Invitation

Working as a counselor for the last decade, I've grown increasingly in love with Memphians and have become more familiar with their unique struggles. I noticed that my clients suffering from anxiety and depression were getting younger every year. The dysfunctions and distractions of modern life, compounded by the effects of the 2020 pandemic, led me to seek God in a new way. I started meeting with a spiritual director monthly, which led to me completing a 15-month training in spiritual direction. Learning and practicing being with God was transformational. My dear father passed away from COVID-19 in January 2022, and through the grieving process, God planted a seed of an idea.

Could there be a place for Jesus seekers in Memphis to practice hearing and being with God amid deafening distractions? God’s voice needs to be clearer than the chaos within ourselves and in the world. The most transformational power in the universe is the powerful presence of God in a person’s life. And I thought, “Maybe I could provide a retreat center experience for Memphians, like an oasis, in the center of the city...” After much prayer, Ken and I purchased three acres in the middle of the city at 2524 Avery, which included three large abandoned buildings. Along with partners and friends, we are intent on rehabbing this place. We invite "God seekers" at any stage in their journey to practice making room for God in their exterior schedules and their interior lives. Jesus physically got away from the crowds to be with His Father. He rested with God privately, intimately, and in a quiet place so he could hear in an unrushed way.


(Mark 6:30-32; Luke 5:16)