We are delighted to announce that we will be starting work on our Restore & Renew project later this month. The first phase will provide ensuite bedrooms with better access for those with limited mobility, a glass-roofed reception area which will also offer additional flexible dining space, plus space for the office, laundry and other ‘workings’ of the House. This phase will involve the conversion of the garage and outbuildings, so disruption to the House should be kept to a minimum while the building work is in progress with ‘business as usual’ throughout the duration of the project. Our fundraising continues and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your prayers and for your generous donations to date which have made it possible for us to start the building work.
Visit our Donate page for ways in which you can support us as we continue to fundraise for the £1.5 million needed to complete the whole project.
An artist’s impression of Phase 1 of the Restore & Renew project.
On Tuesday 21st May, our fundraising
appeal was launched to Members of The Epiphany Trust. The Chair of the Trust,
Revd Leslie Attwood, spoke to Members after a service held in the beautiful and
inspiring chapel at Epiphany House. As the evening sunlight streamed in through
the window, Revd Attwood spoke
of the meaning the House has for people, the facilities and services it offers,
and its place in the life of the Church and the wider community.
A growing need
Many people value the House as a meeting place, as
a significant historic building and as a ‘thin place’ saturated in years of prayer with a distinctive ‘otherness’ which is
apparent to those who visit. We are delighted when people report that ‘We make
good decisions here’, and tell of
encounters with God – and even ‘Epiphany moments’ which can lead to
life-changing transformation and renewal.
We seek to offer exemplary Christian hospitality to
all those who come, whether they are seeking retreat space or come for
business. The need for our facilities is growing rapidly – it’s exciting to see
how we are growing – but we are turning away people who would benefit from
coming because we do not have enough meeting rooms or accessible accommodation.
In addition to these needs we also want to be good stewards of our physical
heritage by restoring historically important features of the building, and to
be good stewards of the ‘sacred space’ by continuing our rhythm of prayer and
worship. You can read more about our building plans in this news
article.
A successful start to the campaign
We don’t receive any external funding so we’re
seeking to raise funds for the work from grants and donations. We need to raise
£1.5 million in order to carry out all of our plans. It’s a big ask, but our
generous Members have already kick-started our public fundraising with
donations totalling more than £6,000, in addition to a grant from All Churches
Trust and donations from Old Truronians which brings our fundraising total so
far to almost £21,000. We will be carrying out building works as funds allow.
Can you help us to help more people?
There are many ways that you can
support us – here are a few ideas:
Make a donation today to our building fund! Donate online via give.net, run by Stewardship, to The Epiphany Trust (Truro) Ltd: https://www.give.net/20207104 or send a cheque made payable to Epiphany House, to us at Epiphany House, Truro, TR1 3DR.
Consider making us part of your regular giving by setting up a monthly direct debit or standing order – please contact us for details.
Fundraising — perhaps you like baking, or organising events, or are looking for a good reason to do something adventurous…
Pray for the House and for our ministry.
Tell other people about what we do and raise awareness of our mission and our plans.
If you’d like to contribute in any of these ways, or have any other suggestions, we’d love to hear from you — come to the office or get in touch with us at [email protected] or 01872 857953.
We are passionate about providing quiet space for people and
one of the ways we are able to do that is through our Refresh Days for unpaid
carers.
Caring responsibilities often fall on the shoulders of the partners and family of those who need support, sometimes causing significant emotional and physical stress. Many of these carers are unpaid, and their responsibilities can cause them to feel isolated from friends and other support networks.
Our most recent Refresh Day took place on Friday 15th
February. We were delighted to be able to offer a day away from their caring
responsibilities for a group of 11 unpaid carers, giving them space to rest and
to connect with other carers in similar roles.
The day included a morning training session with the
brilliant team at Promas CIC (check out their free courses for unpaid carers on
their website at http://www.promas.co.uk).
The session focussed on helping carers to look after themselves in their caring
role – a vital and sometimes overlooked part of being a carer. After a
two-course lunch, there were afternoon craft activities led by Debbie from
Inspiring Women Network, time for painting and other artwork, or space to enjoy
the garden or to walk the labyrinth. The hand massages provided by Emma Skilton
using Neal’s Yard products were a special and much-anticipated treat – the room
smelt gorgeous afterwards! We had a team of volunteers on hand through the day
to help people to feel at home and to offer a listening ear if needed. We
wanted to do everything that we could to help the carers feel valued, and were
so pleased to be able to offer each person a small gift bag to take away with
them. Some of the carers were able to take a longer break and stay with us
overnight in our retreat accommodation, with a light supper and breakfast the
next morning to send them on their way refreshed and ready to take up their
caring roles again.
