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Coronavirus

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CRC & Response to Coronavirus (Updated June 26, 2020)

Dear Friends,

Be Not Afraid! It is during moments of crisis that we recognize our reliance on God and just how small we are! It is also in some of the worst situations that we see Saints rising up! We at the CRC are committed to providing you a safe and sacred place for your next event. In February, our team had already put certain actions in place to keep our retreatants safe, recognizing the potential for Coronavirus as well as to stock up on needed disinfectant supplies. The CRC acted before the CDC, State of Texas, or the Archdiocese. The State of Texas had said youth camps can be open starting June 1, 2020. You need to know we take your safety seriously and will not do anything to put your health in jeopardy (our Director's first degree was in Emergency Management). As of now, this is the current situation at the CRC, and we are ready to host your group for a retreat or your family for a socially distanced vacation!

Cleaning & Disinfecting: the CRC has a fantastic operations staff that is ready and dedicated to keeping you safe, by keeping viruses away! Before the stay at home order in March, our team was already cleaning and disinfecting daily, high touch surfaces in the meeting halls, cafeteria, and Chapels. This includes light switches, doorknobs, bathrooms, doors, tables, chairs, etc

Face Mask: Face Mask is required when in CRC buildings, on the CRC sidewalks, or in groups apart from your household. The CRC staff are all wearing a face mask to keep each other and our guests safe. If you do not have a face mask, the CRC will provide you a washable face mask for FREE that is yours to keep (really, we don't want it back)! The Face mask should be worn when in shared spaces like the meeting room, Chapel, or walkways. If you are outside alone or with your immediate family on the bayou, a face mask is not required.

Overnight Accommodations: During this time, the CRC is meeting the 25% capacity by only having four people at a time in a lodge (unless it's a family). We are also only having one person in a room unless they live together. We are not charging your group the additional money for these accommodations since it is outside of your control. The CRC is absorbing this cost to keep your retreat on and the CRC open. The additional cost of labor for daily cleaning the lodges, running HVAC, as well as additional disinfectants, is being covered by the CRC. In between groups, we are ventilating the space for 48-hours as well as cleaning and disinfecting. This includes using fogger disinfectants. We are serious about your safety. We are rotating through rooms and lodges, to allow the longest possible time between people being inside a space.

Meeting Spaces: We recognize that with the Governor's current limitation of 25% that your retreat will be smaller. Plus, you will experience cancellations from people who are afraid to go on a retreat or financially unable due to changes in their employment status. If the state has 50% or less occupancy, we will reduce your meeting space fee by 50% to absorb the cost of running your retreat to be affordable. If your group was booked for a smaller venue such as Marian Hall and now due to capacity limitations, you need a larger space, we will upgrade you to Eugene or Oblate at no charge. In addition, our team will come into your meeting space three times a day to clean and disinfect all high touch surfaces. Every meeting space also has a hand sanitizer station at the entrance, and washing hands is preferred. To keep people away from contact, we will leave restroom doors open to avoid the need to touch the bathroom door. In between groups, we are ventilating the space for 48-hours as well as cleaning and disinfecting. This includes using fogger disinfectants. We are serious about your safety. At 25% Eugene Hall 42 people, Oblate Hall 30 people, Ali Center 22 people, and Marian Hall 12 people. We anticipate 50% by June from the Governor. As the Governor has given that youth camps can begin June 1.

Chapel: The Chapel as it currently stands is at 25% occupancy, so 44 people. Cardinal DiNardo is not permitting Outdoor Masses or Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (we did ask). If more than one group is using the Chapel, it will be clean and disinfected by our crew in-between every use. If only one group is using the Chapel, our staff will place a number on the pews to identify where people are to set. Your seat will become your seat for the entire retreat (after all- we like this)! When going for communion, you are to remain socially distanced and wear a face mask. After receiving communion and when you return to your seat, remove your cover to receive communion. The choir books have been removed from the Chapel during this time. The Priest must bring all their own vestments and liturgical items for the Mass. The only items provided by the CRC will be stationary candles. This will prevent any cross-contamination. The sacristry closet will be off-limits to you. For confession, we have two confessionals that will keep the Priest and the penitent in two separate spaces. We have made modifications to add a cloth fabric between the rooms as well as have the penitent looking sideways instead of speaking into the screen. We have removed the Holy Water from the font as well as installed a hand sanitizer at the entrance of the Chapel. The restroom in the Chapel is only for the Clergy and not for retreatants/staff. Per the Cardinal, only the Priest may distribute Holy Communion under the form of bread in the hand. For Mass, only one lector to avoid multiple people coming in contact with the Ambo.

Food Service: At this time, the CRC is boxing meals individually to provide for your group to eat in your meeting space. With capacity at 25% or 50% in the future, your group has plenty of space in your hall to set-up tables to eat to allow social distancing of 6-feet apart. If your group needs a separate venue to eat due to retreat activities and set-up, we will be happy to provide your group with additional space at no charge. All meals will be individually packaged. We recommend assigning one person on your team to wash their hands and hand out to your staff the boxed meals. These precautions will keep our team from coming in contact with your group to ensure all future groups are safe.

