[Jesus] said to them, "Come with me by yourselves  

to a quiet place and get some rest." 

 —Mark 6:31 

Seeking Respite at Wesley Gardens Retreat on Moon River 

In 1962, Savannah's Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church (see PFS-24) happily accepted the gift of a 130-acre property overlooking Moon River from Mrs. Samuel P. Rotan. On the property is a sign dedicated to and thanking Mrs. Rotan, "whose generous heart and noble impulse found expression in the gift of this property to Wesley Monumental Methodist Church, to be set apart to the glory of God and to the service of mankind." 

A friend told me about this place, and I found it magical in its quiet and solitude. As I approach the completion of my Postcards from Savannah project, I've needed an invitation to retreat from the world to find a place for rest. I could imagine no better spot than here, on the water's edge of Savannah. 

In 1735, when John Wesley had lived out only one-third of his long, fruitful life, he traveled with his brother Charles at the request of James Oglethorpe to become the Anglican minister of the Savannah parish (see PFS-57). Things didn't work out in Georgia as Wesley hoped, but his return to the 'old world' helped reset it anew. 

Wesley and the ‘Methodists’ he led faced challenges and were treated by various religious authorities as social threats. But Methodism would continue to expand due to lay preachers selected within the local communities they served. Indeed, was also essential that women played an active role in Methodism. 

John Wesley left Savannah before slavery became officially adopted in Georgia. Still, his life coincided with the height of the British transatlantic slave trade. In 1774, he contributed a polemical pamphlet to the growing abolitionist movement in England entitled: Thoughts on Slavery. By 1807, Britain abolished the slave trade. The same year, an Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves passed the US Congress, and President Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, signed it. Unfortunately, it would take another fifty-seven years before the Civil War would bring slavery to its ultimate end here in the United States. 

Perhaps using this property to contemplate the controversies of the day was in Mrs. Rotan's mind at the time of her gift to the Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church. I have understood that we lose our way because we do not rest. Most of us have experienced the exhaustion of being perpetually plugged in and further encountered the strain of juggling too many balls at the same time. 

Yet, we know there is an empty chair somewhere with our name on it. A comfortable place to sit down and reassess the busyness of our daily activities, perhaps, to finally recognize that too often we keep ourselves busy doing the same habitual things, thereby ignoring critical matters left aside. 

We often live out of an inflated sense of 'ought' or 'should,' confusing the expansive boundaries of our moral responsibilities, sometimes even finding it difficult to receive assistance when we need it most. More often than not, we forget we're merely human, like every person we know, carrying the unhealed wounds and unresolved sadness and loss from the past, and in need of respite and renewal. 

I was thinking on such matters as I painted this empty chair looking out over Moon River, a body of water renamed some years back to honor the favorite son of Savannah, songwriter Johnny Mercer. I was imagining my return to the Wesley Gardens Retreat to plant myself in that chair for no particular reason other than to watch the sea birds fly by and the wind stirring endless waves in the water.  

It certainly is an enchanting thought — and I've set a reminder on my iPhone to follow through on it. My friend did me a kindness by introducing me to this fabulous retreat. Now, it’s up to me to return, to become quiet, and to find time for rest.