Story by Lois Rogers, Correspondent
For 40 years the Upper Room Spiritual Center in Neptune has been a source of prayer, community and education for faithful in the Trenton Diocese and beyond.
On Oct. 13, those gifts were celebrated with a Mass of Thanksgiving and anniversary gathering on the grounds of the spiritual center located on the campus of Holy Innocents Parish.
There, in the secluded grove just behind the former convent that houses the spiritual center, scores who have found consolation, enlightenment and community in its programs and liturgies over the years reflected on what they have gained from their time at the Upper Room.
“It’s been a light in our lives. From this place, people go out and share the gifts they have learned,” said Frank Coyle, who has attended programs since the Upper Room first opened.
“It’s a safe place, especially for those in middle age, a place for people to heal.”
The center, open to all, is rooted in a contemplative and holistic approach that supports and nourishes the spiritual growth of laity, religious and clergy. Sponsored by the Diocese of Trenton, it serves men and women within and outside the Diocese through on-site and outreach programs.
Mercy Sister Maureen Conroy is among those who founded the Upper Room. Today, along with Mercy Sister Maureen Christensen and Sister of St. Joseph Trudy Ahern, she is one of its co-directors.
In opening remarks before the Mass celebrated by Father Richard Rento, a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese, Sister Maureen Conroy spoke of the loyalty so many expressed for the Upper Room by their very presence at the celebration. People traveled in not only from around the Diocese and state but also from Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Texas and as far away as Australia.
The distrance traveled, she said, spoke volumes on their appreciation for the mission and “many ministries of the Upper Room and how it has served the people of God for the past 40 years.”
She also explained how it was a dream of the Diocese’s Charismatic Renewal team to open a spiritual center.
“The Holy Spirit led us to the old convent in St. Mary, [Middletown,] from where we ministered joyfully for six years,” Sister Maureen said. “It was literally the ‘Upper Room,’ for we rented the second and third floors of the convent. Some of you here were part of the original Upper Room, where we started 40 years ago.”
Before too long, she said, the need for more space became evident. “Outgrowing the second and third floors of the old convent led us to this beautiful space here in Neptune,” she said.
There, for the past 34 years, the Upper Room has been “able to offer many more educational programs, overnight retreats and various creative prayer experiences including walking our beautiful labyrinth that is right outside the tent.”
From its modest beginnings, the center went on to “become a pioneer in many ways,” said Sister Maureen. “We were one of the first places in the country to have a spiritual direction training program. We modeled a team approach of men and women ministering equally together.”
“We have been privileged to be a haven of hope, a center for healing and a beacon of light for thousands of people in a world where there is so much darkness and pain,” she said.
Father Rento, who gives retreats, lectures and days of recollection at the Upper Room, thanked the co-directors for running Room, thanked the co-directors for running it “for such a long time where people are welcome and never turned away and where there is a strong, unyielding faith, even at the worst of times. We celebrate the sense of ministry in this gathering place and hope that [our] days ahead will continue to be blessed by this place.”
Paulette Giraud, a member of Visitation Parish, Brick, who, like Coyle, has been actively involved in the Upper Room for 40 years, finds it to be “a place of renewal and hope.”
“It’s a place that enriches your soul,” Giraud said. “It’s a place that helps us to help people.”