The Re-Imagine Quebec Lodge
Committee would like to thank Steve and Kathy Stafford and Hovey
Manor (Manoir Hovey) for the gift of floating docks received June
22, 2006. While they will not be used this summer, we look
forward to a much improved waterfront when we re-open the camp.
Steve and Jeremy joined Quentin Robinson, Rodney Kent and John Moses
in moving the dock sections from Hovey Manor and storing them on the
Quebec Lodge beach.
The French translation was done by past Quebec Lodge parent,
Lewis Downey as his contribution to the Re-Imagine Quebec Lodge
mission.
Since the Quebec Lodge was acquired by the
Diocese of Quebec in the early 1940s, its core vocation has been a
Christian-based camp which welcomed youth of any faith. It has
also served, and will continue to serve, a wider population as a
retreat and conference center for universities, governments,
businesses, colleges, schools and heritage or nature groups as
well as families.
*The Quebec Lodge property is the largest asset of the Diocese of
Quebec and even though it is located in the Deanery of St.
Francis, the committee is very conscious that any new plan should
benefit the Diocese as a whole.
*There should be a camping component that will serve the youth of
the Diocese and beyond.
*Whatever is done should be done in a fashion that respects the
environment.
*The Quebec Lodge plan should produce a satisfactory financial
outcome for the Diocese of Quebec and its parishes.
*A summer camp alone cannot generate enough income to sustain the
site.
*Facilities need to be expanded if Quebec Lodge is to attract a
broader range of clientele, possibly including year-round cabins
for conferences, retreats or workshops.
*Quebec Lodge should be open to partnerships with other dioceses,
church organizations, corporate entities and institutions, as we
seek to develop a facility and set of programs that can be
self-sustaining.
The Re-imagine Quebec Lodge (RQL) Committee has met and will continue to meet with
experienced camping directors, land-use experts and conference
organizers as well as with institutions in the area, in a
continuing effort to broaden support for the new project in the
diocese, with other dioceses, across the province and across the
country.
In the few weeks since the RQL Committee was formed we have, with
the help of many volunteers, renovated and refurbished a lakeside
cottage that is now bringing in some revenue for the summer and
cleaned up much of the site. There are several other
cottages and living quarters that also need renovating and
refurbishing.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, the RQL Committee has received
enthusiastic support through this our website
www.quebeclodge.com and
by word of mouth from across the diocese and the province. That
support has come from ex-campers, their parents, former counselors
and volunteers. They share our interest in maintaining a 100-acre
parkland with a 1,500 foot shoreline to provide a year-round
recreational and educational experience for young people, their
families and other groups.
We, as a committee, are greatly encouraged by the support shown
for the Diocese to expand on the 60-plus year mission of Quebec
Lodge with a year-round program that will be attractive to
hundreds of young people and adults and will also be financially
viable.
IT CAN BE DONE. WE CAN DO IT
We continue to need volunteers to work on committees and to share
expertise in areas like food services, conference and educational
centers, camping for young people, land use planning, landscaping,
architecture and site planning, waterfront design, etc
Specific Needs which will need to be met:
- Volunteers who can provide furniture
- Sporting equipment including one or two
golf carts
- A riding lawn mower or small tractor with
mowing capability
- Volunteers who are willing
to help paint and renovate old buildings for possible rental or to
work on cleaning brush and old trees with power saws or with
equipment to load and move dirt and rocks and other unwanted items
- Volunteers willing to join a fund-raising
team when RQL begins a major campaign sometime later this year.
PLEASE contact John Moses at
johnwaltonmoses@gmail.com
Or Ruth Sheeran at rsheeran@ubishops.ca
THANK YOU!
Quebec Lodge
2006
