Sorrento Centre Scenario Spring 2012

Sorrento Centre • Box 99, Sorrento, BC, V0E 2W0 • (250) 675-2421 • fax: (250) 675-3032 • e-mail: [email protected] • on-line: www.sorrento-centre.bc.ca�

Sorrento CentreScenariothe

Spring 2011Reflections From the Director

Scenariothe

A Message from the Executive Director

Spring, 2012

A Newsletter for the Associates of Sorrento Centre

Dear Associates:

Valentine’s Day has just past and I find myself giving thanks once again for the support of the Associates of Sorrento Centre who give according to their abilities. Today I worked with Heather Hamlin Gravells who has offered to volunteer her time in the front office to help us deal with voluminous correspondence and paper work. Last week Al Hinter was in every day helping prepare the dining room for a new floor. Al is a new Associate. Two years ago he retired from a career as a tiling contractor.

This week Rick Barr and Tony Esposito each gave up a week’s holiday to help lay the new floor in the Richardson Lodge dining room. Just so we wouldn’t complain that they only came for the glory, they have stayed long enough to rip out rusted shower stalls from the upper wash house and begin the renovation of the upstairs bathroom in Spes! All year long Associates volunteer in this manner. Last fall as an example, it was Brian Laver and Andrew Pike helping to build the new walk-in cooler & freezer in the kitchen. This was on top of all the donations of goods and services in our “Barbie Needs a New Bed” campaign. That campaign raised $6,000 and we are currently selecting the beds for replacement. I could go on …

Some people give their time, other people lend their expertise and still others donate money. On the inside pages you will see a list of all those who donated money to Sorrento Centre in 2011. A big thank you to you all! Without your support Sorrento Centre couldn’t exist.

Your Board of Directors is currently engaged in a fundamental mission review. You have already received a short two question survey from us and we received 30 thoughtful responses. We expect to have a new Mission Statement ready for presentation at the AGM at 9:30 on Saturday morning, May 12. I encourage you to include this AGM in your travel plans as we will be addressing some fundamental issues affecting the future of the Centre in this process.

I hope you’re as excited as I am about the new program designed for 2012. It’s packed with goodies – something for everyone. I look forward to seeing you later this year.

Yours,

Christopher Lind


Notes from the Sorrento FarmSpring Courses at Sorrento Centre

Sorrento Centre Spring, 2012

Life, in all of its various aspects, is a spiritual journey. It can be of great benefit to all of us who are on this journey together to have a compassionate and friendly guide along the way.

Rick McCorrister is a perfect guide for pilgrims on this journey. A United Church minister, Rick is also a graduate of The Pacific Jubilee Program in Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Direction. He has been studying and practicing a variety of forms of spiritual direction for many years, including the Enneagram and the Sacred Movements teachings of Georges Gurdjieff.

This spring Rick will be leading a weekend course at Sorrento Centre, “Living Life as an Everyday Monastic: Finding the Holy in All of Life” (from April 19th to 22nd) and will also be making himself available for private individual consultations the following week (April 22 to April 27th).

In “Living Life as an Everyday Monastic” Rick will focus on teaching us various methods to help us appreciate the sacred in the everyday world around us. Rick will use such practices as Breath Prayer, Lectio Divina, mindfulness practices and walking the labyrinth to show us how to remain connected to the Holy.

Rick will also offer guidance on how to process the results of these techniques in a personal way through journaling and other forms of self-expression. There will also be time for particpants to share their own insights with each other as encouragement to live life as an “everyday monastic”.

Anyone interested in booking time with Rick for individual sessions in spiritual direction should contact the Sorrento Centre office to arrange available times. Meals and accommodations can also be booked as needed.

Individual Spiritual Direction

April 19-22 April 22-27

Wings and Wildflowers of the Shuswap

Dirk and Karen (Rinehart) Pidcock have been amateur naturalists for many decades, fully embracing the rich root meaning of the word “amateur” (meaning “lover”).

This spring you can join them to discover what the wonders of the beautiful Shuswap has to discover what they reveal, with particular attention to birds and plants. Evening programs will focus on enhancing identification skills and exploring Christian spiritual foundations for those who truly love the world of nature.

“Only those who see themselves as “experts” may be frustrated with what we have to offer,” say Dirk and Karen, “Now in our 70’s, we want to enjoy as well as learn and grow into who God would have us be”.

