To build a retreat centre providing an accepting and comfortable environment for rest and refreshment, where people are free to enjoy the setting and local area for themselves.

Rest and Refreshment

Purpose built lodges will provide accommodation for groups seeking to gain rest and refreshment. We will target various groups of people we believe the centre would especially benefit. Those using the main site will be mainly church groups particularly emphasising groups of younger people i.e. those aged between 13 and 35. Additional lodges will be built in a secluded location, these will provide rest and refreshment for those people who’s professions mean that whilst they are at home they are permanently “on call” (such as ministers and their families).

We hope to provide this rest and refreshment on a number of levels by encouraging:

Spiritual - to help them establish a sense of identity and personal worth and a set of values with which to live by and an appreciation of the wider world. This is especially important for ministers to feel valued as people outside of their jobs and adolescents and young people finding their way in life.

Emotional - to help people come to terms with emotions and feelings by satisfying the need for recognition, acceptance and being able to contribute to society. To help ministers to be able to vent frustrations and other feelings to do with their jobs and to provide counsellors to help them work through these.

Physical - to help people have a place to vent energy and become aware of their changing selves. To help ministers relax physically with, for example, a round of golf or a good swim.

Intellectual - to help people to be challenged to think and to have opportunities to work through issues important to themselves and enable them to make informed and independent decisions. To provide for ministers an opportunity to catch up on current issues.

We realise that all this cannot be achieved by one visit but we hope that the centre will start to make a positive contribution to peoples lives in these areas, which will continue to benefit them once they are back in their home environments.

How will we do this?

Cornwall is a peaceful county and by maintaining this peace with careful site planning and planting, we will bring to people an atmosphere that only Cornwall can offer.

Retreat Lodges

By providing space for people to think and be themselves away from the pressures they normally face.

By encouraging them to appreciate the environment and countryside of this area.

By enabling them to work through issues that have been troubling them.

By providing areas where they can be sociable and enjoy spending time with others in a pleasant setting.

By encouraging them to take what they have learnt back to their home environment and hopefully improve the quality of their lives.

By offering the retreat centre to local and national groups for them to come and do their own thing or to come and have a programme of events laid on for them.

Secluded Retreat Lodges

By offering the lodges to provide refreshment to ministers and their families but also to other people in difficult jobs from around the country and ensuring this space enables them to recuperate.

By giving ministers and others whose work becomes their life a space for them and their families to get away from it all.

By offering this space because there is a lack of affordable facilities for such workers.

These lodges will be built in a small copse of trees providing further space.

Place of Worship

To provide an environment for worship that allows people space to enjoy a service without restriction but to also allow services to be conducted in different environments.

Centre Hosts and Counsellors

The centre hosts will be responsible for the day to day running of the centre. This will involve on site repairs, cleaning and stocking of each lodge and if required cooking for groups.

The centre hosts will welcome visitors to the lodges, explain rules and other information. They will also hand-out welcome packs detailing local sites to visit.

The centre hosts will need to ensure an immediate response to problems.

They will be required to be available for teaching and counselling sessions particularly when groups are invited to ‘themed’ weeks.

They will be required to co-ordinate day trips and liase with appropriate people to organise such trips.

The centre hosts will be responsible for the gardens and the general upkeep of the surrounds.

They will need to manage the centre in terms of bookings and financial management.

They will be responsible for the hiring and management of staff.

It will be necessary therefore to provide the centre hosts with accommodation together with an office and adequate facilities to cater for up to 30 people.

Advantages for the local community

In developing this project we are keen to promote the values of the local community and encourage community participation.

We want to provide a facility that will advantage the local community with rooms that will enable bands to visit, performance opportunities and with provision for transport, opportunities for playgroups and other local groups.

We will use local craftsmen in the construction of the project.

We will source timber and other requirements locally.

As the centre grows we will provide jobs locally particularly as groundsmen, cleaners and cooks.

We will benefit local businesses by bringing more trade to the area.

We hope to enter into a partnership with such facilities as Lostwithiel Golf club, Duchy College, Eden Project and numerous other similar facilities to encourage visitors to go to them.

We will use a local architect with specialist knowledge of building timber framed and environmentally structures.

Buildings

Whilst our primary aim is to provide rest and refreshment we have a secondary aim of ensuring that each building is as environmentally friendly as possible. We wish to build encouraging maximum use of new ecological thinking. We anticipate that our requirements would be as follows:-

Five individual lodges sleeping eight people complete with lounge.

Two small lodges, each comprising 2 bedrooms each to sleep 2 - 6, a bathroom and a lounge/kitchen/diner.

Accommodation for the centre hosts.

A small intimate place of worship with appropriate ancilary services.

All buildings will be constructed to fully meet the needs of disabled users.

