History
The Lodge
The story of how Rivendell Retreat came to be begins with a mystery. It is the mystery of countercultural generosity: a family who received a long-awaited inheritance considers how to give it away, and a developer donates six and a half acres of prime real estate to people he barely knows.
Jennifer Kerr Graves, Making Space for the Spirit: Developing a Christian Contemplative Retreat Center
(Vancouver: Resource Publications, 2016) p.3
It was the year 2000 and Howard and Shirley Bentall, a couple who spent their lives in Christian service, were waiting and listening for how they might use the financial resources that had come into their hands. Cates Hill on Bowen Island had been obtained by Wolfgang Duntz, a developer on Bowen Island. He felt that the topmost parcel of he knew that the land was not for private hands, and in the zoning process reserved it for a retreat centre. With a sense of faith, he prepared to gift the land and waited to see how that might come about.
The three of them met in January of 2001. Around that time, Shirley gave Wolfgang a hand drawn floor plan of a retreat centre along with her vision. The builder, Dennis Dallas – worked with the sketch and eighteen months later, on June 3, 2002 the doors of Rivendell Retreat were opened.
The cooperative spirit of the workmen who built the lodge can be sensed in the beautiful workmanship of the building.
A small group of people came together during the building phase of the Lodge to envision the ongoing life of the retreat. The group was intentionally selected to include a variety of denominational backgrounds and experience. As principles were identified and models of functioning discussed – a vision unfolded of a way of being that would embody hospitality and accessibility.
In 2020, recognizing the growth that had occured, along with the expansion into new locations, the community undertook a revisioning process to redevelop some of its operational structure in a way that better addressed the complexity of growth while remaining faithful to the original vision and spirit of generosity.
The creation and ongoing evolution of Rivendell Retreat Centre is truly an experience of being Spirit led. We continue to reflect on the unfolding, and we witness the ongoing visioning and revisioning with a sense of awe and gratitude.
The Cottage on Cates Hill
At the same time that the Lodge was being built, the two bedroom cottage up the hill behind the Sanctuary was built. The original vision for the cottage was for it to be used for families under some stress or special need to come away for respite. It may also be offered to individuals or couples engaged in ministry or social action in need of respite. Both of these uses are at the discretion of the bookings team of the hosting community, operating with our principles of hospitality, in tandem with a sense of fairness and responsibility.
Over time the cottage was often used as an overflow to the Lodge or a separate place for leaders of groups. Through our revisioning in 2020, it became clear to the community that the cottage is best used for that original purpose of those in particular need, particularly families and others in need of respite.
The Hermitage
The original vision for Rivendell also included a secondary site dedicated to silence and solitude, nestled in nature with small individual cabins. The hope was to provide a continuum of different types of retreat spaces. The land and resources were initially available for the lodge, but the hermitage would take a dozen years to acquire the appropriate property and adequate finances. Kathi Bentall and Jenn Graves along with a small working group were then able to create a design that would bring the vision to reality. The first guests were welcomed in 2015.
A central house, also referred to as the Forest House of Prayer, provides a shared kitchen for preparing meals, comfortable living room, a creative art space and individual porches all conducive to contemplation and reflection. Walking a short distance through the forest, a retreatant will find their small, non-serviced cabin along with a hobbit wood stove for heat. The Hermitage provides a protected space for silence where a person can enter the rhythms of nature and their own spiritual journey in solitude.
The Listening Post
When Kathi Bentall and Sister Lorraine LaMarre SSA saw a need for a safe haven in the downtown east-side of Vancouver, they had a vision which became a reality when the Listening Post was opened in December 2000. Prior to this, they and others who had offered retreats for people from the inner city realized there was no adequate follow up to enhance the retreat experience. There was no safe place to seek ongoing spiritual guidance and little or no community support. When space became available in the perfectly located Bruce Eriksen building at 382 Main Street, and when the Sisters of Saint Ann were prepared to help finance the project, they knew this was an answer to prayer.
The Listening Post is a place to find peace and quiet in the midst of the frenzy of the city. Someone described it this way: “I found a little slice of heaven right in the middle of hell”. One feels the calm when one enters the door. The Listening Post is not a place for drug or alcohol rehabilitation, counselling, shelter, legal advocacy or other inner city services, although any of these topics might come up in informal conversations. It is a place which offers empathetic listening, times of centering prayer, healing touch and a particularly private corner for spiritual direction.
Over the years the Listening Post has been hosted entirely by volunteers who have been encouraged and supported in this role by several weekend or one day courses on topics such as “listening skills, ” “healing touch” or “prevention and de-escalation of aggressive behaviour”. Many of the volunteers at the Listening Post are also involved as hosts or retreat leaders at Rivendell Lodge and the Hermitage, providing a natural integration of the Listening Post into the Bowen Island sites. Three or more times a year there are retreats at Rivendell specifically for folks from the Listening Post. A spot at one of these retreats is considered pure gift, and the waiting list for attending is long.
The mandate of the Listening Post is best summarized by the welcome note near the front door which is hand written in beautiful calligraphy, and states:
We welcome you
to a quiet space
made sacred by your presence.
Listen to your inner wisdom
as you sit in silent thought,
or meditation
or prayer.
If you wish to talk one-on-one
about your spiritual journey
or current situation,
there are persons available
who will listen
with compassion,
respect
and in confidence.
Penny Lou Cottage: A Writers Retreat House
Nestled in a quiet wooded neighbourhood near Snug Cove, Penny Lou Cottage invites writers and illustrative storytellers to enter into the sacred art of creation. Inspired by the lives of two good friends, Penny Penn and Louise Bentall, the cottage honours their lifetimes of creativity and appreciation of the arts. Penny is remembered by her family and friends for her passion for the arts, including printmaking and ceramics. Louise dedicated her time and talent to many aspects of the arts, including dance and theatre organizations. As Howard and Shirley Bentall began with their original vision for Rivendell, the family today continued in the same spirit. Their intention was to create a safe, welcoming space for creative energies to flow.