Living as an Everyday Monastic:

Finding the Holy in All of Life

Seniors Week One June 10-14


Notes from the Sorrento Farm

Sorrento Centre Autumn 2011Sorrento Centre Spring 2012

Spring Courses at Sorrento Centre

May 6-12 “I’m Spiritual,

But Not Religious...Really?”

“How often do we hear the comment: I’m spiritual, but I’m not religious,” asks Don Grayston. “Yet if we ask the speaker what is meant by ‘spiritual,’ the response is usually pretty vague.”

More than 30% of the population of BC gave the answer “no religion” to the census question about religious affiliation in the last census. We can be fairly sure that a significant portion of the non-attending cohort of those who did give a religious identity would also make the same comment: “I’m spiritual, but I’m not religious”--with “religious” understood as active involvement in a church or other religious tradition.

So why do people say this? Many reasons. One is distaste for the negative public image both current and historical of institutional religion: residential schools, sexual abuse cases, even the Crusades and the Inquisition. Another is the desire of many, the young especially, in this post-modern (or post-post-modern!) time to keep all their commitment options open--in love, work and faith/belief--as long as possible. Another is the influence of science, believed by many to have demolished religious (especially Christian) credibility. “Think Richard Dawkins!” exclaims Don Grayston.

Associates’ Week will give us an opportunity not only to reflect together on what people mean or feel when they make this statement, but also what the words “spiritual” and “religious” mean for us. Anglican priest Don Grayston will help us consider not only what this comment says about the spiritual journey of our society, but also how our own spiritual journey is going.

A Planet Called SanctusJune 17-22

Seniors Week Two

Logan McMenamie, the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria, uses the image of “Earthrise”, a photo taken in 1968 from the moon by astronaut Frank Borman, as an example of the awe that can be inspired by looking at our own world with fresh eyes.

The “Earthrise” photo shows our earth rising above the lunar landscape and is, he says, “one of the most ecologically significant images ever captured”.

In this course Logan will draw on this image to explore the incredible gift God has given us by this planet, Earth. He will ask how we can care for the whole of creation and discover for ourselves a spirituality that restores the harmony we yearn for with God, Creation and one another.

Associates’ Work/Study Week


Sorrento Centre Spring 2012

Sorrento Centre NewsA Busy Year!

An Overview of Improvements Carried Out at Sorrento Centre

Although 2011 continued to be difficult year financially, not just for the Centre but for the economy as a whole, we were able to make a number of improvements to the Sorrento Centre site with the generous help of many Associates and supporters. Here is a very quick re-cap of some of the projects we were able to accomplish with your help in 2011

In the spring our new “Sabbatical Cottage” (also known as Cabana One) was renovated for use in our “Sabbatical Centre” program. The spruced-up cabana is also serving as a showcase for the types of renovations we expect to make to all of the cabanas in the future.

Over the summer the lower floor of the Red Barn was converted into “The Red Barn Art Studio”. The first group to use this space was The Shuswap School of Carving and Arts in September. Starting in 2012 The Art Studio will be the new home base for all of our arts and crafts courses. It is a spacious, well-lit facility that will be a comfortable and versatile space for artists to express themselves. The Art Studio was made a reality by the hard work of dedicated volunteers and donors and from a generous grant from The Anglican Foundation.

Since the Red Barn had been used mainly for storage up until now, we also needed to build a new storage shed, next door to the workshop, which was completed at the end of last summer.

Another major project was the replacement of the greywater drainage system behind Richardson Lodge. Over the years tree roots had been strangling the pipes from the kitchen to the drainage field. With an increase in the numbers of guests being served and the limited capacity that the infrastructure was originally built to handle, simple wear and tear had caused the system to collapse. In the fall the old pipes were dug up and replaced with a new system which is better able to meet the Centre’s current needs.

Richardson Lodge had a number of new additions made to it in 2011, and the renovations are still continuing. One upgrade in Richardson Lodge is the renovated coffee station in the upstairs lounge, which was completed in the spring. The major upgrade was the installation of a new walk-in fridge/freezer in the back of the kitchen. This almost doubles the cooler space which we previously had and has allowed us to finally do away with the chest freezers which were definitely showing their age and racking up increasingly

large repair bills.

With the increased amount of fresh produce being delivered too the kitchen more storage space was a definite necessity. The project was funded entirely by generous donations from friends and Associates and the work was carried out by volunteers and staff.

