“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”
Mark 6:31
Dear Companions on the Lenten Journey,
It is in the quiet spaces that we seek and find God. So much of our faith life as a community is based on gathering for study, worship, and ministry – all wonderful and blessed activity. Lent gives us the opportunity and encouragement to follow the way of Jesus into a particular kind of rest and experience of God’s presence, resting with the source of all our strength for a dedicated time away.
We are blessed with a number of quiet places in or near our diocese: the St. Marguerite House at Community of St. John Baptist in Mendham; Cross Roads Camp and Retreat Center in Port Murray; and the Guest House at Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY. Each offers a unique way to enter God’s presence on our own or with a group.
If you do not have a quiet day or retreat scheduled this Lent, you are invited to find the time. Start by looking for a finite time, whether a few hours, a day, or overnight. Once you find the time and decide on a location, then go. Go and be blessed by what God has for you.
You have my prayers for the rest, strength, wisdom, and joy found in quiet spaces.
Grace and peace,
Bishop Hughes
Add new comment
Our comment policy requires that you use your real first and last names and provide an email address (your email will not be published). The Communications Office of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark reserves the right not to publish comments that are posted anonymously or that we deem do not foster respectful dialogue.