Sorrento Centre - Scenario - Summer 2012 newsletter

the
Summer, 2012

Scenario
A Newsletter for the Associat of Sorrento Centre
Hopefully this Scenario finds
you well and anticipating your
report from the report from Memorial garden
renovations
time with us this summer. We chair of the Board the executive Last year we began to imagine
are certainly looking forward of Directors Director renovating the Memorial
to seeing you! Garden. Lesley Godwin, Ruth
While some of you were in attendance during Associates’ Zenger, Edith Chisholm, and Kelly Duncan joined Dave Wides
Week in May, many will have missed the Annual General and me in this exercise. To date we have managed to
Meeting and the decisions that will affect our future. We transplant mature lilac bushes to form a hedge marking the
thought we would take this opportunity to update you. border between the garden and the parking lot, and we have
secured an extra outdoor bench. We also commissioned a
Inside is a synopsis of the reports given as well as an overview hand-made Memorial Book in which to record the names of
of the meeting and four of the significant motions adopted. people whose ashes have been added to the garden.
There is also important information regarding the new
Diocesan Summer Camp. Many thanks to Jeff Bayntum whose family donated the lilac
bushes; to Bob McCrae, Edith Chisholm, Joey Hamilton and
In my report, I explained the process that brought us to the Diocese of BC, who combined to add the bench to the
accepting a new Mission, Vision and Strategic Directions plan. garden; and to Joan Neal and Kathy Kinsella who combined
We time-travelled from the 2008 Master Plan and feasibility to make the Memorial book possible.
study that urged us to go forward. We encountered the October Barbie needs a new bed
economic crisis that stopped us in our tracks. In 2011, we
Our online auction last fall was a great success, raising over
conducted a new feasibility study with a more modest goal of
$6,000 towards new beds for the Centre. As a result 1 single &
$5 to $6 million dollars. The consultant’s recommendation was
4 doubles have been added to Richardson Lodge, 4 singles to
that we proceed if we could clarify our mission and if we had
Caritas, and 28 vinyl-covered foam mattresses have been
the backing of our major supporting dioceses.
added to the cabana bunks.
The new Mission, Vision and Strategic Directions statements 10-year Anniversary
(see page 3) fulfill the first condition.
The first of May marked the 10th anniversary of Norman
The Bishops of B.C., New Westminster and Kootenay have Sigurdson’s work in the Sorrento Centre kitchen. You will not be
agreed to recommend to their dioceses that we be included in surprised to hear me say that Norman is much beloved among
their fundraising goals for their respective diocesan Capital the thousands of guests who pass through Sorrento each year.
Campaigns as part of a national Anglican Campaign called
“Together in Mission”. There are no guarantees but at this early June 1st marked the 10th anniversary of Darlene Jabbour’s
stage, it is encouraging to have that level of support. employment at Sorrento Centre. Darlene started in the
housekeeping department and now serves as Registrar in the
I thanked our caring staff, discerning director, gifted treasurer, main office. Darlene’s association with the Centre harkens back
persevering board members and our Associates quoting even farther to her time as a member of the Summer Youth
Charles Cooley who said, “Faith in our associates is part of our Staff.
faith in God.”
We are blessed to have dedicated staff working at the Centre
With you, I pray that God will guide us into the best future for and none are more dedicated than Norman and Darlene.
Sorrento Centre.
– Kathie MacDuff See From the Director / page 2

