Retreat House Rules

During your stay, you will be provided:

• One private room, single bed, bureau and closet; doors do not lock

• Three meals a day

• Coffee, tea and snacks around the clock

• A common ping pong table

• Four common shared bathrooms and two half baths

• Bed linens, pillow, and towels, one change per week

• One common sitting room with TV and VCR

• One common telephone

• Use of P4C texts and manuals, theoretical materials and issues of Thinking

• Wifi (signal strength varies and is strongest in the library)

• Air conditioning (available in the library  and in each sleeping corridor)

• Individual fans are available for personal use in rooms (first come, first serve basis)

The following will not be provided:

• Transportation to and from the Retreat House must be arranged with Ariel Sykes (organizer) ahead of time if you wish to be picked up from the Morristown train station. Otherwise, participants are to use their personal vehicles or a taxi/uber.

• Private bath or phone

• Maid service

• Athletic or exercise equipment

• Laundry facilities (available in town)

• Computers or other electronic devices such as cords or adapters

• Medical services (we will transport you to urgent care or the hospital, if needed)

There are few rules at St. Margureite’s Retreat House, but they are important.  Most of the rules have to do with efficient housekeeping and the courtesies of communal living, though some are city ordinances and a few have to do with the fact that the Retreat House is on the grounds of a semi-cloistered convent.

The nuns of the Episcopal Convent of St. John the Baptist keep the vow of silence between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.  They ask that we keep our voices very low during these hours, and that if we go outside, we do not talk in front of the house, where the noise would carry across the lawn to the convent.  Also, as this is an intense workshop where people may be studying late into the night.  Therefore, we also ask that you avoid loud noise inside the Retreat House in the late evening. During these hours, if you would like to have conversations, play music, or have small get-togethers, we ask that you do so with continued consideration.

There is no smoking in the Retreat House.  This is a Mendham City ordinance.  You may smoke in the back of the House or on the side patio, but please collect your cigarette butts in an ash can.  Do not throw them on the ground.  Smoking inside the building will cause the fire alarm to sound, and tampering with this alarm system is a felony.  We may bring in wine for dinner, but as there are children sometimes working in the Retreat House, please do not leave any open bottles lying around (keep them in your room.) There is a pub a 20-minute walk down the road (on the left, just before the first traffic light). Illegal drugs are not allowed anywhere on the convent premises. 

You are welcome to use the solarium and adjacent room, the library and the piano room for reading and writing in the time when we are free.  The television and VCR are also for your use.  The refrigerator in the ping-pong room is for your use, but the refrigerator in the dining room is NOT.  The IAPC has brought a number of office supplies to the Retreat House for your use.  These will be kept in the library/conference room.  Please do NOT use any office supplies in the downstairs office, as these belong to the Sisters. 

You may use the telephone in the Retreat House office, but in order to make a long distance call you must use your own calling card or credit card, or make a call collect.  As there is only one telephone line to the Retreat House, please be mindful of others waiting to use the telephone.  The telephone number to the Retreat House is (973) 543-4582. All communication with the convent must be made through an IAPC faculty member. Please do not give the convent telephone number to anyone. 

You may access the internet, e.g. to check email, via the retreat house wireless signal. Should it go down there is public internet access at the Mendham library (turn right at the first traffic light and look to your left, a few buildings down). You may arrange rides into town with IAPC faculty to visit the library, to buy snacks and supplies, do laundry, mail letters, make photocopies, visit the YMCA, etc.   Please do not ask the Sisters about any such matters.

The grounds of the Retreat House are lovely, and you are invited to walk them at your leisure.  Petie the dog, Pony the horse, and Patches the Cat are part of the Sisters’ family.  However, please do not wander near the convent or beyond the lampposts of the houses on the property, as these are private residences.  A tour of the convent will be arranged for those interested.  Also, when walking outside, please keep your feet, legs and arms covered, as the deer ticks in this area may carry Lyme Disease.  You may even see deer wander onto the grounds from the surrounding woods.  You should check your body periodically for red circles or other signs of ticks.  If you think you have a tick, notify a faculty member immediately.

            You will be provided three meals a day at the Retreat House, unless you request to be absent for a meal.  It is very important that we give the cook at least 24 hours notice of the exact number of people who will miss meals.  One person will be responsible to report this to the cook.  For this workshop, that person will be Ariel Sykes (organizer).  Please let her know, well in advance, of any meals you intend to miss.  Please note, however, that there will be no refund for missed meals.  This non-refundability is part of our contract with the Retreat House.

Meal times are: breakfast at 8:00 a.m.; lunch at 1:15 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m.  It is important to the servers that we attend meals promptly.  After your meal, please carry your dining ware to the side table.  There is usually a generous supply of fruits and baked goods left on the table outside the dining room.  Please help yourself to these.  Coffee and tea are available almost around the clock, in the dining room.  Instructions for making coffee are posted there, as well as instructions for the “Adopt a Mug” procedure.  In order to reduce kitchen work, please select a mug from the wall and keep it with you during the day, washing it yourself as necessary.  The coffee pots and dining room lights need to be turned off each night.

            There are no maids at the Retreat House, so it is important that everyone keep the common areas clean, particularly the bathrooms.  Please tidy the bathroom after yourself every time you use it (wipe down the sink, hang floor mats to dry, etc.).  Please DO NOT dispose of sanitary napkins or other products in the toilets, as this causes clogged sewer lines which are very costly to repair.  Please also help us keep the library table uncluttered.  You will find one change of bed linen in your room. At the end of the first week the old linen will be collected in the hallway.  It is your responsibility to change your bedding at this time.  On your last day, bed linen will be collected again; however, you do not need to put new linen on.

            The Sisters sing mass every morning and hold other services.  We are invited to attend, and a program of services and times is provided in your room.

            The Retreat House is located on the border of the 423-acre Schiff Nature Preserve, where there is a system of hiking trails. Click here to view the Preserve map. The Retreat House is located in the white area just north of Franklin Parker Trail on the upper right section of the map. If you walk across the lawn behind the Retreat House you will find a faint path through the woods that joins the White and Red trails indicated on the map. When walking outside, please keep your feet, legs and arms covered or apply insect repellent.