Our Story & Beliefs
A light on the shore since 2008
Harbor Lights began with a borrowed cabin, twelve weary pastors, and a conviction that everyone needs a place to be still.
In the winter of 2008, founders Tom and Ellen Garrety opened their family's coastal property to a small group of burned-out ministry leaders. No program, no schedule — just warm meals, long walks on the shore, and space to pray. By Sunday, something had shifted in every one of them.
Word spread. The borrowed cabin became two, then a chapel, then a dining hall. Today Harbor Lights welcomes more than four hundred guests a year — pastors and parents, couples and teenagers, the grieving and the simply tired — to the same quiet shoreline where it all began.
“We don't fix people here. We just make room — and God does what only He can do.”
What We Believe
Rooted in Christ, open to all
Scripture
We hold the Bible as the inspired Word of God and the foundation of everything we do.
The Gospel
Healing and freedom come through Jesus Christ — full stop. Every retreat points to Him.
Open Doors
You don't have to have it together to come. Every guest is received with grace and dignity.
Leadership & Team
The people who keep the light on
Tom & Ellen Garrety
Founders
"This shoreline healed us first."
Pastor James Whitfield
Executive Director
"I serve so others can rest."
Rev. Sarah Connelly
Director of Retreats
"Every guest list is a prayer list."
Dr. Mark Thornton
Counseling Director
"Scripture and a listening ear."
Come see it for yourself
The best way to understand Harbor Lights is to stand on the bluff at sunrise.
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