We affirm Sorrento Centre as a “holy place of transformation for learning, healing and belonging”
Sorrento Centre has a
challenging financial future. report from the From the Director Continued from page 1
There is not a lot of time to Treasurer of the Sorrento 100th Anniversary
achieve a new financial structure
but there is enough time.
Board of Directors 2012 is the 100th Anniversary of the founding of Sorrento. It was
in 1912 that JR Kinghorn filed his plan of registration for the
Copies of the 2011 audited financial statements can be found on town, changing its name from Trapper’s Landing to Sorrento.
our website at http://goo.gl/MA7mp A series of events have been planned to celebrate this occasion
At the annual meeting, the Treasurer shared this graph: and Sorrento Centre will be participating formally in 3 of them.
The first event will be an Olde Time Picnic at Sorrento Centre
Beach on Father’s Day, June 17, 2012, from 1pm til 4pm.
The second event will be a community-wide “Gates Open
Sorrento” on Thursday, July 19 from noon until 4pm. Visitors will be
invited on a tour of historic sites: the 1902 Coubeaux family
farmhouse on the Sorrento farm, the 1907 farmhouse on the main
Sorrento Centre property, and the iconic 1925 Spes Bona.
The third event will be the Street Party on Saturday evening, July
21 on Passchendaele Rd between the Community Hall and the
school. Sorrento Centre will provide the power for this event. There
is also a family festival September 8 & 9 at Sorrento Blind Bay Park
and a dance on Boxing Day at the Memorial Hall.
The accommodation / meal revenue has remained static for the – Christopher Lind
past four years. Private bookings, including Bluegrass and Swing,
account for 70% of the revenue. The Summer Program, in
contrast, has been vulnerable to changes in the economy and
the culture. At the same time, the costs to enable the Centre to
ThAT The MiSSion, important
sustain its mission have been increasing. The change required is ViSion AnD Motions made
STrATegic
to fund more of the mission expenses, such as Youth Leadership
and Farm Operation, through donations or partnerships. DirecTionS statement
and approved
be approved. at the May 2012
The Capital Campaign is a method to place donated funds into
an endowment fund that can finance the mission enabling ThAT The BoArD
Annual general
activities into the future. The change in funding our mission to iS enDorSeD to Meeting
donations will allow both the mission programs and the proceed with
hospitality activities to be sustained.
a capital campaign.
2012 looks promising
Data ThAT The BoArD oF SorrenTo cenTre
exAMine, reView AnD rewriTe where necessary
Current Last Last Est
Type YTD YTD Yr Yr End policy and bylaws as they pertain to the Nominating
Committee and the nomination of new members
Facility 22,615 -3,948 266,590 313,000 to the Board.
Meals 13,389 6,198 113 453 129,000
ThAT giVen our new MiSSion STATeMenT where
Program 5,096 -4,356 53,683 73,000 we affirm Sorrento Centre as a “holy place of
Mission -174,982 -156,009 -574,053 -530,000 transformation for learning, healing and belonging”,
the Board of Directors investigate the possibility of
grand Total -133,882 -158,115 -140,328 -15,000
using our property to support an Assisted Living
• Current Year to Date deficit is $25,000 below 2011 Residence for Seniors who will enhance the
(YTD is $133,000) community of Sorrento and engender financial
• Year-end Deficit is a significant improvement from 2011, support for Sorrento Centre and report back to the
but still a deficit. next AGM.
– Grant Hanna

2 The Scenario • Summer 2012 Sorrento centre • Box 99, Sorrento, Bc V0e 2w0

SORRENTO CENTRE
Mission

Sorrento Centre is a holy place of transformation
for learning, healing and belonging
Vision
We will follow Jesus in seeking to love God with all our heart, with all our soul,
with all our mind and with all our strength; and loving our neighbour as ourselves.
we will do this by

• encouraging encounters with the sacred through • engaging in accessible theological education and
the Arts, encouraging creativity, and enabling a theological reflection on the pressing issues of our time;
deeper understanding of the emotional life; • encouraging physical activities that honour the body and
• becoming an open, intergenerational sacred centre enable all people to express the sacred according to their
known for our work with young people; ability;
developing innovative and creative forms of • exercising a ministry of compassion, hospitality & justice;
worship, prayer and music; and by embracing our encouraging personal and communal reflection for the
experience of the Divine in Creation; sake of learning and healing; and by sharing our
resources with our neighbours.

