About

A natural setting for hope, transformation, service, and fun.

Murray Grove is a peaceful place that allows guests to disconnect from the concerns of their everyday lives and concentrate fully on what brings them here. We’re open to all, year-round, and we invite you to contact us with your questions and requests for information.

We are a venue for the arts, where artists in all media present and develop their art, in service to the spirit of love, hope, and courage.

You’ll find us on a 20-acre campus nestled in the Pine Barrens adjacent to the 200-acre Edwin B. Fortsythe Wildlife Preserve. We are available year-round for affordable overnight accommodations for up to 40 people in our guest houses and 35 people in our campground. Conveniently located 90 minutes from New York City and Philadelphia, and 45 minutes from Atlantic City. We host retreats, weddings, and are a year-round venue for your overnight gatherings or one-day events. Our address is 431 N. Main St., Lanoka Harbor, NJ 08734-0246.

Murray Grove Retreat and Renewal Center is owned and operated by the Murray Grove Association, a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Click here to view the Murray Grove brochure and click here to read the Murray Grove statement of purpose.

Mission Statement

Murray Grove is a Universalist retreat center inspired by the concept of radical hospitality, serving people of diverse backgrounds both in person and on-line providing opportunities for rest, renewal, inspiration and growth.  Murray Grove supports people to create a world of greater kindness and justice through social justice action, the arts and our natural environment.

Values We Live By

 Building a future of justice and kindness for all.

Universal Love – honoring the inherent divinity and interdependent unity of all life.

Radical Hospitality – creating a sanctuary where mutual respect is fundamental, where people:

• are welcome and cared for;
• discover and reveal the promise they carry within them;
• bring their differences and gifts to co-create a safe space for deep personal and collective learning, broad reflection, and renewed commitment.

Inclusive Community – welcoming all who are respectful of others and reaching out to groups that are marginalized by our culture.

Lifelong learning, spiritual deepening and prophetic transformation – cultivating transformation and spiritual development, thus inspiring and encouraging people to work throughout their lives with courage and love to make the world a better place.

Reverence for life and the natural world – respecting and caring for the natural world and affirming the inspiration humans derive from it.

We Value:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity and compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another and spiritual growth; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part; and journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

Sustainability

Murray Grove is a unique place. We are told it has a calming, centering effect. Many came here as children and say that the people, programs, and nature of the property helped develop their character. They appreciate that it was a place that allowed them to be free to be who they are while encouraging them to discover their own unique talents and gifts to better themselves, their communities, and the planet. Now they bring their children with the hope that they too can benefit in the same way. Many of these folks are sustaining contributors to Murray Grove helping to assure that it will be available for their grandchildren as well.

Our safe sanctuary is a heart-centered space striving to meet the human needs in our community. As the demand increases in these uncertain times, we continue our outreach of love and justice