As you may know, in the last year or two there has been something of a “crisis” at Rivendell. A long-standing inadequacy with the on-site team accommodation meant we were unable to attract an on-site team. Last year there was a long stretch with one team member here on his own, which was stressful and unsustainable. Eventually someone else came to help, and we’ve got through this year OK. But the team and trustees realised that the current set-up just couldn’t go on. A change was needed.

We launched an ambitious plan to recruit a bigger team, to ease the pressure of those on-site, and to have capacity to fundraise and build a new community house. We put a huge effort into the recruitment campaign. We engaged architects to do a pre-planning application to local planners. We really tried to make it work.

We received eight applications from bright and engaged people who really cared about the future of Rivendell. We’re grateful to them and, in one sense, our recruitment drive worked. However, sadly, we felt we didn’t have the right mix of skills and experience to make it work. For this and other reasons, the plan felt too high-risk and too ambitious at this time.

The trustees have responded to this situation with another plan. This plan will involve big changes to the future of Rivendell. There is going to be a sad loss of many retreats that people know and love at Rivendell. On the other hand, the new plan does ensure Rivendell won’t close (the possibility of which we were at one time facing), and it gives Rivendell a new role to play in the SE and London.

We realised that another way to make the on-site team workable is to run far fewer retreats, so there is “psychic space” between retreats and not a constant in-flow of new people every Friday. Financially this only works if those retreats are much simpler to organise, so that we can run on a much smaller team. We realised that if we focus on “lettings” to Triratna Buddhist Centres, groups, and Order sanghas in the SE and London, then we have a financially viable way of Rivendell continuing.

Chairs of regional groups and Centres have welcomed the possibility of being able to use Rivendell more in this way. Many of them are in a phase of growth and want more opportunities to take their sanghas on retreat. We’re going to form a “Rivendell Kula” with chairs/reps from the Centres and groups to develop this vision.

This has been a very hard decision to take. All the trustees care very much about Rivendell and felt it was the most weighty issue we’ve dealt with in several years being trustees of the charity.

There’s an off-site team who also care deeply about Rivendell and who have worked hard to keep it going. We are very sad to be losing this team, and we’re aware of the impact on them personally. There is also the loss of a distinctive programme of retreats which have been very significant to many people, making Rivendell a precious “spiritual home” to many. There are lots of people for whom Rivendell is their favourite retreat Centre and we’re sorry for what they’re losing.

But, unfortunately, recent events mean we just can’t go on as we are. We have to adapt in order to keep Rivendell open. At least we’ve found a way to do that, and one that meets another “spiritual need” locally and regionally.

Hopefully many of you will continue to attend Rivendell, either for one of our own events, or with your local Triratna Centre or group.

Change is happening, but we're still looking forward to welcoming many more people here in the future.