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What's New at Powell Butte? |
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14427 SW Alfalfa Road
Powell Butte, OR 97753
541-388-4004 |
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2010 Recap: December The Diocese hosted the second annual Schoenstatt Advent Family Celebration from 7-9 p.m., Thursday, December 16th. The focus was on the Divine Maternity of Mary with the Protection of Her Loving Husband, Joseph, and the coming of her Son. The celebration started with Adoration, Holy Hour and Advent Scriptural reading by Bishop Vasa, followed by music, entertainment, ethnic dancing, family crafts, cookies and beverages. This gathering was a perfect opportunity to teach children about the meaning of Advent. The first Catholic Mothers Retreat by Fr. Jim Radloff was held this month with an overwhelming response that will undoubtedly spur many more of these retreats in the future. This was a time to reflect on our faith, have group prayer with other mothers, time for private prayer in the St. Mary Chapel, participation in group discussions and much more. The retreat was on a weekday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and lunch was included in the registration fee. |
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November
This summer, our first full
year at Powell Butte, was
enjoyed by youth from all over
the Diocese and outside the
Diocese as well. It
proved that the need for
spiritual and social gathering
far outweighed the challenge of
traveling in Eastern Oregon.
Many of the youth were
sponsored by their home parish
through parish scholarships and
not surprisingly, many youth
returned to attend The Day of
the Son and The Day of the
Spirit retreats held during
October. |
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October
Faith Recharged:
Approximately 40 high school
age youth participated in the
annual Day of the Son Retreat
held on the weekend of October
1-2. The theme for the
retreat was "Faith Recharged."
Speakers gave talks on "Getting
charged up about the Catholic
faith", "Getting charged up
about Prayer", and Getting
charged up about the Church".
The retreat also included daily
Mass, Adoration and an
opportunity for Reconciliation.
Other activities included movie
night with chicken feathers,
(ask one of the attendees...),
capture the flag, and, due to
the beautiful weather, the
water slide was opened. A
number of skits performed by
the Diocese of Baker Youth
Council and the always popular
evening campfire with S'mores,
singing, hanging out and a
Limbo Dance added to the fun
and faith filled weekend. |
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September
After a busy summer, the number
of events continues to increase
at the Powell Butte Retreat
Center. The Diocese has
held almost 40 events during
2010 and we already have 32
events scheduled for 2011.
October events include Day of
the Son high school retreat on
October 1-3, Day of the Spirit
middle school retreat October
8-10, the annual clergy
assembly and Growing in Faith
Today (G.I.F.T.) program which
begins on October 10-14,
followed by the Jovenes para
Christo retreat on October
22-24.
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August
At the end of August the
Diocese hosted a very
successful and well received
Ministries Training Conference.
The Conference surpassed
everyone's expectation,
including both the participants
and the presenters. One
Director of Religious Education
exclaimed "I am sending all my
Catechists next year."
More than 65 Directors of
Religious Education, Youth
Ministers, and Catechists
throughout the Diocese of Baker
were in attendance. |
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July
In early July a group called
the Militia of the Immaculata
used the Retreat Center for a
youth camp for 13-17 year old
children. The MI is a
spiritual movement with over
four million members worldwide.
The aim of the MI is to bring
the world to the Sacred Heart
of Jesus through the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. About 30
youth are expected to attend
this retreat.
Leadership Camp began on Tuesday, July 13 and ran through Friday, July 16, followed by Middle School Camp which began on July 17 and ran through July 21. The high school age youth from Leadership Camp, which is a Camp designed to train them to assist in future camps, help lead the middle school camp and participate as counselors and serve in other leadership positions at the camp. The estimate is that during 2010 there will be more than 1,500 people participating in events at the Retreat Center; these include Adult Retreats and Day of Recollection, as well as Youth Camps and Retreats. The crew is busy finishing the final touches to the grounds before the summer schedule. Grass is starting to grow in the upper field and two outdoor eating tents have been set up, as well as a 120-foot long water slide. |
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June
On Sunday, June 27, more than
200 people from St. Patrick
Church in Madras and other
parishes in the Central Deanery
attended Mass in St. Mary
Church and later enjoyed a
picnic lunch. The
occasion, which was a Parish
Picnic for St. Patrick's in
Madras, also served as an
opportunity to mark the fourth
anniversary of Fr. Luis Flores'
priestly ordination, June 17.