Strategic Directions
Youth Leadership healing & wholeness
• Build the summer youth staff as a leadership • Promote attention to spirituality as a path toward
development program healing & wholeness
• Create a Winter Youth Leadership Development • Encourage physical activity that integrates the spiritual
program (WYLD) in partnership with PWRDF, Sorrento and material worlds and that encourages us to listen to
Centre farm & others our feelings and our bodies
retreats • Engage with Aboriginal communities to facilitate
reconciliation
• Enable a Sabbath experience & reflective practice for
diverse audiences: clergy & laity, families & parishes, • Heal our relationship with the rest of Creation by
writers, musicians & artists, non-profits and community practicing ecojustice
based organizations creativity & the Arts
Learning • Develop the Red Barn Art Studio using skilled artists in
• Provide general education for seekers and parish the company of others; and invite artists to be in
members, that nurtures our relationship with God, residence throughout the year
strengthens relationships across all generations & Property
overcomes the separation of humanity from the rest of
• Ensure all buildings meet relevant standards and all
Creation
assets are employed with maximum effectiveness in
• Offer accessible education for licensed lay leaders and relation to the mission & vision
vocational deacons
Officially adopted at the Annual General Meeting of Associates on Saturday, May 12, 2012.

Phone: 250-675-2421 • Toll-free: 1-866-694-2409 • Fax: 250-675-3032 • info@sorrento-centre.bc.ca • www.sorrento-centre.bc.ca 3

The Committee worked very Several important changes have been made in the kitchen and
closely with the staff at the report from dining room. A new walk-in freezer/cooler was constructed to
Centre over the past year. We the Building replace the aging existing units, which were becoming expensive to
provided suggestions, and grounds operate and service. The work was completed by volunteers and
professional advice, and hands made possible by generous donations from Associates. The septic
on work. committee of the field behind the kitchen stopped working and on investigation it
One of the main concerns of
Board of Directors was found that roots had entered a number of lines and some had
collapsed. As an emergency situation it needed to be replaced. New
the Committee has been the continuing deferred maintenance
flooring has been installed in the Dining Room which makes it
held over from year to year, due mostly to lack of funds. We have
more inviting.
buildings on site that are now 100 years old. Some people
advocate tearing these buildings down but we believe that they Other initiatives over the past year include:
represent the history of the Centre and as such should be • The lower level of the barn has been completed and it is now
preserved. However, many of these buildings have been operating as an Art Studio. Work has begun to turn the upper
neglected over the years and now require considerable floor into staff housing.
upgrading. A good example is the Farmhouse which dates back • A new addition to the workshop was completed.
to 1909. • The upstairs bathroom in Spes Bona has been renovated and
The Committee has been asked to prepare a complete list of an accessible bathroom in the upper washhouse is completed.
what is felt to be the most critical maintenance at the Centre. This • Upgrading the Cabanas is also continuing and exterior painting
is in process and will be available shortly. should be completed this year.
This past year saw the Centre become a member of BC Tourism, As in the past, we are encouraging Associates to “adopt” and fund
which allows us to be advertised in BC Tourism publications. projects which they are concerned about and have been identified.
However, this requires us to complete a list of maintenance We thank all of the volunteers and Associates who help complete
projects, which include upgrading of the campsites and the projects by giving so generously of their time and talents. A special
lower washhouse. Most of this is simple maintenance work and thanks also goes to the grounds and maintenance staff for being so
can be accomplished by Centre staff and dedicated volunteers. responsive to our suggestions.
– Brian Laver

report from
the Youth
Delegate of
the Board of
Directors

Sorrento Centre • Young Sojourners • 2012

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend my first Young jobs. Dave Wides, the Centre’s Groundskeeper and Farm Manager
Sojourners weekend at Sorrento Centre. The worship and helped us to work harder than ever to help get the farm ready for the
sessions, led by Andrew Halladay and David Taylor, were upcoming summer season.
nothing less than spectacular. Each of the four days was
I like to make the analogy that this year, the young sojourners were
themed by one of the four elements.
community first and individuals second. The community of BCYAYM
With Andrew’s beautiful lessons, and David’s musical genius, working for the nourishment of the Centre encourages each and
I and all the other Sojourners were blessed to even be near every one to be brothers, sisters, and leaders to each other. This is
the festivities. We were marked by ashes, worked in dirt, something worth keeping, and something that did not just show
washed with water, and blown on by wind, all serenaded by up in the work parties but all the activities over the weekend.
fantastic music.
I am proud of each and every one of the participants, leaders, and
Our work parties were trend setters, designed to offer our employees of Sorrento Centre. This is a blessed community to be a
capable hands around the Centre and its farm. We planted part of, and I hope that I can be graced by God to only encourage
vegetables, tore docks apart, beautified trails, and many other that for next year.
– Alex Erickson
4 The Scenario • Summer 2012
The Scenario • Sorrento centre • Summer 2012 Sorrento centre • Box 99, Sorrento, Bc V0e 2w0

