By Rita McInerney

Carmel Retreat Center is the reality of a vision in which people seek closeness to God in a peaceful country setting.

It was realized because Fred and Virginia Hedges bought 200 rural acres at Hoschton, Jackson County, in 1970. There was no road, just a cow path leading to the land which hadn't been farmed in 17 years.

Some years later, they began thinking of the land as a site for a retreat center. There was a peace on the rolling acres of meadows bordered by hardwood and pine trees, a tranquility lost in the hectic pace of daily life.

First, the Hedges built a roomy house for the enjoyment of their children and grandchildren. The house was also used by people with the need to leave the city and immerse themselves in prayer and nature.

About three years ago, the Hedges joined with "friends and friends of friends" who felt strongly the need to exchange routine for periods of prayer and reflection. As this group came together for retreats they realized how "special it was to get away," Jim Webb explains.

"We were very much aware there were other retreat facilities available," he says. But the group also believed there was an ever-growing Catholic population with the desire to "join together to really experience the message of God."

By this time, Little Carmel, the house the Hedges had built, had become so much in demand for retreats that they felt it time to build a larger facility on an adjacent tract they purchased. With the decision came the need to create a non-profit organization to direct its operation. Thus Carmel Ministries, Inc. came to be. Webb, a Holy Cross parishioner, serves as president.

Carmel Retreat Center opened in early fall. The cedar shingle building is 7,300 square feet over three floors. Throughout, the impression is that of a cheerful country inn. From the front porch, guests enter the lounge where comfortable chairs, sofas, tables and lamps are positioned for conversation or reading.

A wheelchair accessible bedroom and especially equipped bath is located off the lounge. A guest staying in this corner room has access to all activities.

A large, commercial type kitchen separates the large conference room from the dining room, which can double as a chapel or smaller conference room. All three rooms open to a spacious deck. Wide enough to be used for worship, instruction, discussion, outdoor meals or even solitude, it is here the sense of oneness with Creation is a gentle at the country breeze.

The roomy bedrooms with twin beds and private half baths are on the lower level. All have been coordinated by Virginia Hedges with attention to restful colors. Six showers are on this level.

There is an efficiency apartment, kitchen and bedroom, on the top floor that serves the retreat leader, and several other bedrooms, including two small hermitage-type rooms.

Joe Molloy, an architect and member of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, planned the building. Keith Hayes of Jefferson was the builder.

The retreat house is surrounded by broad meadows, sloping down to woodland and the Mulberry River, hidden by the trees. A beaver dam is by the water. A nature trail has been marked through the woods and wild turkey and geese can be sighted.

Before Little Carmel was built, Fred Hedges worked Saturday and Sunday for several years, clearing the land, putting up fences, bulldozing for roads. Nowadays, he keeps the broad meadows mowed and roads and fences in good repair.

"The Lord has been with us all along," Virginia Hedges will say. That was apparent when they began seeking water at the new center site. After drilling through stone all day Friday the welldriller had tapped a scant eight to ten gallons at 200 feet. When he resumed on Monday he drilled just a few feet before discovering that a water vein had opened up over the weekend. The flow was 75 gallons a minute.

"The Lord is telling us something," Mrs. Hedges was moved to remark.

Under the non-profit corporation the Hedges have provided the land and the building and Carmel Ministries takes care of interior furnishings and equipment, according to Webb.

"We do have to recover costs to stay open. And in the true spirit of non-profit groups, we are looking for ways to get contributions from people who want to be part of the retreat movement."

"We would love to offer the facility at the lowest price and we hope to do that through the generosity of people," who can afford to give so that others can attend retreats and stay within their budgets. "There is so much need. We have to sensitive to people's ability to pay," Webb says.

Fred Hedges says the idea in building the facility was to make it ideal for parish groups, for Marriage and Engaged Encounter weekends and for Catholic groups, small and large, seeking to enhance their faith.

They had to say "no" to teen groups, he points out, because it would have been necessary to build two dorms and young people have an ideal place for retreats at Marian Meadows near Dawsonville.

Members of the Hedges' parish Ultreya (Cursillo group) at Immaculate Hart of Mary Church on Briarcliff Road in Atlanta have used the retreat center for a daylong reunion. Father Richard Kieran, pastor, held parish and school staff meetings there.

Father Kieran calls it a "wonderful facility" with an excellent atmosphere. "This has been a vision of the Hedges for a good number of years, a vision to make it available to people of the archdiocese at reasonable cost. It's a definite plus for the archdiocese."

Rates have been kept low. The center will accommodate about 35 people overnight and about 75 people for daily functions. Bed linen is furnished, guests provide their towels and soap. Groups bring their own meals or contact local caterers.

Carmel is open year-round and can be reserved for family reunions and other celebrations at holiday times.

Along with Webb, members of the board are John O'Kane, vice president; Fred Hedges, secretary; Bill Hungeling, treasurer, and Mrs. Hedges, director of admissions.

Carmel Retreat Center is approximately 45 miles north of the Perimeter on I-85. For information on rates and available dates, call Mrs. Hedges at 404-636-6075.