Over this past winter some other renovations in the kitchen also took place, with the dish pit area being cleaned and re-tiled and the area formerly housing the walk-in cooler being made into a store-room.

The biggest job of all is currently underway, the extension of the new flooring in the downstairs hallway into the dining room. The dining room has been in desperate need of new flooring for some time, and the new heavy duty wood-look vinyl flooring will be one of the welcome new changes you will notice when you visit Sorrento Centre in 2012. Again, it was all made possible by the hard work of volunteers.

Sorrento Centre News

Woodcarvers enjoying the Red Barn Art Studio



Sorrento Centre NewsThe downstairs bathroom in Spes Bona was gutted and totally done over and is now a joy to behold! The upstairs bathroom is now in the process of receiving the same treatment. Again, thanks mostly to our energetic volunteers.

In 2010 we had an online auction to raise money for a new tractor for the farm. The auction was a huge success, and we took possession of our new tractor in the spring of 2011. It proved to be invaluable on the farm and grounds of the Centre. In addition, Groundskeeper Dave Wides used it over the winter as a snowplow to keep our roads open, which resulted in significant savings over previous winters when he had to contract out our snow removal.

In 2011 we had another online auction, this time to raise money for new beds. We are happy to say that this auction and other donations have brought in $6,000. We are in the process of implementing a plan to buy new beds and mattresses for the lodge rooms and cabanas that have the greatest need for an upgrade.

Thank you to everyone who helped make all of these improvements to Sorrento Centre a reality.

Volunteer Associates Tony Esposito, Rick Barr and Al Hinterlaying down the new flooring in the Dining Room

Groundskeeper Dave Wides making good use of the new tractor for snow removal

Right: Volunteer Associate Chris Hamlin Gravells

helping with drywalling in the Red Barn Art Studio


Sorrento Centre Summer Spring, 2011Sorrento Centre Spring 2012

Notes from the Sorrento Farm

Farming the land is a potent link to the holy mystery of Creation. Our agricultural work on the Sorrento Centre Farm connects us with God. Reflecting back on the past two seasons of farming at Sorrento Centre, we see that there are many ways that the farm has helped our community connect with Creation. As a community of people seeking personal and spiritual growth we have shared in the collective experience of watching our farm grow and become an integral part of our connection with God.

One of the primary ways we experience Creation on the farm is through abundant harvests and rich landscapes. There is infinite inspiration to be found in the fundamental beauty of the space and the flavorful produce of the harvest. This coming season we have much to look forward to. We will be growing sugar snap peas, colorful potatoes, sweet golden cherry tomatoes, big pumpkins, juicy raspberries, succulent heads of lettuce and much more. This season our fields and our plates should overflow with abundance.

Another way we experience the richness of Creation is through the diversity of contrasts that exists in the natural world. An obvious example of contrast in the natural world is the changing seasons. Seasonal change always seems to bring the power and beauty of nature to the forefront of our consciousness.

On the farm, we experience the contrast that manifests in Creation by observing the different sizes of our garden pests. In 2010 our biggest garden pest was one black bear that had an appetite for lettuce. In 2011 our biggest garden pests were the tiny voles that liked to chew on the stems of pepper plants. The irony that the bear and the vole each took a turn as our top pest illustrates the diversity in our world and on our farm. The diversity of life on the farm centers our attention to the earth and our role as stewards of the land.

We have developed a new opportunity on the farm called “The Sorrento Centre Farm Produce Box Program”. This is an opportunity for people to become volunteers on the farm in exchange for a box of fresh produce each week throughout the growing season. This new program

offers many benefits for Sorrento Centre and for program participants. If you or someone you know in the Sorrento area is interested in joining the Sorrento Centre Farm Produce Box Program please contact our office.

Each year Sorrento Centre Farm offers abundant opportunities to connect with the natural world. The farm is a place where we ground our work in the holy mystery of Creation as we strive to develop harmony with the elements of nature and we pray that our garden will grow beauty, faith and inspiration as well as an abundance of fresh produce. This year will be another joyous season on the farm and we look forward to sharing it with all of the community who want to join in the wonder of farming at Sorrento Centre

by Sorrento Farm Manager David Wides (aka “Farmer Dave”)


Sorrento Centre Summer Spring, 2011

SYS Leadership ReportNotes from the Sorrento Farm Sorrento Centre News

One of the highlights of 2011 was getting our lively new website (www.sorrento-centre.bc.ca/) up and running. Many thanks are due to our webmaster, Brian Dench, for all of his hard work and creative ideas. If you have a look at the site you will notice that two short new videos have been added lately.

