Pelican Retreat House | Trinity Center

The Pelican Retreat House opened in 1999 as a designated silent retreat facility. It was built overlooking the ocean as the residence of John and Flo Shedd and as a “Quiet House” where one could spend more time in a relaxed atmosphere of retreat. When the Shedd’s moved away, Pelican Retreat House was given as a gift to Trinity Center and the Diocese of East Carolina.

Today, Pelican Retreat House is used for a variety of retreats. Multiple times each year, Trinity Center offers scheduled silent or personal time retreats for individuals. Silent Retreats are intended to immerse individuals in an atmosphere of quiet… quiet mind, quiet body, quiet spirit. There is no cell phone use and only minimal interaction between guests. By contrast, Personal Time Retreats allow time for retreat without the restrictions of silence.

Retreatants have easy access to the beach as well as the Pelican Retreat House’s Prayer Garden and maritime forest Stations of the Cross trail. Meals may be taken in the Trinity Center dining room.

Pelican Retreat House Facilities

The Pelican Retreat House building can accommodate up to 12 guests. The individual sleeping rooms have one or two single beds, a small desk and dresser. Four in-home style bathrooms are shared. The facility has a common living area, which can be used as a casual meeting space, and a kitchenette with refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave (meals are served in the Trinity Center dining room). The oratory can be used both for meditation and services. One of the finest features of Pelican Retreat House is the cupola at the top of the house, with superb views over the ocean, eminently suited for solitary meditation. This cupola is accessed by way of a spiral stairway, making it the only area not accessible to persons with physical handicaps. There are three outside porches: one screened and two open. Adjacent to Pelican Retreat House is the Prayer Garden and a pathway through the maritime forest with the Stations of the Cross.