'Where Is God?'

Sacred Thread Ministries seeks to help people discover God’s presence in their lives

MORRISTOWN  Most of us have suffered emotional or physical pain so crippling sometime in our lives that it left us feeling hurt, helpless and abandoned and caused us to cry out, asking, “Where is God?” — a question that Trinitarian Father Peter Krebs heard from people on the day of and in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

That very question — “Where is God?” — remained planted firmly in the mind of Father Krebs, former director of the Shrine of St. Joseph, for years after 9/11. Over time, it planted the seed for a new outreach, Sacred Thread Ministries. The ministry offers retreats, missions, individual and group spiritual direction and counseling to help people, who are in pain, feel abandoned and are questioning, feel the loving merciful and healing presence of God. The ministry has been offering these activities in the new retreat center at St. Mary’s Abby here, operated by the Benedictines, and in area parishes and organizations, the priest said.

“Some people have never felt God’s presence or have gone through stress and distress, wondering if God knows about their struggles. It’s natural to ask, ‘Is God really present in my life?’ ” said Father Krebs. Sacred Thread will launch officially with an open house on Sunday, Sept. 12, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the Long Hill Township Senior Center in Gillette. “Sacred Thread believes that ‘it can invite the Spirit to dwell in and through the gifts of those who, as they gather together for nourishment, awake a connection with the creative spirit in the company of other seekers. God’s presence is the ‘sacred thread’ that connects one journeyer to another.’ There are so many vehicles in the Church to help them renew their relationship with God,” said the priest.

Sacred Thread has given several retreats on a variety topics, such as “Why Would God Walk with Me?” and “I Drink from My Saucer Because My Cup Overflows.” It presented a mission at St. Therese Parish, Succasunna, on “God’s presence in life: how to connect with God and keep it going, because we are beloved.” Its missions and retreats include Scripture, reflections, prayer, quiet time and conversation afterward.

Leading these retreats and missions are: Father Krebs, who earned a doctorate in psychology from Seton Hall University, South Orange; Kathleen Detlet, co-director of the Lumen Spiritual Center, Caldwell, and a certified spiritual director who earned a doctorate in ministry from Drew University, Madison; and Sister of Charity Anita Constance, a certified spiritual director, who earned a master’s degree from Fordham University, the Bronx, N.Y.

“After the mission at St. Therese, a man came up to me and told me that he let go of something that he’d been holding onto that was burdening him for years. That encouraged me to keep going with this ministry,” said Father Krebs, who noted that Sacred Thread partners with the parish to develop a spiritual activity best suited to needs of its members. “It’s great for parishioners to hear a witness about forgiveness, for example, from someone they rub shoulders with at church.”

Sacred Thread offers spiritual activities at St. Mary’s Retreat Center but remains a “mobile ministry” that travels wherever it receives requests.

“The three presenters of Sacred Thread’s retreat ministry work so well together. They have new ways of presenting the faith and God,” said Barbara Kakalec of St. Bernard Parish, Mount Hope, who has attended presentations about the Blessed Mother, the Gospels and the environment. “The presenters are very positive. I leave feeling good about myself, God and the people around me,” she said.

Sacred Thread also offers one-on-one and group spiritual direction as part of its counseling and guidance ministry. Its web site, sacredthreadministries.com, describes it as “a comfortable passage for individuals journeying with a trained guide walking by their side, praying, meditating and always lovingly listening.”

Sacred Thread has trained more than 40 spiritual guides through a two-year program of the An Croi [“The Heart” in Gaelic] Spiritual Guidance Institute, created by Carmel Boyle and Geraldine Holton. Father Krebs brought the program over from Ireland, sits on its board of directors in the U.S. and serves as one of the instructors. The program brings together the fields of education, spirituality, theology, psychology and the expressive arts.

“An Croi is contemplative. It teaches us to be attentive listeners and perceive the Spirit,” said Father Krebs, who noted that the program also is ecumenical.

Sacred Thread began to take shape while Father Krebs was making a contemplative sabbatical while residing at St. Mary’s after having stepped down as St. Joseph’s director about five years ago. The name of the ministry comes from a German proverb: “Begin to weave and God will provide the thread.” Around that time, the Benedictines asked him to help expand the retreat center. Future plans include a bereavement ministry, a men’s spirituality group, a retreat on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius and an evening that explores Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Laudato Si’.

“The audiences have been so open and responsive,” Detlet said. “People are coming, seeking not only to know more about God, but also to have a deeper relationship and grow in that relationship. This has been a graced time,” she said.

[Information: (908) 608-3160 or sacredthreadministries.com; or write to 230 Sherman Ave., Berkeley Heights, N.J. 07922.]