In this year of Covid19, a divisive election, and many other stresses, it seems that the whole world needs a good Advent.  One priest has said that only three things are required for Advent: Rest, Prayer, and Silence. The church, her saints, and the Lord, Himself, show us that we humans need time for rest, prayer, and silence.  God even gives us a whole day once a week to intentionally seek these--in fact, He commands it.  We see this plea for rest from all sources, even those outside of the church.  Some are calling it part of responsible self-care. 

Advent is a great time to follow this advice.  It is a season to slow down--not add to our normal activities-and simply rest.  
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At Heart Ridge, we've labeled this good of taking time to rest as #RetreatLife.  It is our hope that when people come to visit or stay at Heart Ridge, they will experience #RetreatLife.  Rest takes on many forms.  It could literally be a nap, but it could also be sitting on a bench reading.  What about fishing? or kayaking? Sure.  But also knitting, painting, writing, studying, meditating, praying, conversing, or playing cards with your kids.  We want Heart Ridge to be a place where people can come and experience rest in ways such as these.  And when your time at Heart Ridge is over, we want the good of #RetreatLife to stay with you.  We hope you'll discover ways to put more rest into your days and your weekly Sabbath back home.  

We have a lengthy mission statement that mentions bringing beauty, truth, and love to people, and these certainly can be a part of resting, but at the heart of all of these (Is that a pun?) is our desire for hearts to rest in Christ.  "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy-laden," Jesus beckons, "and I will give you to rest."  The Holy Spirit seems to be nudging us toward the conviction that providing rest truly is our mission at Heart Ridge.  

Staying true to this mission will direct our future plans for the retreat center.  For example, we probably won't be putting in a waterpark in the back field, instead we may get sheep and donkeys. Look for more benches and trails coming soon; also in the future an extensive library and art gallery.  Our hope is that Heart Ridge is place where you can come to find your rest for your soul and body.  

We still desire a powerful summer program for families, and we think we can do it without having to offer four wheeling or parasailing on our property.  We think that with what we have available and with what's nearby, we can make it an awesome, fun time for all, and send parents home well-rested and at peace. 

So yes, live #RetreatLife #Advent2020 and may you and your family have a Blessed Advent and a Merry Christmas!

Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of our retreat center patrons, so we wanted to have a celebration in her honor on her feast day.  With recent Covid19 cases rising, we understand that folks might want to celebrate from their own homes.  For anyone who wants to come to the retreat center on her feast day, we will be having all the festivities outside, asking everyone to stay 6 feet away from all non-family members, and most importantly, asking everyone to wear masks while at Heart Ridge that day.  It will be a little chilly, so the masks might be welcomed!  We will have a bonfire, some live music, a short presentation by Spencer Williams, and Tacos and Cookies and Coffee for $1 each.  To cut down on trash, we ask everyone to BYOWB.  (Bring Your Own Water Bottle.)  We will have water filling stations.   If you could RSVP on the Facebook Event page, that would be helpful.  ​https://www.facebook.com/events/200639971644243/

We've been busy collecting beds and furniture from Facebook Marketplace so that we can furnish our new building when it is ready in a few months (see the last article).  Instead of buying new, cheaply made furniture, we decided to purchase quality, sturdy used furniture in warm wood tones.  We love what we've been able to find so far. Some are little mismatched and even scratched, but we are loving the eclectic look! Plus, we feel like we are being better stewards of our property--these beds will be put to good use instead of going into a landfill.  We've been blessed to receive a recent large donation of furniture from our new friends, Lisa and Tom. (Thank you!) If you are getting rid of a bed, dresser, or nightstand, please send us an email.  We will even come and get it.  

But beds aren't all we need!  Having our first retreat in October, helped us realize just how many items are needed to be able to say Mass in our chapel.  We'd been looking on eBay, but the prices for these items were too high.  A couple of weeks ago, we had the chance to sit down and talk with Bishop Guglielmone about the retreat center.   We shared our vision and asked for his support.  He couldn't have been more receptive and supportive.  We mentioned our need for Mass and church items.   Two days later, we got a phone call from Fr. Bruce Barnet who was newly assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Gaffney and was cleaning out the extra items that the parish had collected over the years.  He invited us to come and take what we could use.  Needless to say, we felt truly blessed by Father and the parishes generosity to be able to have these beautiful and much needed items.  

The Bishop is also planning to come in person to visit the retreat center sometime in the near future.

In addition to providing group retreats, we know that individuals, couples, and families need time to get away, even more so during stressful times.  That is why we want invite individuals, couples or families to  to come to Heart Ridge for a self-directed retreat.   

For example, we are offering a Do-It-Yourself Family Retreat in a bag that is available to any family that comes to stay.  The DIY Family Retreat is totally flexible and adaptable to each family's needs and desires.  We provide suggested schedules and activities, but the whole thing is just that:  suggested.  You decide as a family how much or how little of the proposed schedule you want to follow. 

Each retreat bag has activities in seven different categories: Prayer, Communication, Family Matters, Play, Service, Healing, and Exercise.  Of course, there are many overlaps in these categories. We encourage families to try a variety actives and be willing to try things that might push them a little out of their comfort zones in order to, for example, learn how to communicate better.  But like we said, it's totally up to each family to craft a weekend that best suits their needs.  We simply provide the beautiful location and some ideas.

