June 17, 2010
Dear Queenswood guests, supporters and neighbours,
It is with great sadness that we share the news that Queenswood retreat centre will close permanently on October 1st, 2010.
As you may know, Queenswood has been in operation for over 40 years, and it has always been subsidized by the Sisters of St. Ann. The Queenswood Society for Spiritual Growth was established in 2004 to assume the management of the retreat centre and help Queenswood continue its service to the community as a long-term legacy of the Sisters of St. Ann. On January 1, 2008, the Sisters of St. Ann and Queenswood Society entered into a 3-year agreement with the hope that Queenswood would achieve financial sustainability independent of the continuing subsidy from the Sisters by the end of December 2010.
In March 2010, the Sisters of St. Ann announced the sale of their Arbutus Road property to the University of Victoria (UVic). It was hoped that Queenswood might continue its operations as a tenant of the university. Negotiations for a lease with UVic proceeded with good will, but with the best terms possible, capital and operational expenses would require fundraising a minimum of $3.5 million over the next five years in order to fund a 10-year lease, capital costs and operations. We were advised by fundraising experts that this target is not feasible. Therefore, last week the Queenswood board of directors recommended the orderly closure of Queenswood.
Some practical information:
- Queenswood will continue to be available for community event rentals until October 3 2010.
- Pool and library members who have paid for memberships that extend beyond Sept. 30, 2010 will be reimbursed the pro-rated amount by the end of September.
- Queenswood programs will continue to be offered as planned until Oct. 3, with the exception of "A Listening Heart" (Sept. 10-14) and "Ecology and Wellness" (Oct. 1-3), which will unfortunately be canceled.
Further updates on the closure of Queenswood will be posted on the Queenswood website at www.QueenswoodVictoria.ca/closure, including ways for the Queenswood community to come together before the closure.
We wanted to let you know personally about this decision, which will be announced in the news today. Meanwhile, we hope you will consider taking a summer workshop or retreat to enjoy Queenswood one last time. Descriptions of our summer programs are available online at www.QueenswoodVictoria.ca/summer.
Thank you for your support and prayers.
Sincerely yours,
A copy of the media release send to local media announcing the closure of Queenswood can be downloaded here in .pdf format.
