Experiencing Bethesda
“People arrived weary and leave with peace and hope.”
Nicole Wegscheider
Special to Spur Ottawa
Peace and quiet are a key part of renewal from the busyness of life. It is important to schedule time to disconnect from the constant activity for rest and spiritual renewal. That is the need that Bethesda Renewal Centre seeks to fulfill.
Bethesda is a local Christian retreat centre, run by host family Rob and Sherry Milnes, with their son Josiah.
Josiah describes it as “a quiet place for Christian groups and individuals to come away to pray and be refreshed in God’s presence.”
Rob says his family looks after the grounds, but their work goes far beyond that.
“More than that, we are here to pray for and pray with people when they need to make this place a home. Sherry adds her personal touches to make it homey and welcoming.”
Time and again, the family sees the impact the Bethesda experience has on departing visitors.
“As I introduce my friends to the place they leave happy, with a renewed peace,” says Josiah.
“I have seen people arrive very weary,” Sherry adds, “and I have seen them leave with a peace and a hope in their hearts, to walk ahead.”
The prayer cabin at Bethesda Renewal Centre. Photo by Josiah Milnes.
Bethesda, which comes from the Hebrew for “House of Mercy,” offers groups a large living room, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, and a loft. The eighty-acre grounds have trails, a forested area, a pond, a chapel, and a sugar shack for maple syrup.
People experience God differently, so Bethesda tries to provide a number of ways to help people connect with their Creator.
“We have seen people experience God on the trails, in the beauty of God’s creation,” Rob says. “We have seen some groups that don’t even go outside—they are fasting, praying, and worshipping the Lord. Some groups enjoy the grounds and use the chapel.”
The retreat centre is located just west of Ottawa, “so close to Ottawa, you can enjoy being part of the activities of the day and get home in fifteen to twenty minutes,” Rob says.
Bethesda hosts a wide variety of age groups and churches, who use the space for retreat, to escape the busyness of life, or simply to spend time with the Lord.
“We welcome [everyone] here,” Sherry says. “We’d like you to come make this a place like a home for you, for a little retreat or a time to walk in the woods, that you would have a quiet time away with the Lord.”
Similar Articles
Precious jewels rise from the ashes of Cambodia’s Killing Fields
It took an unusual, but life-changing holiday to show McConaghy the beginning of God’s plan. “I ended up on the Thailand/Cambodia border, being shelled and shot at, in the middle of a war zone, to discover that growing up in Belfast and being a weapons specialist had made me comfortable in that environment.”
Heroes of the stitch
Some of those most vulnerable to COVID-19 are also among the least talked about: the homeless. Without stable places to go for self-isolation, the risk of rapid spread among Ottawa’s homeless population is significant. Ordinary citizens, many from Ottawa’s Christian […]
Marriage and the Church: the good news and the battles still to be won
The Ashley Madison scandal has all but faded from the news, yet its effects are still keenly felt in struggling marriages across western culture. Many Christians were shaken when the infidelity dating site was hacked, exposing several high profile pastors and […]
Prayer Summit gives ministry leaders a chance to reconnect
Pray Ottawa is gearing up for their 2022 pastors’ and leaders’ prayer summit. The Summit offers the area’s ministry and church leaders a chance to escape from the stress of ministry, to spend two days connecting with […]
Navigating the political change
Campaigning on a platform of change, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals swept the country. With a new prime minister, leading a strong majority government, many evangelicals are wondering how these changes will impact the Church amid the ongoing clash of worldviews […]
Proof that prayer works
The men of Pine Grove Bible Church have held weekly prayer walks in their community for more than a year, and the impact of those prayers is now profoundly obvious. Local residents took to the streets to celebrate what Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau called, “a dramatic […]
