Dear Friends,
It is with sadness that BC Conference receives word from the Board of The Centre at Naramata that they feel they have no options available to them other than ceasing operations. View the announcement here.
The Naramata Centre has been an important part of the life and heart of BC Conference for the past few generations. Although it started as a “training school”, far more than “training” took place at the Centre over the years. Many found their Christian lives enhanced or even begun there.
The Naramata Centre has been a place of song and prayer, learning and connecting, fun and more than a few tears. It has been a place where the Spirit of Christ has been at work and, very possibly, play. The closure of the Centre will leave a huge hole in the life of the United Church in both BC and Alberta. We also recognize that the closure of the Centre will be a major loss to the residents of Naramata who, over the decades, have taken the Centre into their hearts and lives.
We recognize, though, that operating a Christian institution the size and scope of the Naramata Centre successfully is extremely difficult in our society these days. It is not just congregations that are closing or having difficulty meeting their costs. We have confidence that all the staff, Board and volunteers through the decades have been faithful and diligent in their work, and we give them our thanks.
In particular, we offer our thanks and prayers for all of those who have labored so hard these past few years seeking a viable future for the Centre. We know this closure affects them most directly and intensely.
There are no immediate plans for the Centre going forward. BC Conference will work closely with the Board after everyone has a chance to catch their breath and plans slowly get put into place. We, along with the Centre, will try to keep everyone in touch with developments as they occur.
In the meantime, we join with the rest of those who have loved and were impacted by the Centre – its chapel, beach, quiet areas, labyrinth, its people, vision and spirit – in a mixture of deep grief and overwhelming thanks that is so well known in such hard transitions.
In the love and hope of Christ,
Rev. Karen Medland, President of BC Conference
Rev. Doug Goodwin, Executive Secretary