Lead story
Saving Bethlehem, Before Christmas
Volume 28 Issue 10, 11 & 12 | Posted: December 29, 2014
The signs are propitious. The pieces to the puzzle are all falling in place. The Benedictine Sisters of Nanaimo have granted an extension of time by which to raise funds and public interest. A dynamic group of motivated individuals have formed a non-profit society to assume operations and do fund raising for both ownership and operational costs.
Visionary partners have come forward to assume ownership. Meetings are being held to mobilize the project of saving Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo on an ecumenical if not multifaith basis. The organizers feel this project could be a powerful sign of spiritual unity in the face of these times.
The signs are propitious. The pieces to the puzzle are all falling in place. The Benedictine Sisters of Nanaimo have granted an extension of time by which to raise funds and public interest. A dynamic group of motivated individuals have formed a non-profit society to assume operations and do fund raising for both ownership and operational costs.
Visionary partners have come forward to assume ownership. Meetings are being held to mobilize the project of saving Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo on an ecumenical if not multifaith basis. The organizers feel this project could be a powerful sign of spiritual unity in the face of these times.
Things are about halfway there. Two hundred thousand dollars has been set aside for operational costs and two of four ownership partners have been virtually secured. The next few months will tell the tale. Fund raising has begun in earnest, supporting members are required, more ownership partners are to be secured. The vision is being secured and expanded. Participation is being animated at the grassroots.
THE STORY
To start at the beginning. The Catholic order of Benedictine Sisters have been running Bethlehem Retreat Centre for twenty-seven years offering to the general public opportunities for spiritual growth and personal development in the spirit of the progressive nature of Vatican II; that massive self-renewal program of the Catholic Church beginning in the 1960s. Alumni of the centre and those who have benefited over the past two and a half decades want this to continue despite the need the Sisters have had to sell the centre the past few years.
Hence the need for the Friends of Bethlehem Centre Society and the push to raise nearly three million dollars to purchase the beautiful facility on Westwood Lake, close to Nanaimo. In an article in the Autumn edition of Island Catholic News, Robert Muir of Nanaimo, a member of the organizing committee, described Bethlehem as “one of the last of its kind on Vancouver Island.”
He continues: “Following the Sisters’s decision to sell the centre, Friends of Bethlehem Centre Society was formed to pursue the purchase of the centre. Gerry Herkel, of Qualicum Beach, a retired hospital administrator, chairs the society.” Underlining the forward looking vision which the society has for the future of the centre, Gerry Herkel stated: “There is a lot of room in our thinking to expand the use of the centre, introduce more programming to accommodate the changing learning needs of participants, groups and individuals, who will use the centre for emerging needs. We want to do this on a multifaith basis, if possible.”
Dale Perkins and Peter Daniel of Victoria are representative of the expanded interest and wider vision for the centre. Dale as founding member of the Victoria Multifaith Society is working his contacts among Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians. (See other Lead articles)
At a recent planning meeting of the expanded committee held in Duncan, Dale, a retired United Church minister and trained community animator, pledged his time for the project and particularly to work with his Anglican counterpart Peter Daniel of Victoria.
Mr. Daniel, a developer by profession for forty years, is asset manager for the Anglican Diocese which is strongly behind the project.
“The Anglicans, lead by Bishop Logan McMenamie, have reviewed this potential transaction both at Finance Committee and Diocesan Council, and have responded favourably. They will need other financial partners to commit to the project and will review and ratify an agreement to proceed when this happens,” Mr. Daniel explained.
Two point eight million dollars is required to purchase the property.
The land and facility is seen as a secure value situated as it is in a burgeoning real estate situation. Mr. Daniel’s presentation to the Benedictine Sisters was seen as instrumental in their granting an extension of up to six months to secure the purchase by the new group.
The United Church of Canada is another prospective church partner. Other partners are envisioned as arising from the multi-faith associates, and possibly the Friends of Bethlehem Society (FBS) itself if it can animate enough membership financial pledges from the grassroots level.
At this point the main responsibility of FBS is to generate enough operational funds with reserves to operate the centre for the first three years while it builds up clientele usage and develops fresh programming.
The centre has been operating at a low occupancy during certain parts of the year. A substantial increase is envisioned over the first three years, which will render the centre sustainable on an ongoing basis.
SPIRITUAL VISION
The spiritual vision for the centre includes a realistic breadth suitable to these times. This includes the burgeoning ‘Spiritual but not religious’ category which, according to recent surveys, is the fastest growing category of spiritual seekers, and the constant users of such centres. Dale Perkins has been consistently working in this area since his retirement. He is part of a number of groups and organizations deployed by SNBRs such as Progressive Spirituality Circle and Earth Literacy, both adult education programs notably utilized by those not associated with what has been historically connoted as an ‘organized religion’. In Greater Victoria, an estimated 50 per cent of the population identify with this designation.
These were the sorts of spiritual retreatants who were utilizing Queenswood prior to its sudden closing in 2011. Queenswood was operating on a similar (and successful) development model when the owners suddenly had to sell it to deal with financial commitments in other parts of the world as a religious order.
The Queenswood Society was halfway into its three year development program, reporting viable returns and an increasing clientele. This would have enabled it to continue successfully when totally unexpectedly the rug was pulled out from under it, so to speak. The announced decision to sell precipitated a sudden drop in registrations which undermined the situation of the operations aspect of Queenswood. As a result, it had to close.
This serves as an object lesson for the need for stable ownership commitment on the part of Bethlehem. Only that would assure the stability to develop ongoing long term spiritual education programming, so much in demand in today’s spiritual development market.
Island Catholic News has formally adopted the support of The Friends of Bethlehem. This means ICN will be supporting the project by whatever means it can. Donations can be made to ICN ear-marked for this project.
Readers are invited to visit the Friends of Bethlehem Centre website and sign up as members. (http://friendsofbrc.com/).
Organizing committee member Robert Muir summarizes the situation in these words: “The Centre has been working to find investors to purchase the property; and to find interested charitable organizations who would use the Centre to expand their programs in spiritual growth.
“The Society of Friends of Bethlehem Centre is dedicated to the historic principles of the Benedictines including commitment to hospitality and openness to all belief.”