Construction

Detailed below is what we feel is an exciting and innovating plan that actively seeks to develop new thinking in terms of environmental and ecological ideas.

To build timber framed structures with a locally beneficial and ecological focus.

To provide local employment by using local craftsmen.

To source timber and other construction materials locally.

To build in keeping with the local environment.

To develop and manage the build to encourage maximum use of new technology and ideas in ecological thinking whilst ensuring they are visually fitting in the local environment.

To use environmentally friendly materials from sustainable sources.

To incorporate as many energy saving/recycling devices as possible (e.g. solar panels, rain water recycling).

To plant trees to create a wooded area

To create “wild areas” incorporating local varieties of plants to encourage habitation of indigenous species.

To grow hedges to heights that encourage birds affected by the trend towards severe hedge cropping, to nest.

To potentially use the buildings as “show buildings” to encourage more active participation in the environment. Similar buildings can be seen in Bristol, Wales and other sites around the country.

Profile of the Centre Hosts

The centre hosts Richard and Anna Brown both have extensive experience of working within the Christian community.

Richard has worked full-time as a Christian minister for over ten years. He has been employed as a Christian youth minister in various settings. He has also worked as a management accountant, computer programmer and as a general manager.

Anna (nee Pollard), whose father is a minister in a local church and was headmaster at Braddock School, has been involved with the development of a similar project. She has experience of retail management, catering and the holiday trade.

Finance

The “business” will run as a charity, not relying on donations but relying on sustainability as a viable service.

We will secure funding by the following means:-

Disability grants

Grants for supplying ministers rest and refreshment.

Grants for supplying accommodation to youth groups.

The sports council.

Investments such as shares and holdings.

We will also approach various charitable trusts to help in building grants.

We already have provision for some buildings and resources for yearly provision.

Summary

This scheme is an exciting and innovating scheme that will draw much positive attention to Lostwithiel, Caradon District Council and Cornwall. We hope you will look favourably on this scheme. We believe that it will be of benefit not only locally but nationally and will do much for young people and ministers who currently find themselves with increasing problems and frustrations.

Incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge.

Inscrutable, mysterious, mystifying of an obscure nature.

A deep dark secret.

How do we create a real sense of community in our cells, a place where young people are able to grow and contribute, a place where they feel ’safe’ to try out new things, ask difficult questions, a place where when they are challenge don’t run away and hide, where everyone feels valued?

Pray

Jesus prayed for his disciples. Pray for those in your cell. Pray for God’s life to flowing between them during the week.

Teach

Talk about community, what it is, how it feels, how to achieve it. Brainstorm community words - together, sharing, co-operation, love, peace, listen etc.. Find stories. Identify community values. Don’t run from conflict, address it together.

Model

It is so important that you as the leader model what you hope to see built. Be open, honest and encouraging. Make the time to phone cell members. Arrange evenings out. Show interest in others’. Check up on yourself to see if you’re living it out.

Have fun!

Make time to hang out, do crazy things, eat together. A lot of what Jesus did was in a relaxed informal setting. It’s a great way to develop friendship.

Discussion:

When was the last time you all had an evening out?

How much is your cell a meting rather than a community?

How can you cultivate community in your cell?

Who in your cell has a gift for building community? How can you use them to develop cell community?

Why
As you will be aware, God develops his plans at his own pace and not ours! We therefore have an inkling as to how but not the full picture. Through Scripture we believe God has said he will fulfill our dreams, “Delight yourself also in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” That he has called us to serve people, with our lives but in our home as well. “Is this not the fast I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh.” Isaiah 58 v 6-7 and that he will guide our every step, “The Lord wifl guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones…” Isaiah 58 v 11.

God has called us to teke the land. “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” Joshua 1 v 6 and build him a church… “And he shall build the temple of the Lord”. Zechariah 6 v 12b “Go and make disciples of all ethnic groups…” Matthew 28 v 19

“Is this not the fast I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh.” Isaiah 58 v 6-7

“The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones…” Isaiah 58 v 11.

And in the meantime we were given notice to quit the land and the house we are renting!

So where do we go now?

Well the business is growing and I am starting to get plenty of work, paid and voluntary. (Yes I do build sites for free!) In fact, it is growing so fast we could do with an additional computer. Anna is able to assist in a lot of the work but only when I am not using the computer - which is not too often! So we are beginning to see if we can afford a G5.

In the meantime we wait on God. We had started to build a place of retreat on the land and in the house we are renting we have taken in a teenager who needed a home! So we are starting to build a home! We now need some land to do the retreat and a house in which to build a home! It would be great to get the two together.

Rich

1. To build a home.
2. To build a place of retreat.
3. To build a business.