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A brief description of the Retreat Center at Powell Butte in Central Oregon IN GENERAL
The entire site
is one of great natural beauty
and is already attractive as a
quiet, out of the way place.
Over the years new trails will
be developed and various prayer
shrines, grottoes and statues
will be established. Like all
of us, the work here is ongoing
and “in process”. We
do hope that many people of the
Diocese make regular use of the
grounds and especially the
Chapel and come to think of
this place: a place apart, a
desert place, as a kind of
spiritual home where body,
mind, heart and spirit can find
rest and peace.
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SAINT MARY CHURCH The title for the Church, Saint Mary’s was chosen, in part because there is no Church in Crook, Deschutes, or Jefferson County Dedicated to Mary. In designing the Church the goal was to have something suitably devotional while at the same time welcoming, attractive and a bit rustic given the Camp setting. Thus the furniture is appropriately finished while a number of the accessories are a bit more local. The altar is made of oak with marble facing and a granite top. The hand carved statues of Mary and the Sacred Heart were donated by Father Chun of Portland. The tabernacle, the Cross and the Stations of the Cross hangers are made of juniper harvested from the Diocesan property near Bend. The cross still lacks a body but it should arrive within a week or so. The relics placed in the altar are Saint Peter, Apostle, Saint Paul, Saint Stephen, Martyr, Saint Sebastian, Martyr, Saint Martin, Bishop, Saint William, Abbot, Saint Gabriel, Saint Vincent, Saint Maria Goretti, Saint Gemma. A variety of saints were randomly selected, as were the Cabin and Retreat Room names, to provide an ongoing education in the lives of a great number of Saints. We have not yet prepared the short biography of the Altar Saints but that will be a part of ongoing development of the Retreat Center. There are no specific plans for stained glass at this time but we do anticipate the possibility of future donations which would make it possible for us to have stained glass windows made. The thought is to have a pair of Saints for each window adding to the education in the Saints which is a theme we have tried to incorporate into the entire complex. Although the Mass schedule has been determined with two or three Masses here each week, we hope that eventually there will be Masses on some Sundays as well.
At least during the
first year, as we get settled
in, we do not anticipate using
this Church for weddings though
we expect that it could become
a popular setting for weddings,
anniversaries and quinciñeras.
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POPE JOHN PAUL II CONFERENCE CENTER The Conference Center is named after Pope John Paul II who is the Pope with whom a vast majority of young adults and youth have grown up with. The picture is one from his later years which speaks both to the young and to those who are senior citizens. The main structure of this building was built in the late 90’s as a horse barn complete with stalls, tack room and hay loft. A concerted effort was made to preserve as much of the external appearance as possible, accenting the rural nature of both the Diocese and this facility. The interior has been significantly remodeled but here too some attempt was made to preserve the original wood paneling and beams.
