By Lloyd Mackey

HONEYMOON BAY Retreat Centre is coming closer to reality, and project director Jim Robertson is looking forward to seeing the Cowichan Lake facility serve a broad-ranging community.

He hopes it will be used often by ministry leaders, pastors and other Christian workers – and their spouses – for renewal, recuperation and  burnout recovery.

That is the vision for the centre, which is being developed with the backing of the Oswald Smith Foundation – an entity which has assisted both directly and indirectly in bringing  many Christian projects together through the years, including: Regent College, Pioneer Camps, Chemainus Theatre and BC Christian News.

Kenneth Smith, now 80, is the son of Oswald Smith, who operated a large and technically-sophisticated printing company in Vancouver for several decades in the mid-20th century. Smith spoke to BCCN of the obvious need for the kind of retreat centre he envisages. And he noted, as well, that it is quite remarkable, in his view, that God has brought together an excellent team to put it together.

But being a practical person, as well as a wise and experienced steward of what he has been given, Smith pointed out that the project will need to pay its way. So corporations and non-faith groups will pay the market rate for using the facilities. That will seed the ministry aspect.  

The team includes Robertson, Stuart Price and his wife Sharon, and Tim Erikson. Robertson talked with BCCN  about the project – and told a bit of the story about how he came to be working on it.

He began early adulthood as a hippie who had an epiphany while home-delivering his daughter. That eventually led both him and his wife, Summer, to Christ – and to a life of Christian service. The early years were with the Christian Brethren in Quebec. Later, through the influence of several Regent College leaders, as well as Roy Bell, then a Vancouver Baptist pastor and counsellor, he received a graduate level counselling education at Regent, working as a painting contractor all the while to support his family.

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Construction for Honeymoon Bay Retreat Centre is nearing completion.

Both his construction and building experience, and the 10 years of counselling practice coming after his Regent graduation, will come in handy as the Honeymoon Bay centre comes to fruition. These days, he is involved in building a multi-room extension to the existing building.

Honeymoon Bay Retreat is located on a 32-acre site on the bay of the same name on Lake Cowichan. The existing building was a school built by the forest company working in the area at the time that many mill families were located there. Eventually, the land and buildings were put up for sale as school enrollment dropped and it was not feasible to keep it open.

Enter the Oswald Smith Foundation, after hopes for such a retreat centre near Chemainus Theatre had fallen through. There are several other interesting links to the project which have Robertson feeling pretty good about the way it is turning out.

There have been discussions with Royal Roads University in Victoria about having tourism courses in connection with Honeymoon Bay, as part of a masters degree cohort.

Plans also call for a first class restaurant open to the public; and Services Canada has provided a works grant, as well.

Contact: honeymoonbayretreat.com.

December 2007