“Thank you so much. I feel rested but also have recovered a part of myself which gets lost during my caring roles. I laughed, relaxed and ate and felt cared for. Thank you so much!”
All of this was free of charge to the carers, thanks to grant funding from Cornwall Rural Community Charity (CRCC) and additional funds from The Epiphany Trust (Truro) Ltd, the charitable trust which runs Epiphany House. Our grateful thanks also go to Promas CIC and to our volunteers for offering their time to support this event.
This is the second Refresh day that we have held. They have proved to be very popular and we plan to hold another Refresh day later in the year. If you would like us to let you know when our plans are in place for the next one, please join our Refresh Day mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/gmX1m9.
“Days like today make you realise that you have other skills and gives you a day to really think of yourself. The day allowed me to totally forget about my worries, stresses and things I have to do, which is very rare. The opportunity to talk to other carers is very valuable to make you feel you are not alone. The location was perfect, very calming, fantastically welcoming staff and a beautiful lunch.”
Our new prayer labyrinth in the grounds of the House was officially opened on Thursday 25th October in a special blessing ceremony led by The Right Reverend Chris Goldsmith, Bishop of St Germans.
The labyrinth is octagonal in design with a star at the centre, a symbol that recalls the Community of the Epiphany, the order of Anglican nuns who lived at the House until 2003. Janette Mullet, House Director, said ‘We hope that the labyrinth will be a fitting tribute and celebration of all that the Community of the Epiphany stood for. The labyrinth is open to all, and we hope that it will be a place of spiritual connection and insight for those who walk it’s path’.
Bishop Chris blesses the labyrinth
During the blessing service, Bishop Chris reminded those present of the special nature of a journey through a labyrinth and connected it to the wider theme of pilgrimage. The twists and turns of the path offer opportunities to reflect on the path that life takes; the stillness in the centre a place of offering to God and receiving from him; the journey out from the centre a time to focus on looking forward.
The labyrinth, a single winding path leading to a central point, is an ancient tradition found in many different cultures and has been been used for prayer by the Christian church for more than a thousand years. One of the most famous labyrinths today is the 13th century labyrinth in the cathedral of Chartres, France.
The labyrinth was installed by David and Anthea Lovelock, two of our wonderful team of volunteers, ably assisted by our gardener and handyman Michael Harbage. The star design in the centre was made by Mark Higman, a long-standing friend of the House and husband to our Housekeeper, Maria.
The labyrinth is outdoors in the grounds of Epiphany House. Prayer sheets are available to borrow from the House during opening hours. There is no need to book.
The labyrinth at Epiphany House
(L-R) Anthea and David Lovelock with The Right Reverend Chris Goldsmith, Bishop of St. Germans
Epiphany House is a busy conference and retreat centre in the heart of Truro. Our excellent hospitality, characterful meeting rooms, spacious grounds and beautiful Grade 2 listed building keep people coming back but we want to improve on what we can offer to our guests. Over the last five years the demand for our facilities has increased by about 150% and we are now outgrowing our current facilities. We need more residential facilities and flexible meeting spaces for groups, conferences and counsellors to enable us to meet this pressing need.
An increasing number of our potential overnight guests expect ensuite bathroom facilities and we have none of these at present. We are relatively small as retreat houses go, with just 12 bedrooms, and to put ensuite facilities into the existing rooms would mean reducing the number of bedrooms further. We already have to turn some group bookings away because we don’t have quite enough bedrooms.
We would like to be able to restore those rooms that were sub-divided as ‘cells’ by the convent of nuns who formerly owned the building. Restoration of the rooms to their former dimensions would reduce still further the number of bedrooms to too few to be viable.
We hope to carry out our plans to secure the future of the House through a phased development:
Convert what is now the yard area, garages and workshops into 7 ensuite bedrooms (they will be 1st floor from the inside but ground floor from the outside because of the way the ground rises)
Provide some universal access facilities
Restore some of the existing rooms to their former size which would have the benefit of enabling us to put in some ensuites and create another library / meeting room
Re-instate the second floor
We hope that the renewed facilities will enable us to better fulfil our charitable purposes of retreat, education and training, and providing community facilities, which will in turn secure the future viability of the House. The whole project will depend on funding, and will inevitably happen in separate phases.
UPDATE, October 2018: We are delighted that our planning application has been successful with just a few conditions.
UPDATE, February 2021: Phase 1 is now complete and we have seven ensuite bedrooms in our new wing plus an accessible ensuite bedroom with universal access facilities
