Our Weekend at Shrine Mont 2023

Shrine Mont 2023: The Highlights

From  the days when the elegant and historic Orkney Springs Hotel was host to  hundreds of guests from throughout the country who came to take  advantage of the healthful “cold water springs,” the little town of  Orkney Springs, nestled among the trees at the foot of Great North  Mountain in the Shenandoah Valley, has been a place to get away. And  since the 1920s, it has also been home to a respite of a different sort –  Shrine Mont, the conference and retreat center of the Episcopal Diocese  of Virginia.

September 22-24th, pilgrims from St. Stephens joined with neighboring Cople Parish, Westmoreland County, in this “place apart.” We stepped back to a  slower-paced time to give thanks to God for his creation – from the  beauty of the place to the people who gathered to celebrate being part  of the family of God.

Shortly  after arriving on late Friday afternoon, we enjoyed meeting one another  during happy hour and dinner followed by ice breakers and a service of  Compline.

On  Saturday, Pilar and Cople Parish priest, Kristen Farrington, led us  through a lively 3-part “Instructed Eucharist” in which they  explained the parts of the Eucharist service, answered many questions,  and ended with our own more enlightened celebration of the Eucharist.   In between, we had an opportunity to branch out and explore the area.  The rain pre-empted our planned bonfire, but not the continuing  fellowship.

After  breakfast on Sunday, two additional parishes – St. Clement’s Alexandria  and St. Bartholomew’s Richmond – joined us to celebrate Holy Eucharist  at the Shrine of the Transfiguraon, which is the open-air cathedral of  the Diocese that was consecrated in 1925.

And before leaving, Pilar made sure that St. Stephen’s is on the Shrine Mont calendar (September 20-23rd, 2024) for next year. We hope you can join us for Shrine Mont 2024 - either again, or for the first time.