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Spiritual hospitality

At 5 p.m. every day, the bell on Cates Hill is sounded, calling those gathered at Rivendell to prayer. I hear the bell in my home, and it acts as a reminder to return to myself for a moment, to become aware of what I am doing and why.

At 5 p.m. every day, the bell on Cates Hill is sounded, calling those gathered at Rivendell to prayer. I hear the bell in my home, and it acts as a reminder to return to myself for a moment, to become aware of what I am doing and why. I resonate with those at Rivendell Retreat Centre who seek time for reflection. In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Rivendell is the retreat place of the elves, where they go for rest and recovery in the midst of their journeys. It seems an appropriate name.
I’m no stranger to Rivendell: I’ve attended several retreats there. But I wanted to find out more about its origins. So like many others before me, I take the route up the hill. Kathi Bentall and I sit in the big Adirondack chairs overlooking Howe Sound, and she tells me how Rivendell came to be. “Wolfgang Duntz had acquired the property and had it zoned for a retreat centre as he thought it was too beautiful a site to be in private hands.” When he met Kathi’s parents, Howard and Shirley, they were caught by the vision, and Shirley came up with a floor plan.
Kathi became involved “as part of a visioning committee to see how the centre would function. Accessibility was a big issue. If we wanted to make it available for people with limited resources, we needed a more radical fee structure.” This meant they would have to try out a volunteer model. “Not everyone on the committee thought it was possible; Marks and Margaret McAvity gave it six months and they’re still here.”
For twelve years now, the retreat centre has run with the help of 15 to 16 volunteers. They welcome various groups who hold retreats for yoga, writing, leadership training, as well as First Nations, and people in recovery. The centre is also available for individuals needing a couple days of quiet. Rates are based on the ability to pay. Those who can afford more are encouraged to do so, in order to make it more available for those with fewer resources.  It’s important to book ahead. Guests are invited to be custodians of their own living spaces, and to follow general guidelines for community living and cleaning. Rivendell also has a two-bedroom cottage with a special mandate. In response to referrals, it is made available for families and individuals in need of respite and other special circumstances.
A second retreat site is in the works. The Hermitage will be for individuals staying in small cabins, with an emphasis on silence and solitude. “It will be based on simplicity, and being in touch with the rhythms of nature.” Like Rivendell on the hill, the Hermitage will be managed by volunteers. When I ask Kathi how she would describe the work she does, she answers: spiritual hospitality. “At one point there was a sense that Bowen could become the Iona of North America.” Like Bowen, Iona in Scotland is an island renowned for its beauty and tranquility, and for offering retreats for spiritual renewal. “We offer the chance to come away and reflect. It’s hospitality for the soul.”
Not a newcomer to sacred spaces, Kathi tells me she has been on a powerful healing journey since 1995. She lived in Bolivia as a missionary, and in 1999 she opened The Listening Post, at Main and Hastings. It is manned by two volunteers a day, “a sacred quiet space for those needing someone to talk to, as well as offering periods of silence.”
Although Kathi was born in Vancouver, she grew up in Calgary where her father was a minister. “The West Coast is my spiritual landscape,” she says. “I came to Bowen to have more of a contemplative life for myself.” She relishes the peace and quiet of Bowen life and the easy access to Vancouver where she can stay in touch with the inner city. “That’s a reality,” she says. “In this part of the world we really need places where people can be in solitude, surrounded by nature, to experience the cycles and seasons of the Earth.”
After my visit with Kathi, I walk to the Sanctuary, a small building in the shape of a nautilus designed by architect, Don Nicolson. The Sanctuary embodies all that Rivendell stands for – a place of deep quiet, rest, and reflection. It is open at 5 p.m. and available to anyone in the Bowen community who would like to join in prayer. Inside the Sanctuary, I sit a while and know I will return for a longer stay, to experience a deeper silence. Then I go back down the hill, refreshed and ready to return to my typically over-committed life.