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The Close - A Christian Retreat
The Close Retreat Center is a Christian retreat set aside for contemplation, worship, study and quiet renewal for individuals as well as small groups. The retreat is situated on a peninsula above the Rockcastle River Gorge off Kentucky Highway 192, between London, Corbin, and Somerset, KY, near Laurel Lake Dam. It is a place of natural beauty. There are easy walking trails through meadows and forest with more demanding hiking trails descending into the gorge. Connections can be made to the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail. There are plenty of opportunities to commune with Our Lord, as well as view the gorge, native plants, and wildlife.
Governing Philosophy
The Close Retreat Center is intended to be primarily a private adult retreat center, not a conference center. While it is possible to sleep around twenty-five people, we are most pleased when it is used by one or two people on quiet retreat.
The Close has been made available to people for prayer and contemplation. It has not been available to groups for secular conferences or retreats. An exception would be a nature retreat since this seems to require a consciousness of the glory of God’s creation. It is available to persons of any Christian denomination but is not available to religions other than Christianity or to Christian cults. For purposes of simplification we have always assumed that one person on retreat alone meets a criterion of contemplation, regardless of personal belief.
History
In the early 1970's, Tom and Clara Dupree purchased the land that was to become The Close; then a deserted wilderness farm in the loop of Kentucky's Rockcastle River in the midst of the Boone National Forest. They felt a strong spirit over the land and they wanted to dedicate it's use to God. They named the farm "The Close" which means "an enclosed clearing or an open space at the end of a road in the forest." They began building a Christian retreat which started them on an exciting, although at times bewildering, but incredible journey with the Lord. Come see the result. A copy of the "The Story of The Close" is located in both Salem House and New Bethany.