THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 43, NO. 2 | JULY 16, 2021
CHRIST’S PEACE ‘IT’S WAITING FOR THEM’ STORY BY MOIRA CULLINGS
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LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
This new shrine featuring St. Joseph and the baby Jesus is nestled amid a copse of trees at Christ’s Peace House of Prayer in Easton. ASTON — It’s a brief walk along a gravel path to the new shrine of St. Joseph at Christ’s Peace House of Prayer here. A statue of the saint holding the baby Jesus stands among a copse of trees that casts shade over a sweeping meadow. The respite it provides from the summer sun is much like the retreat house itself — an oasis away from the chaos of everyday life. “For 50 years, we’ve been here, and people have been praying on these grounds,” said Marie Baranko, director of operations. “It’s a holy place. “It’s here for the parishioners of the archdiocese to come and encounter Christ. It’s a place of beauty. It’s waiting for them.”
A place of nourishment
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Vince Eimer, director of Christ’s Peace House of Prayer, addresses a retreat group. Eimer converted Christ’s Peace from an interfaith house to one with a fully Catholic identity in 2011.
Christ’s Peace spans 120 acres of rolling hills and woodland, and in recent years, it’s renovated and expanded its offerings. The late Father Ed Hays created Christ’s Peace, originally called Shantivanam (the Forest of Peace), under the instruction of Archbishop Ignatius J. Strecker, said Vince Eimer, director. “Father Ed said when he first came to this place, he could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in a very strong way,” said Eimer. “He felt the Holy Spirit was powerfully alive here.” It was 50 years ago that the property was purchased, Eimer explained, but Christ’s Peace will celebrate its golden anniversary in 2023 to honor the year its chapel was dedicated. “That’s the heart of this place,” said Eimer. “The whole place is coming [together] because of that heart.” Eimer, who in 2011 converted Christ’s Peace
from an interfaith house to one with a fully Catholic identity, attributes the addition of eucharistic adoration to its continuous growth. Once that was added, he said, everything else started to fall into place. Most recently, the landscaping was beautified, outdoor Stations of the Cross were set up, gravel paths were laid to the guest cabins and the St. Joseph shrine, funded by a board member and her husband, was added. Office spaces were transformed into guest rooms to create space for more guests — especially small groups — to visit Christ’s Peace. Baranko and Eimer hope the renovations will offer an even more accommodating experience for their guests. “Because it’ll be so well-kept and because there will be various spaces, like outdoor shrines they can go to, they’ll find this a place that nourishes their interior lives,” said Eimer. “Not only do they get away and rest from the busyness of life,” he added, “but here they find rest centered [in] Christ, and here they find him, so they can discover his peace.”
A mover and a shaker Baranko’s input has been critical to the retreat house’s continued development, said Eimer. “God sent St. Joseph in female form,” he said with a smile. Baranko started four years ago, and her background in construction management guides her vision. “That’s what my eyes see — facilities and improvements that need to get made,” she said. “Having that background gives me the knowledge base to get those kinds of things done.” >> See “RETREAT” on page 2