Sorrento Centre is Anglican in tradition, umenical in programming, and inclusive in welcome!
Once again, the work of a service
report from the to those who attend Sorrento
chairperson of Centre allowed us to also make a
the Book and financial contribution to the
Centre. That was only possible
gift Shoppe because of the work of 13 faithful
Shoppe volunteers, the help of the
Centre staff, and the many people who support the Shoppe in
other ways. A thank you to all!
While the Personnel Committee
new initiatives included the following: the Personnel does not meet on a regular basis
We have been selling a very popular line of “Farm T-shirts” which committee of it has met many times over the
were designed by Farm Manager Dave Wides. We have entered into
consignment relationships with Augsburg Fortress Press (for books) the Board of past year to review and revise the
policies and procedures that
and the Gondwana Gallery in Salmon Arm (for fair trade gift items). Directors ensure that there are good
Some of our stock is available for sale in the summer months at the working conditions and fair and
Sorrento Centre booth at the Sorrento Farmers’ Market. accessible procedures in place for all employees. The Committee
Our sales were at the same level as the year before, partly because understands its principal function to be one of supportiveness to
of the faithful support of the Sorrento Centre Associates. We, both the staff and Director.
therefore, were able to make a $5000 donation to the Centre. The Committee has worked closely with, and is very grateful to,
We continue to be blessed by the gentle prodding of Executive the Executive Director for his insight and wisdom. It has revised
Director Chris Lind, who helps us look in new directions. For the the policies in such a way that the staff seem to have a greater
upcoming season, books will be more prominent at the Shoppe sense of dignity, value, and participation in the life and the
as Norm Sigurdson will be involved in ordering. Some items programs of the Centre. It became clear that some issues were
produced at the Sorrento Farm will be available through the policy related while others were procedural and needed
Shoppe. We also plan to feature the Shoppe on the Sorrento flexibility.
Centre website.
The Personnel Committee is composed of Andrew Pike as Chair,
May God continue to walk with us and make us a blessing to all Kathryn Sainty, Andrea Gailus, and Rick Barr.
who come to the Sorrento Centre!
– Inge Maier – Andrew Pike
report from
Sunday, August 5, 2012 – Saturday, August 11, 2012

DIOCESAN FAMILY CAMP
at Sorrento Centre • A gathering place for all !

Live, Pray & Play!
Creativity and Practical Spirituality

We are pleased to announce a new diocesan family camp at This camp is being sponsored by the dioceses of British
Sorrento Centre during the week of August 5-11, 2012. The Columbia, New Westminster, Kootenay, APCI (Anglican Parishes
theme is Live, Pray & Play: Creativity and Practical Spirituality. of the Central Interior), Calgary, and Edmonton.
A family’s a family no matter how small.... large...... or their make up! Special: No program fees! Save $50 per child/$100 per adult!
Accommodations and food for the week can be as low as $162 if you choose to camp and cook your own food.

Phone: 250-675-2421 • Toll-free: 1-866-694-2409 • Fax: 250-675-3032 • info@sorrento-centre.bc.ca • www.sorrento-centre.bc.ca 5

