The Secret Garden

One of my favorite children’s books is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I remember my mom reading it to me as a child and my daughter and I have read it together multiple times.

Set in England at the turn of the century, a young girl goes to live with her uncle in England’s Yorkshire moors after the death of her parents. With the help of a robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a moving journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health and happiness.

Many of us find the natural world to be a place of restoration and renewal. Our souls yearn for a sanctuary of peace in the midst of all that is overwhelming in our lives. This year, our St. Barnabas women will once again return to Transfiguration Spirituality Center, to experience the peace and beauty that are found there. We will reflect on how we might discover and cultivate our own inner “secret gardens” so we can bring healing in our lives, our families, and communities. We will enter into the natural world to cultivate mindfulness and experience the presence of God in the beauty of creation.

We will be joined by Dr. Mattie Decker, an oblate of the Community of the Transfiguration who lives on the Sister’s property in Bat Cave, N.C. She is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide. Mattie is also a mindfulness teacher, a Zen practitioner, a faithful Episcopalian, and a retired professor of education. Mattie likes to share this saying from her forest bathing mentors: “The forest is the therapist. The guide opens the door.” Mattie will be our guide for this retreat.

As always, we will also have time for rest, conversation with friends, creativity, and shared prayer and reflection. We hope you can join us for this special annual retreat!

Register below by February 25th to reserve your spot.

“For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:12