CRC Employees: The CRC has notified employees that if any employee is sick to stay home and if showing signs to get tested. Heck, I did! Luckily I did not have Coronavirus upon my return to the USA from Israel in early March! Our team has been working in isolation and avoiding working in the same room together. We have been doing our part to stay healthy and keep the CRC running. Due to the financial impact of Coronavirus, the CRC has been forced to layoff employees and reduce the pay/hours of employees (20-33%).

The CRC is facing a financial crisis. We have lost retreat income in March, April, May, and June, as well as our summer and fall groups, are wanting to cancel or postpone until 2021. We promise to do right by our customers, and we hope you will do right by us.

If your event has to be canceled due to Coronavirus (like we did with March, April, May, and June retreats), we will let you rescheduled for a later date in 2020 with no financial penalty. Failure to respond to CRC staff to reschedule your retreat in 2020 will result in a cancellation and forfeiture of your deposit. PLEASE respond to the CRC staff on the 1st email. After our 4th email notice, we will be forced to accept your event as a cancellation. We have been canceling a month out. If your group size is too large to meet based on restrictions, we will allow you to reschedule for later in 2020. We will give you at least three date options to select from. If your event has to be canceled in 2020 later due to Coronavirus, we will move your retreat again at no cost to you. Moving to 2021 is not possible since we need the retreat income in 2020 to stay open. Without your support, the CRC will close. People are going back to Mass, out to eat, and shopping, so people are doing things. Canceling your retreat when people are out and about does not make sense.

If you cancel your event for later in the summer or fall at this time, you would follow the cancellation policy. At the same time, we could not book you for that date for 2021 since our priority booking gives first priority to the group that was scheduled this year, and we will do our best to sale that date. Summer and Fall dates are extremely popular. If you want to hold your date for 2021 but want to cancel 202's retreat and still outside the timeline for canceling your event, we will allow you to forfeit 50% of your deposit and hold your dates for 2021.

CRC Events: We have modified our summer events to allow for Social Distancing and meet the 25% requirement. We have the following events:

CRC Socially Distanced Vacation: CRC is offering Socially Distance Family Vacations. 3 Nights in Lodge (sleeps 16 people) with Lodge Kitchen for only $750 or 6 Nights in Lodge w/ Lodge Kitchen for only $1,000. This gives your family access to the CRC grounds, bayou for fishing, trails, sports pavilion, and gaga pits. For an extra $100, the CRC will staff and prepare your campfire. For an additional $250, the CRC will provide a lifeguard and let you swim for 3 different one-hour periods. Lastly, want to be taken care of? The CRC will prepare your meals for $10 per person per meal. Contact Kim Brown at kbrown@retreatcentercrc.org to schedule. These prices allow your family to be the only group at the CRC during your stay in May or June on the lodge side. Enjoy 52 acres in a safe and sanitize manner!

In addition, for 10 weeks, every Friday night on our Facebook page, I gave a Mission for FREE. For 8-weeks we prayed the rosary online daily. We recognize many of you are sheltering in place, and we want to continue ministering to you. During Holy Week, I offered an online mission live for 5-days, and each day we had over 600 people participating! Even in dark times, we should look for the light!

You Make the Difference: Every penny counts right now, and keeping the CRC operating is our goal. We have no fairy Godmother to come in and save us; if we do not have the funds, the CRC will close, and the largest Catholic retreat center in the Archdiocese will be lost. The Archdiocese has made cuts, including four schools for the next school year and does not have the resources to help (I did ask). The laity came in to save and run the CRC when the Oblates left, and we need the laity to come to our aide now. Consider making a donation online or by mailing it into Christian Renewal Center, PO Box 699, Dickinson, Texas 77539. We also really need monthly support, so consider becoming a monthly donor. If 80 people, (an ACTS retreat), became a monthly donor at $25 a month, that would give us $2,000 a month in income. A little amount goes a long way and will be the difference in keeping the CRC open.

For inquires about your retreat, contact Lea Martinez at lmartinez@retreatcentercrc.org or feel free to contact me at kbrown@retreatcentercrc.org

New Bookings: To help parishes and groups who have lost income, the CRC for new bookings are offering only 15% deposit as opposed to 25% deposit until parishes are back up and operating at full capacity. We also offer last-minute booking specials taking 25% off of the meeting space and lodging rates when booked 3-months out. In May/June we are offering a special of $500 a day for Oblate or Eugene Hall or $300 a day for Marian Hall or the Ali Center.

Please keep the CRC in your prayers and know that you all have been and will continue to be in our prayers. Without a change in income, we are about to have to lay off our employees to try and keep the CRC alive during this pandemic. We are acting as good stewards and doing everything we can. Every employee is working hard, and we are making so much progress right now. No employee has been sitting around collecting a check. They are working harder than ever for you! Once again, I sincerely ask and beg you to please consider becoming a monthly donor. Our team has been working nonstop to make much-needed improvements, and it would be a shame to lose our dedicated staff that has been serving you for years (sometimes decades) or to has to close the retreat center. Our trust is in God, and we know that He can pull us through this, and if you read this far, He might be inviting you to take action!

God Bless,
Kim Brown
CRC Director