Over the last year, the snowy Anglican parish of Ruapehu has been home to the St James hall-turned-retreat-lodge, dreamt up by Chris Casey with a nudge from Bishop Justin Duckworth. The lodge was commissioned at last year’s Synod in September, intending to be used primarily by friends of the Anglican church – large family gatherings and youth programmes. Chris Casey, who has been overseeing the management of the retreat lodge explained that the parish of Ruapehu was incredibly supportive during the construction and commission process.

The space itself sleeps nineteen with two bunk rooms and one double bedroom, and over the past twelve months the lodge has had the equivalent of four hundred and twenty-two beds filled, which Chris found to be an exciting response. ‘With all the challenges around socialisation and gatherings, we’ve had a really good fill. We’ve probably filled eighty percent of the weekends, so that’s great.’ The challenge moving forwards is to be more available during the week and with the potential for it to be open to the public for the summer season.

While Chris has been running the space alongside Mike and Michelle Beck, he plans to step into a supporting role as Mike and Michelle move into the lodge next year to have a continuous presence there. This was always the intention with the retreat, even though it hasn’t been possible for 2020. Luke and Amilie Paynter and their kids will also partner with the vision of the retreat as they move to Ohakune in June of 2021. The retreat lodge is also connected to an oversight group including members from the Ruapehu parish, Whanganui archdeaconry and the Anglican Diocesan Office.

Chris is hopeful for the future of this space. With Luke and Amilie in the area next year, there is the intention to engage further with the existing community, including seasonal workers and youth. There is opportunity for input with encouraging good practices around looking after young people and their families. Chris also hopes to have more young adults journey up to join them for mission in Ohakune for a season, ‘so if you decide you want to come up for six months and ski your heart out, live at the lodge and do mission…’

Registrations to stay at the Ohakune retreat lodge are available at either https://ohakunelodge.co.nz/ or on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ohakunelodgeretreat

By Holly Morton