group member, Mac Hulslander, stemming from Mac’s years of missionary service there (1960-64).

Cedar Cross will provide some meals, room and travel assistance as a way of showing support for this significant effort on behalf of world peace.  Readers are invited to help defray our costs. Checks can be made out to “Covenant Community Church” earmarked for the “H and H Tour” c/o Mac Hulslander, 2830 Barmettler St., Raleigh, NC 27607.

A public presentation by the delegation will be held at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 8th at Highland United Methodist Church. The church’s building is located on Ridge Road at Lake Boone Trail in Raleigh. Please join us and invite others for this one time event.
 

Gathering for A Day Apart on Sept. 25

The next gathering for A Day Apart will be on Monday, Sept. 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

We’ll begin with a brief time of worship, followed by the introduction of quotes from Parker Palmer’s book The Hidden Wholeness. Then folks will have an extended time of quiet reflection until we regather just before lunch for a time to share about respective experiences, if so led. After lunch, we’ll introduce more quotes before a second time of silence. At 2:30, we’ll re-gather to share experiences and close with Communion. 

During the time for silent reflection, 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 do 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. Tea and coffee will be provided. 

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

A view from the trail

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 enhance our personal and relational journeys. Our next gathering for Community Day will be Monday-Tuesday, September 24-25. 

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 invite 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.  
 

A branch along the New Field trail at Cedar Cross Retreat Center provides a habitat for moss and henbit, which is a source of nectar and pollen for honeybees, and the leaves, stem, and flowers are edible, according to N.C. State University’s Extension Service. Science has identified the immune boosting effects of phytoncides or essential oils releases by various plants.
 

A Walk in the Woods
… or Forest Bathing?

 
By Mac Hulslander
 
By now most Journeys readers have at least heard the term, “forest bathing.” When I was younger we spoke of taking a walk (or hike) in the woods, but what is this “forest bathing” bit? Well, I’m learning.
 
The term was coined in 1982 by a Mr. Akiyama (whose name means autumn mountain) in Japan where forest bathing is called shinrin yoku. And, like so many Japanese kanji (characters), the kanji that make up the term convey a depth to the meaning. In this case, shin is for forest (a character of three trees); rin is depicted by two trees, side-by-side, conveying the interconnectedness of the forest; and yoku connotes the wellbeing of being surrounded by abundance.
 
The best definition of forest bathing I have come across is “the practice of intentionally connecting to Nature as a way to heal.” Forest bathing “connects to re-connect” one to the nature of our very being as creatures sharing the awe, beauty, and mystery of Creation. We are not apart from Nature but one with it and, as such, forest bathing is a remedy for psychoterratica, or the mental state of being disconnected from the natural world.
 
There are immune boosting effects from forest bathing, thanks to phytoncides or essential oils exuded by various plants. Without going further into all the current science behind forest bathing, I am simply inviting you to consider its potential benefits as you come on retreat at Cedar Cross. Please consider forest bathing as a means to further your own wellbeing – spiritually, physically, and psychologically – and as a way to disconnect from the technological world that presently seems to invade so much of our psyches and spirits.
 
To go deeper into forest bathing, its preparation and practice, I recommend The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing by Julia Plevin. Happy Bathing!

Planting for the future

Gathering for A Day Apart on June 26

The next gathering for A Day Apart will be on Monday, June 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

We’ll begin with a brief time of worship, followed by the introduction of quotes from Rose Mary Dougherty’s book, Discernment: A Path to Spiritual Awakening. Then folks have an extended time of quiet reflection until we regather just before lunch for a time to share about respective experiences, if so led. After lunch, we’ll introduce more quotes before a second time of silence. At 2:30, we’ll re-gather to share experiences and close with Communion. 

During the time for silence reflection, 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.

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 enhance our personal and relational journeys. Our next gathering for Community Day will be Monday-Tuesday, June 26-27. 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 invite 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.  
 

A view from the trail