Our Mission

Among the cathedral of trees, we offer a sacred space to slow down, listen deeply, and tune into God’s presence so that one may enter more fully into divine life and return to the tasks of this world with renewed energy, clarity, and hope.  

We accomplish this mission through: 

  • Regular opportunities for prayer, silence, and sharing 

  • Intentional programming

  • Practicing hospitality

  • Nurturing relationships throughout our community 

  • Caring for the beauty of creation

Our Values

CONTEMPLATION

Allow this sacred place to hold and invite you into experiencing God’s presence.

COMMUNITY

Connection with others strengthens our resilience and understanding of the world.

CREATION CARE

Find respite in nature and be inspired to steward the earth that nurtures us.

We welcome all people, regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social or economic class, nationality or citizenship. We honor the land, the trees, the water and the creatures that live here as sacred. We honor the ancestors who walked these woods before us. We hold gratitude for Jacqueline Harris, who entrusted care of this land to St. Philip’s Episcopal Church.

In Memoriam

Dr. Jaqueline Harris

October 8, 1922  – February 21, 2019

Jacqueline Cato Hijmans Harris was a poet, patriot, doctor, humanitarian, animal lover, nature preserver. 

Jacqueline was born in Java, Indonesia to Dutch parents on October 8, 1922. She was a small fragile child who was often sick, causing her to get behind in her schooling. Her family returned to Holland in the early 1930s and survived the Nazi occupation of 1940-1945.  When her town was liberated by the US Army, there was dancing in the streets and Jacqueline, who was a shy and somewhat ostracized young girl, was led into the streets for dancing by an American soldier.    At that time, she vowed to "pay back" the thousands of soldiers who gave their lives to save the world from Hitler and free people they did not know. 

The suffering and deprivation of war-torn Europe, particularly in the small villages of The Netherlands, was a defining influence in her life.  When schools reopened, Jacqueline went to university and trained to be a medical doctor.  She came to the US for medical residencies.  In 1954, she came to Duke University School of Medicine as a Fellow in Gastroenterology. It was there that she met Jerome S Harris, her future husband. In 1957, she fulfilled her promise by joining the US Army Medical Corps, and becoming Chief of Gastroenterology at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Jerry and Jacqueline were married in Denver in 1958. He talked her into returning to Duke. They started a wonderful life together but she never forgot her promise to pay back and she joined the US Army Reserves, rising to the rank of Colonel.  Jerry and Jacqueline went on many missions, particularly to Native American lands. They raised champion Siberian Huskies and built a home in the woods where they hiked and enjoyed the trees and the creek.  In her final days Jacqueline thanked every care-giver and assured all that we were all children of the same God.  Jacqueline Harris was a force of nature, a true and honest child of God, an example of courage and great determination, a visionary, and an incredible benefactor.