One is called “Summer Days” and is a slide show of photographs of Sorrento Summer Youth Staff playing and worshipping together. The video was created by Summer Staff Coordinator Melissa Green, with a song by Linnea Good, entitled “Who Am I”, on the soundtrack.

Two New Videos UpOn Our Website

In Memorium -Fran Cluett

A longtime friend and Associate of Sorrento Centre, Fran Cluett of Vancouver, died on January 25th, 2012 at the age of 88. Fran had a long career as an educator, physiotherapist and campaigner for social justice. She spent many years as the Manager of Rehab Services for the Vancouver Health Department. Fran also had a love of travel and adventure and taught at the University of Vientienne in Laos during the Vietnam War. After her retirement she and her husband Tom traveled the world, sleeping on Dutch barges, the northern tundra, and Serengeti grasslands.

She described Sorrento Centre as a special spiritual place and her family has asked that in lieu of flowers, if desired, donations can be made in her name to Sorrento Centre, 1159 Passchendaele Road, Sorrento, BC, V0E 2W0 or to Holy Family Hospital, Physiotherapy Dept 7801 Argyle St, Vancouver BC, V5P 3L6. Our condolences go out to Fran’s friends and family.

Linnea is a popular singer-songwriter who was a Music Leader at Sorrento Centre last summer and will be co-leading a course for us this summer.

The other video, “Sorrento Centre: A Gathering Place for Everyone”, is by Martin Elfert, who was Program Support Coordinator at Sorrento Centre for the past two summers and is now an ordained priest at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane, Washington. Martin will also be returning to Sorrento for one week in the summer of 2012 as Worship Leader. Martin’s video is a series of interviews with course participants about the special feelings they have for the Centre.

Please check these videos out. If you ever have any friends or family members who ask you what Sorrento Centre is like, direct them to these short videos as a terrific introduction to “The Sorrento Experience”.

Applications For Summer Staff Positions Now Being AcceptedCome and join our team at Sorrento Centre and be rewarded with a lifetime of experience! We are now accepting applications for our Leadership Team and Summer Youth Staff Team positions. We will be accepting Leadership Team applications until February 29th, 2012 and Summer Youth Staff applications until March 31, 2012.

All inquiries on the application process, or to submit resumes to apply for one of the positions, can be forwarded to Melissa Green at this email address ([email protected]).

Summer Youth Staff 2011



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BRITISH COLUMBIA

66A Nurse’s ReunionBonny AmorBarbara AndrewsShauna AranasHazel ArnoldSally BakerJanet BarclayPhyllis BarlowErin BarrBarbara BartonFlorence BartonBDO DunwoodyIan BirtwellAudrey BirtwhistleKaren BlairDaphne BrayKathryn BriscoRusty BrownBrian & Maureen BuckleyDavid BuckmanMarita CarlsenJane CarrothersMiriam ChancellorPenny CharlesworthEdith ChisholmCoast DistributorsPhilip ColvinCarol CookShirley CookRoger CooperWilliam CrockettJohn CroneJim CruickshankSue CruickshankJudi CuffJaclyn CurllCheryl CurranLucy CuthillFaith D’arcyDorothy DennyBrian DobbinGins DoolittleJamie DrozdaKelly DuncanPenelope EdwardsHelen ElfertJoan EllinghamPeter ElliottDerek EllisShannon EllisLee EnnisMarilyn FaneAlana FrymireAndrea GailusCatherine GarritsenKen & Ruth GengePatricia GianneliaPeter GibsonDevin GillanLesley Godwin

Patricia GougeKen GrayMary GreenwoodChrista GrovesAlex GuyJoanne HamiltonHeather Hamlin GravellsElaine HarderDeena HarrisonAudrey HarryAllen HartBrenda HenryDiane HillNancy HolmanMarion HolmesBob & Jo-Mary HunterCatherine HurlburtLisa ImesonMichael InghamSharon JansonMiriam JayneCarol JohnsonJoan JohnstonVal JohnstoneAnthea JordanDavid JordanPhilip JungenCarole JungnitschMargery KellettVic KerrPam LepsoeKathy LightLeslie LindsayBetty ListerDiane MacAulaySue MacKay-SmithMargaret MackenzieSimone MacklemMaxine MacLeanBob MacRaeAlfred MaierMargaret MarquardtBrian MarshallChristine P. MarstallerMargorie MayhewMarks McAvityPeter & Ann McCalmanPamela McElheranPeter MercerEdward MeredithDiane MerrimanEric MetzmeierDr. Ivar MickelsonColin MilesColin MillarRay MorrisDaphne MoserMarcella MugfordArthur NashRayleen NashKathryn NelsonJoan Newman