We've had many groups express an  interest in booking retreats at Heart Ridge, in fact we have commitments from three of these groups.  We've also scheduled our first in-house retreats and the 2021 summer family vacation camps.  We will begin taking reservations for these events at the beginning of the new year.  Look for the announcement in January's newsletter.
GO TO OUR CALENDAR PAGE

This may not look like progress, but we think it is.  As you can see, we are literally rebuilding parts of it from the foundation so that it will have the look, feel, and smell of a completely new building when it is finished.  Construction was started at the beginning of November, and it's on track for completion by the end of February.  This building will offer 16 individual rooms (and total sleeping capacity of 36).  The individual rooms will make it possible to do socially distanced retreats if Covid19 continues, please God no!  The building will also have a library with fireplace, a family room with toys for small children, and a large indoor/outdoor meeting space all overlooking the lake.   We can't wait for you to see it when it's finished!  

Once retreats start this spring, we will definitely need to hire some part and full-time help.  To that end, we are beginning to accept resumes for a cook, housekeeping, and maintenance staff.  The ideal situation for us would be to hire a couple who could do all three and live in one of the houses.  Short of finding the right couple, we'd welcome resumes for weekend help.  Please email a cover letter outlining your desire and a resume listing your skills and experience to HeartRidgeMinistries@yahoo.com.  

Over the 3rd weekend of October, we hosted our first retreat.  Twelve families attended with a total of 50 participants.  Our purpose was to answer these questions:

• Could we still meet and be Covid19 cautious?
• Would our facilities be suitable for meeting and entertaining?
• How is the lodging?   How many can we sleep?
• What about serving food?  Can we cook, serve, and clean-up?  Can we do it with a Covid19 awareness?
• Could we convince families and individuals to serve on our volunteer/advisory Cor Cordium team? (for more information about Cor Cordium.)

The answer to all of these questions was, "yes!" 
Of course there was the oven that didn't get hot enough, and garbage cans missing in one of the houses, but overall, the 24hour family retreat was a success.  We tried to keep individual families close to each other, but spaced far enough away from the other families, exception being for pictures or when cold huddled around a fire.  Most of the activities were outside.
Many hands chipped in to help with food preparation, games, leading groups in prayer and discussions, and cleaning up.  One of the highlights of the weekend was being accompanied by Br. John Michael Paul from the Community of St. John.  Br. JMP served beautiful masses and was available for confession and spiritual direction.  

Construction will begin at the beginning of November to completely remodel the inside and outside of the Lakeside Lodge, and work on some interior problems with the Stone House.
When the project is finished, we will have a library/conference room, kitchen, family/playroom, covered porch, gathering space, and 16 sleeping quarters.  These flexible sleeping spaces, many with adjoining rooms, will sleep up to 36 singles, or 15 couples, or a dozen families.  
Because so much of the sleeping spaces currently at Heart Ridge are dormitory style (many beds in one room) we've decided to go ahead and try to get this project completed in case Covid19 is still around come spring.  This way, we can safely sleep more individuals and families. 
We hope to have this building completed by early spring.
 

With Covid this year, we've all gotten to experience a little more family-time than we probably have had at any other time. For many of us, though, that quality time that we had at the beginning of Covid has been quickly replaced with busy schedules, zoom meetings, and more Netflix.  
Heart Ridge would like to offer a chance for families to get away together once again for bonding and spiritual growth.  It's like a mini-vacation.
The Heart Ridge Self-guided family retreats offer maximum flexibility.  You can pretty much set your own schedule.  We offer suggestions of nearby activities like hiking and boating, plus the activities at the retreat center, like fishing and a gym.  We also offer some simple family bonding activities for families with children of all ages as well as opportunities to pray together.  There are multiple houses available for families of different sizes each with a fully equipped kitchen. (Families are encouraged to not only eat together, but to prepare the meals together.)  
Go to the Heart Ridge Self-Guided Family Retreat page for more info and package prices. 

Although summer is a winter and spring away, Heart Ridge is gearing up for its first season of Family Camp.  If you are looking for a family vacation that satisfies parents and kids alike, then you'll want to consider coming to Heart Ridge Family Camp.  
From input of many families attending different kinds of summer family camps, we have put together what we believe to be the perfect blend of planned activities, time with peers, time with the family, spiritual and faith components, and most importantly, free time, all in beautiful natural surroundings and in fairly comfortable beds.  The food isn't too bad either!
Below is an example of a typical week.
We are keeping each camp week this year to 15 families so spots will fill up quickly.  Reservations will begin January 10th.    More details about pricing and dates will be available in our next newsletter.  

Heart Ridge is pleased to be recognized by the Saint Kateri Conservation Center whose goals are to  "love of God and neighbor, fresh air, clean water, healthy land, and the diversity of life, in the footsteps of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha and Saint Francis of Assisi."
This organization upholds many of the same ideals that we state in our vision statement for Heart Ridge.  
It is exciting to team up with this organization, and we hope to collaborate with them on future projects and events.  

www.kateri.org/

 If you happen to be downsizing, remodeling or otherwise getting rid of good stuff, here is a list of items that we could use at the retreat center.

If you think you have something that we can use, just email a picture to Tamikiser@yahoo.com and we'll let you know if it is something we want.  We will arrange a pick-up.   Thank you !