Shrine Mont Parish Retreat

We had a wonderful parish retreat at Shrine Mont. We arrived by 5:30pm on Friday and left today after lunch around 1:30pm. Our retreat leader was Bettina Schuller, who led us in a retreat entitled, "Listening with Contemplative Hearts."

Welcome Back from Sabbatical

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Letter to my Parish in Preparation for my Return

Here is the letter I wrote to my parish in preparation for my return. I wrote this for the September newsletter before I went to Richmond Hill.

Rector’s Message from Sabbatical

Dear Friends and Companions in Ministry,

On Wednesday September 7^th, I will be back! I am really looking forward to getting caught up with you. The celebration of the Holy Eucharist that night and the social time to follow will be our first opportunity to reconnect.

The hope of a sabbatical time is that it will be one of renewal, for the priest and the congregation. From my side, I can assure you that I have been exceptionally blessed and am renewed and excited about our ministry. In all that I have done this summer, God has been very present to me. I hope to be able to share my sense of God’s grace and hear how God has been working with you this summer. I continue to grow in my awareness of the blessing of having Ellen as priest-in-residence and having Bruce as preacher-in-residence. I have been able to rest easy knowing that SPOTH is being well led by Ellen and our vestry members­­ during my sabbatical. I wish to thank Ellen, Bruce, and the vestry, and especially to our senior warden Alisha and junior warden (Labyrinth builder/overseer) Cindy. I also want to thank Kat, our parish secretary, and those who helped with the office and administration. Thanks to everyone for the ways you have supported St. Paul’s on-the-Hill while I have been on sabbatical.

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I spent most of August in New Mexico attending a class and also visiting with my family, father David, step-mother, Zita, sister Miranda, and dogs, Gracie and Sophie. Zita and I attended a class taught by the Jesuit priest John Dear at the Ghost Ranch (a Presbyterian retreat center). John’s class was entitled: “Jesus and the Way of Peace, Hope, and Love.” We had class from 9am to noon and then for an hour and a half in the evening for seven days. John did Bible study with us the entire time, and it was exciting to hear his enthusiasm for Jesus, the Bible, and peace. In the months to come, I look forward to sharing more of his perspective with you during a Rector’s Read or perhaps during adult education on Sunday. In the picture with the Jesus mural, sited next to me are Zita, John, and others in the class. This photo was taken when some of us made a trip from the Ghost Ranch to the Christ in the Desert Monastery. That monastery is really in the desert, far from anything or anyone else.

For my last two weeks of sabbatical, I will be in Richmond seeing my mother, Rosemary, and spending five days at the Richmond Hill retreat center on Church Hill, which overlooks downtown Richmond. The time at Richmond Hill will be a chance for me to review my experiences of the summer and be with God in prayer as I envision reentering to my usual life. When I was first ordained and working at St. Paul’s in Richmond, I would go to Richmond Hill regularly for prayer and worship. They have a Wednesday night Eucharist open to all, which I often attended. By finishing my sabbatical at Richmond Hill, I will be connecting with the very beginning of my ordained ministry even as I reflect on where God has called me to be now.

See you soon!

Faithfully yours,

Hilary+

Last Day of Sabbatical - Week at Richmond Hill

Today was my last day of the sabbatical! I spent it with my dog Maggie, just having some time together after being apart for three months. Last week I was at Richmond Hill, the ecumenical retreat center in Richmond VA. I spent the week reviewing my journals from the summer...praying with what seemed to be speaking to me and preparing to come back to Winchester and parish ministry. It was a very good week. I lived in Richmond after seminary, from May of 2000 to September of 2003, before moving to Winchester. During those first years of ordained ministry, I went to Richmond Hill often for the weekly community Eucharist they hold. Being back there enabled me to reconnect with those first years of ordained ministry as I look to the future. Here are some pictures of Richmond Hill.