The last six months have been quite a whirlwind on Peach Mountain, and I am so happy to reach out to our beloved friends of Hope Springs to reflect on where we now stand. Like the rest of the county and world, we have faced challenges that have asked all of us to give what we can and find acceptance in what we cannot. It has not been easy nor simple, but still, amidst that chaos, we are here. Last weekend we welcomed our first Program, Enter the Quiet-All Gender, back on-site and we are hosting our Change Agents Leadership Laboratory (CALL) program as this article is being written. What wonderful energy on the land after so much time in stillness! It is good to see the land in her fullness, swelling with the color of the season and the energy of those gathered to grow with one another. I know the pandemic is far from over- we still face challenges and upheaval as cases rise and fall. Shifting comfort and safety means shifting programs and structure, sometimes more than once! Within those challenges, however, we are always finding abundance. Abundant rest from the community gave us a rejuvenated Hope Springs with rooms painted and deep cleaning done. Abundant time on the calendar meant the opportunity to assess and create new internal systems that allowed for new and necessary staff. And abundant creativity from our community produced plans for land projects that will carry us towards a learning landscape that honors native flora and fauna.
This abundance is what I most want you, our HSI community, to know and remember. That the tumult of the world has not diminished our dear Hope Springs, nor her community of friends and caregivers.
She is ever abundant, ever enough, and ever and always loved.
With Joy,
Victoria Brown
Executive Director
Hope Springs Institute
Hope Springs in the beauty of our fall season
Our renovated first floor, hall bath in the Farmhouse
The new paint and fixtures in the Rose room of the Farmhouse
Our redecorated sun room in the Farmhouse