FALL RETREATS AT SORRENTO CENTRE
Finding the Sacred in All of Life cultivating inner Stillness
A reTreAT wiTh ricK MccorriSTer A guiDeD SiLenT reTreAT wiTh ricK MccorriSTer
Thursday evening will be an introduction to the A time to explore inner stillness and all that is has
weekend and the theme of finding the sacred in all of to teach us for our journey. We will begin Sunday
life. Friday and Saturday will follow a pattern. The with an orientation to the retreat time. Monday to
morning will be an experiential time where we will Wednesday we will be in silence. We will have a
have some presentation/discussion time – a mix of prayer time each morning and evening to give
some presentation of ideas (e.g., what is meant by structure to our day. There will be opportunity
seeing the Sacred in all things, how do we open each day for each participant to meet with Rick for
ourselves to this way of living, why this is important to a spiritual check-in time (or spiritual direction
our well being) as well as the offering of different session). Meals will also be in silence.
practices for staying connected to the Holy (e.g., the Thursday Morning Prayer is our coming out of
practice of Breath Prayer, Lectio Divina, walking silence ritual. The morning will be a time to debrief
meditations, the labyrinth, mindfulness practices, etc.). the experience of practising inner stillness. We will
The afternoon will be a time of reflection through reflect on the transition from this time of silent
various media (e.g., journaling, creative expression, etc.) to help in retreat into our regular lives beyond Sorrento. We will
processing the morning as well as time to try out the spiritual conclude with lunch together.
practice(s) offered in the morning. There will be an opportunity to Starting Sunday, November 18 at 5:30pm with supper and
meet with Rick for a Spiritual Direction session one of those days ending Thursday, November 22 at 1pm after lunch. Cost of
to assist in the processing of the weekend’s experience. Following $548 includes tuition, all meals and 4 days’ accommodation.
supper we will have a time of silence to explore inner stillness. We
ricK MccorriSTer serves as a United Church minister with the
will begin and end each day with prayer/worship time.
Spirit Hills Pastoral Charge in Saskatchewan. A graduate of the
Starting Thursday, November 15 at 5:50pm with supper and Pacific Jubilee Program in Spiritual Formation and Spiritual
ending Sunday, November 18 at 1pm after lunch. Cost of $465 is Direction, he is currently a staff member of the Prairie Jubilee
inclusive of tuition, all meals and 3 days’ accommodation. Program in Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Direction.

Simple Faith
A reTreAT wiTh MArgAreT SiLF
We are living through times of great upheaval What does that following mean for us in our world
when many of our imagined ‘certainties’ are today, both personally and globally? What questions
crumbling. The question of faith is not immune does the challenge of faith bring up for us, and should
to this disintegration, and for many people who we really be looking for answers?
would describe themselves as people of faith,
During this retreat we will look at some of the big
there are more questions than answers.
questions: who is ‘God’ for us, and who is Jesus? Where
The traditional approach of regarding faith as is our life centred, and does our life really have any
assent to a set of intellectual propositions or meaning? How does faith reveal itself in action, and
doctrines and an undertaking to comply with become transformative energy? How can we be in
the strictures of a particular faith system is no relationship with this mystery?
longer working for many people who are
Based on the book Simple Faith by Margaret Silf
nevertheless genuinely seeking to discover and
(Loyola Press, Chicago, 2011)
nourish the spiritual bedrock of their lives.
The retreat begins with supper on Friday, November 23 and ends
So what does it mean to be a person of faith in today’s
with lunch on Sunday, November 25. Cost is $300 inclusive
world? Is it, in the words of Alice on Wonderland, about
based on shared occupancy. Sponsored by Sorrento Centre.
‘believing six impossible things before breakfast’? Or is it
perhaps rather more about trusting that the mystery in MArgAreT SiLF travels widely in her work as a retreat director and
whom we live and move and have our being means well speaker on Ignatian spirituality. Her latest book, Just Call Me Lopez:
with us and is striving to empower us to become the very Getting to the Heart of Ignatius Loyola, will be available in July 2012.
best we can be, both individually and collectively? Her other books include The Other Side of Chaos, Simple Faith,
Compass Points, Inner Compass, Close to the Heart and Going on
Can ‘faith’ take us beyond ‘religion’, to a radical following of one
Retreat (Loyola Press) and The Gift of Prayer: Embracing the Sacred
who shows us what it means to be ‘a human being fully alive’?
in the Everyday (Bluebridge). She lives in Scotland.

6 Sorrento centre, Sorrento, B.c. • Phone: 250-675-2421 • Toll-free: 1-866-694-2409 • info@sorrento-centre.bc.ca • www.sorrento-centre.bc.ca

Sorrento Centre - Scenario - Summer 2012 newsletter

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Sorrento Centre - Scenario - Summer 2012 newsletter