“Because we leave that building, it does not mean we leave the grace and blessings of others,” declared Mercy Sister Maureen Christensen, a co-director who had ministered at the Upper Room for three decades. “We bring them with us. God calls us to share the blessings we have received. Be a blessing.”

St. Anselm Church, Tinton Falls, was the site of a Dec. 11 Mass of Thanksgiving to mark the closure of the Upper Room. In addition to Sister Maureen Christensen, co-directors Sister of St. Joseph Trudy Ahern and Mercy Sister Maureen Conroy have shepherded workshop members and retreatants, as well as instructing future spiritual directors at the center during its 45 years of existence.

The spiritual center will close early next year due to a number of factors: the expiration of the building’s lease, the expense of needed structural upgrades and the declining number of retreatants due to COVID-19 restrictions, among other reasons.

Father Robert Kaeding, a retired priest of the Diocese, was the celebrant of the Mass. In his homily, he called the center “a home, a place where hurts were healed.”

"It refreshed us,” Father Kaeding continued. “We gather as a family to celebrate the miracles that happened day after day because of the Upper Room, a home where people were nurtured, where spirit flourished, where people knew they were holy, that they were children of God, that they were whole.”

“How blessed we are to have been part of a spiritual center rooted in God’s love and whose mission is to help people grow closer to God and find God in all things,” said Sister Maureen Conroy during her address to the congregation.

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“Thank God for the privilege of being part of this spiritual community. Thank God for those who have dedicated their lives to leaving an imprint of love, hope, healing and peace wherever they go,” Sister Maureen continued.

Noting it was the Third Sunday of Advent, or Gaudete Sunday, Sister Trudy explained, “We chose this Sunday for our celebration purposely, because we have so much to rejoice and celebrate. Our hearts are filled with gratitude and love. For all of you who have honored us with your trust, we thank you.

“What God has created in our hearts over these past 45 years is a relationship that will endure, and a deep bond that goes beyond walls and boundaries,” she concluded. “Our legacy is to carry it forth and share it with our world.”

The three religious performed a sprinkling rite to share the graces they had received over the years. As they walked throughout the church to bless the congregation with holy water, smiles and tears were intermingled on their faces.

Scores of former retreatants, workshop members, even former staff traveled to bid the three a grateful farewell.

Karen Marcason, a communicant of the Metuchen Diocese’s Our Lady of Peace Parish, North Brunswick, recalled highlights from the more than 25 years of workshops she has attended at the Upper Room.

“Sister Maureen [Conroy] has been a blessing in my life,” Marcason said. “I have felt her warmth, relaxation and love. She exudes peace.”

“I learned about the Upper Room when [Mercy] Sister Rosemary Jeffries [former president of Lakewood’s Georgian Court University] took a number of us on retreat,” remembered Anne Marie Diehl, a member of Sacred Heart Parish, Bay Head, who has attended many more programs at the Upper Room. “That was 19 years ago. I fell in love with the Sisters.”