This large space is
the major
gathering place but there are
also three other smaller
sections, two upstairs in the
former loft and one downstairs
which we plan to use for a
temporary administrative
office. Those three rooms
provide the opportunity for
smaller group gatherings,
particularly at youth camps,
when several smaller groups may
be occupied with different
aspects of the Retreat on a
rotating basis. The facility
should provide sufficient space
for gatherings of up to 200
youth. |
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CAMP CONNOLLY The section of the project designated as “Camp” is appropriately named after Bishop Connolly who really pioneered the Youth Camp Program more than 35 years ago. It had been a dream of his to have our own Diocesan Camp and so a decision was made to name this Camp after him. While the entire facility is used for Camps the portion which will most likely be identified with Camp is this Cabin area and the Fire Circle. There are five duplex cabins with each side of each duplex housing eight. This gives a total of 80 beds. Each Cabin is named after a pair of Saints and each Cabin has a different form of Cross built into the floor. The Cabins are named for men and women who were very close friends or even Family members. Each Cabin has a side named for a male Saint and a side for a female Saint. Each cabin also has a brief biography of its Saint as well as a description of the floor cross mounted on the wall. These are not necessarily men’s or women’s Cabins. All of the Cabins are identical, with the exception of the first two which are more readily handicap accessible. Each side of each duplex, besides the 8 beds, has a separate toilet and shower. The bunk beds in the cabins were made by Joe Hayes, a Diocesan employee, with a lot of volunteer help from John and Jordan Schiemer. As with other buildings there was a desire to preserve a rustic appearance while making sure the Cabins were both durable and attractive. We hope the Youth will find here a place which speaks to them of our love and concern for them while providing a place of powerful spiritual experiences. The Fire Circle is very much a part of the Camp tradition. Here the youth gather every evening for a Campfire, S’mores and Youth “Witness” talks. The amphitheatre-like setting should easily accommodate several hundred youth. The building near the center of the row of cabins, which is configured differently from the Cabins, is the Bathhouse. This houses several shower and bathroom units for use by the youth staying in the cabins as well as for those who might be camping or staying in RVs. There are seven RV parking spots with power and water hookups as well as a common dump station. This is not an RV Park but sometimes, especially at family camp, a number of folks who are traveling greater distances might prefer to bring their Campers. Behind the cabins is a trail which winds through the junipers and connects the Cabins to each other and to the Youth Activities Center which is currently storage and maintenance. In addition to the Youth Activity Center there is ample area for playing fields both up above near the RV parking or down below near the Activity Center. There is still much to be done but most of what needs to be done can be worked at over the years as the Camp is used.
One of the future projects is
the building of a water slide.
The hot summer afternoons
during Camp almost require some
kind of cooling down water
activity and a water slide with
a water play area at the bottom
seems to be the most practical
way to meet this need.
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RETREAT ROOMS
This building has been known by
several names. It is
known as the Staff House since
some of the adults who work at
Camp will stay here. It
is also known as Retreat Rooms
because here individuals or
even small groups of ten or
twelve folks (double occupancy)
can come for quiet days at the
Center. It is also known
as motel six since there are
six individual rooms each with
two twin beds, private
restrooms and shower. One
is set up as handicap
accessible. The end room
also opens to a small
conference area where six to
ten retreatants could readily
gather for discussion or
private prayer. The views
from the deck of the Retreat
Rooms make setting chairs out
on the deck an attractive
possibility.
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BISHOP’S RESIDENCE Besides trying to establish a Camp the desire was also to create a Diocesan place for a variety of gatherings. It is our hope that this Catholic Center will also be the site of the Bishops Offices whose personnel are largely involved in the operation and management of the Camps and Retreat Center as well as in promoting and conducting various Retreats and Seminars. With this in mind the decision was made to consolidate the Bishops’ residence with the rest of the Catholic Center. On a very practical note, since so many Camps and Youth Retreats are events which the Bishop is committed to attend and since the increasing number of Camps will require even more time the proximity of the Bishop makes it possible for him to be present at virtually every Camp without interfering with his other duties. The house provides, besides the Bishop’s private room and office, two guest rooms mostly for visiting priests who often stay with the Bishop for up to three weeks while undergoing Diocesan orientation. It also provides an ample dining room for gatherings of priests or laity. Finally, it sets apart a devoted space for the Bishop’s Chapel. The ample deck allows the Bishop and his guests to enjoy the great natural beauty of the countryside with the Cascade range in the background. |
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Visit our Photo Gallery for more pictures. |
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