Pam NiblockMarion O’ByrneHerbert & Paula O’DriscollPeter O’FlynnClaire PallenJudith ParkesRay PerreaultLouise PetersLaura PhillipsDirk & Karen PidcockMichael PiddingtonRhonda PigottAndrew PikeNonah PitePaula Porter-LeggettJennifer PringJohn PrivettMarian Pryor HuttonEnid PunterBob PurdyMary RawsonRalph ReevesLance RichardsonIan RobertsonLeslie RobinsonAshleigh RoundhillPeter RoundhillBarry SalterJeanette ScottGinger ShawShuswap Lions ManorJenni SirgesRichard SlaterMark Sleeman & Allison WalkerBonnie SorensonBarb StevensonBethan StewartJoan SutcliffeDavid TaylorSharon TaylorDavid TeeceDavid & Joy ThompsonNada TraisonBeth TruantGarth WalkerMargaret WalkerSheila WallerSara WeickerRobert WestonDaphne WheelerMary WhiteBob WildJoan WilsonAnn WoodJean WoodJacquie WoodsRuth ZengerGeorge ZornSally Zryd

ALBERTA

Betty AlexanderJoan AndersonNeil AssmusCheryl BaharallyGillian BowlesKelly BurniePatricia CameronCarol Blair and AssociatesCenovus Energy Inc.Jan ChalkNina ChibaLeon DemersKeith DenmanThomas DirkseCatherine EvamyBeth Anne ExhamJohn GeeGwen GoverCharles GrantDavid & Mandy GravellsMervin HamblinGrant HannaRobin HarvieJan HeathCheryl HorreyDerek HoskinLinda Howitt-TaylorJo-Ann HrynykMary HudsonKarin HueholdJanice HurlburtAlan KaneAlex KoddoBrian LaverMichael LysackKathie MacDuffArlie MahoodKathy McClellanJim McKibbonGordon & Laura McNaughtonJohn MendhamAllan & Barbara MillarRuth MorrowJoan NealJoanne NealSally NealSteve NealSusan NimmoMark PerrinAlan PriceBob PynnLeslie Anne RoachDoug SandersonQuentin SarafinchanFred SchellenbergerFrederick ScottLaura ScottMarlene StevensonUrsula StewartJim Tyerman

Suzan WakemanAndrew Wilson

SASKATCHEWAN

Joan BunceRay Purdie

MANITOBA

Maylanne Maybee

ONTARIO

Beth BretzlaffHeather ChappellBrian DenchJane FylesNora FylesMarilyn LeggeJudy MaddrenG.A. Wenh-In NgJudy Rois

USA

Paddy GrinsteinJean GerthJack WidesDonnie L. HenryRosanna HanlonAnita SalamanMartin ElfertAlbert MaierLyn Zimmerman

INTERNATIONAL

Nicolas GrandjeanRay Simpson

CHURCHES

eAll Saints Men’s GroupeSt. George ACWeSt. Mary’s Anglican/United ChurcheSt. Peter’s Anglican Church of Monte CreekeCranbrook Christ Church ACWeDiocese of New WestminstereDiocese of KootenayeAnglican Parishes of the Central InterioreDiocese of British ColumbiaeProvincial Synod of British Columbia

A special thank you goes out to everyone who gave the gifts of time, wisdom, physical work or monetary assistance to Sorrento Centre in 2011. Without the generous support of our friends and Associates the Centre would not be able to continue its ministry and be the essential part of so many people’s lives not only across western Canada but internationally as well! Here is a list of all of those who provided financial assistance to Sorrento Centre last year. Please join us all in giving thanks to and for our generous friends.

- The Board of Directors of Sorrento Centre and the staff of Sorrento Centre


A Special Thank You!

Sorrento Centre Scenario Spring 2012

Spiritual

sorrento centre spring

sorrento centre living

sorrento centre office

support sorrento centre

spring rick

spiritual journey

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