Our mission

To provide a friendly and comfortable place for Christian individuals and groups to engage in Christian learning and/or mission activities.

About the Calef House and Retreat Center

Ira Calef was born into a farmer's family in Washington , Vermont . When Ira was 16 years of age, his father died. Realizing that his future was limited in the small town of Washington , he moved to Providence , Rhode Island , where through hard work and determination, he made his fortune in the meat packing industry. At some point in his later life, he returned to live in Washington and built this 16-room house with attached barn. Mr. Calef never married or had any children. When he passed away, he willed it to Goddard Seminary, who in turn sold it. It went through a number of hands before being purchased by the Catholic Church. It was originally going to be made into a convent for nuns, but that plan never materialized. Instead, it served as the rectory for the local Catholic parish. When that local church was closed and the parish was merged with the one in East Barre, the Washington Baptist Church purchased the home. After major renovations, it now serves as the parsonage for Washington Baptist church as well as a mission apartment and retreat center.

Guidelines for Staying at the Calef House Mission Apartment or Retreat Center

There is a per person per night fee to stay in the Mission Apartment or Retreat Center . This fee is payable to the Washington Baptist Church upon departure. Cash or check may be used. This fee covers the utilities, insurance and maintenance; the church does not make a profit. You may elect to have your mission organization billed if you are staying for seven days or longer. Please let the coordinator know in advance if you need to be billed. There is an $8.00 per person per night fee for both retreat center and apartment guests. On availability, the maximum number of retreat center and apartment guests is 25 (21 retreat center bunk beds and 4 apartment twin beds). Overflow guests may stay at Washington Baptist Church for a fee of $4.00 per person per night. If a group uses the cooking facilities at Washington Baptist Church , an additional fee of $1.00 per person per day will be applied. This is applicable to both retreat center and overflow guests.

Retreat Center may be used by church groups for non-overnight events at a fee of $25.00 per day. Housekeeping guidelines listed below apply.

When scheduling a group for overnight stay at the retreat center, a copy of the guidelines will be sent to the person in charge. If the group agrees to the guidelines, a $50.00 deposit sent to the coordinator will secure scheduling the group's stay. A $15.00 deposit is also requested for securing non- overnight stay.

Please remember to be respectful of others who may be staying in the apartment or retreat center and of the pastor's family who live on the first and second floors. Please refrain from loud music or late night noise, as his family's bedrooms are nearby.

Housekeeping guidelines for Mission Apartment.

-Make sure all dishes are clean and put away.

-Vacuum the carpet in your bedroom and the hallway (there is a vacuum located in the laundry room ).

-Strip the sheets off the bed and place them in the laundry room before leaving.

-Empty trash can and take trash to outside trash bins.

Housekeeping guidelines for Retreat Center .

- Each person is responsible for keeping all personal belongings packed away.

- Empty full trashcans and take trash to outside trash bins.

- Strip sheets off beds and take to laundry room before leaving.

- Clean both bathrooms using cleaner provided before leaving.

- Vacuum all carpet area in retreat center before leaving (vacuum located in coat closet in retreat center).

Failure to follow the above guidelines will result in your group being charged a $25.00 additional cleaning fee.

Please remember that this is a Christian retreat center, therefore no one (other than family members) of the opposite sex may be in a bedroom together at any time.

Please do not use the interior second floor door, except in an emergency. This leads to the pastor's private living quarters.

Guests of the mission apartment may use the washer and dryer in the laundry room outside the kitchen. However, we request that retreat center guests refrain from using this service. There is also a small closet across the hall from the laundry room as well as coat closet on first floor that you may use to store suitcases, coolers or other small items.

No animals or pets are allowed in retreat center or mission apartment at any time.

No smoking or consumption of alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs may be done on the premises.

Vermont law, and good Christian stewardship of our environment, requires recycling. Please use the bins provided.