Retreat House April 1999

Retreat House Committee

Summer 2001

Annual Report

We had another great year in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. The spring gave us great weather for some beautiful retreats, after the Committee repainted the kitchen and refinished some of the floors. The new picnic/craft/multiuse pavilion looks good after its first full winter in the mountains. We hope that everyone will enjoy using it. The new pond/watering hole has added a wonderful chorus of frogs to listen to at night.

Summer brought many people to our little valley. Summer Camps were a great get-away for young and old, and not so old, a like. We hope to see everyone again next summer. We also had many families use the House for their summer vacation/Family reunion center; please come to the Spring Calendar Meeting to get your family on the calendar next year.

The fall is bringing many groups back to the hills of West Virginia. Fall is a beautiful time to be at the Retreat House. The trees are in their glorious colors, the animals are getting ready for winter and the weather is sweater/jacket crisp almost everyday.

The Committee has no plans for big changes at the house this coming year. We have to do some maintenance on the roof to keep the tin roof in good shape and some painting to halt the wear and tear on the wood. We are still looking for a reasonably priced mason to do some brickwork; any leads should be brought to our attention. The Bunkhouse & Chapel are still in great shape, the Chapel roof we put on recently is holding up well to the West Virginia winters

While the church is building/rebuilding it is good to know we have the long standing Retreat House to help us in our spiritual journey.

Barry Johnson

for the Retreat House Committee

Summer 2001

For directions to the Retreat House, please phone the church office 301-585-8010.

Christ Congregational Church members have long valued opportunities to get away from the city, where families could share recreational pleasures in natural settings while seeking to draw closer to God. As early as 1961 the church held a family camp — that year the church rented facilities at Camp Rim Rock near Yellow Springs, West Virginia. Camp was such a success in those early years that when a nearby 150-year-old farm house became available, CCC leased the property.

In 1965, this property came on the market and CCC eagerly purchased the farm house and 54 acres on banks of the Cacapon River near the village of Lehew, West Virginia. This historic property hosts two sessions of children's camp each summer as well as a steady schedule of weekend retreats for virtually all of the church's activities and groups each Spring and Fall.

ï Over the years, many improvements have been made to the farm house itself, and a covered, open-air chapel was built close by.

In the past few years, volunteer work groups from church added a separate bunk house building to expand the camp and retreat capacity.
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