Report of Emrich Advisory Council

Emrich Retreat Center

Coming out of the pandemic, Emrich was re-opened to the public in July 2021. Our caretakers, Shari and Lance Spencer worked very hard to prepare the facility for groups to return. There were several events that took place in the fall, but then some severe weather and a burst water pipe put several of our buildings out of commission for the majority of 2022. This limited the number of people that could comfortably use the facility and as a result two of our larger groups that book every year had to find other facilities. We have had smaller groups continue to use the property with the limited number of open buildings. The rehabilitation work continues, and we currently have one of the buildings re-opened but a few are still out of commission. Given this reality, Emrich has not been fully utilized and with the ongoing Covid concern, as well as the current state of the buildings, the change in youth camping activities and the types of groups that rent our space, we believe that Emrich has come to a crossroads. The original ministry and mission of Emrich has changed and it is now time for us as a diocesan community to re-imagine and re-purpose our beautiful facility! Our bishop agrees with the Emrich Advisory Board’s conclusion, and she is now ready to invite our diocesan household into prayerful discernment regarding the next steps for Emrich. You will see at diocesan convention a video introducing this new venture and we are inviting anyone who is interested to join us at Emrich for an overnight with our bishop on Friday, November 4th, 2022. We will have dinner, a hike and bonfire and then on Saturday after breakfast there will be a brainstorming session with everyone present about how we might envision new ministry or ministries in that space. We will conclude at by early afternoon, and you are welcome to spend the remainder of the day on the grounds. We have added a few new faces to our Advisory Board, and we would welcome you to join us! Please pray for this new visioning process for Emrich! Thanks to the following people for their commitment and sharing their time and talent with us!

Emrich Staff: Shari and Lance Spencer Emrich Advisory Board: The Rev. Steve Steinberger-Domienik, Chair, Cedric Flounory, Jerry L. Hardy, Bruce Hinkle (Diocesan Council Representative), The Rev. Jeanne Hanskneckt, The Rev. Chris Yaw, The Rev. Kit Carlson

EDOMI Support: Canon Jo Ann Hardy and Kara Chapman