A Story of Perseverance and Faith

Christwood Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

WITH THE OPENING of Lake Pontchartrain Causeway’s second span in 1969, following completion of the original span in 1956, the population of the Northshore began to swell. And Covington’s Christ Episcopal Church was growing as well.

The original chapel, built in 1846, now sits beside the larger main church, established in 1967 to accommodate an ever-increasing number of parishioners. Further expansion continued with the addition of Parish Hall.

Later, mission-related expansion began with the establishment of Christ Episcopal School in 1984, “fulfilling our mission from God as a minister to the young,” as stated by the Reverend L. Stephen Holtzhalb III, then rector of the church.

In 1991, Father Steve, with the support of the Christ Church vestry, announced to the congregation and the world that, “with the aging of America, and of St. Tammany Parish, we must step forward now to fulfill our mission from God as a ministry to the elderly.”

Soon after that, Father Steve and Jack Lohman, a vestry member with a keen interest in establishing the thoroughbred industry in St. Tammany Parish and an equally strong interest in creating a continuing care facility for the elderly, began researching and visiting communities that had adopted the intergenerational model of ministry, involving education and guidance for the young and care and comfort for the elderly, delivered in contiguous facilities.

“We were particularly interested in such a model in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,” Father Steve recalls. “We learned quite a bit from that visit.”

There were many site visits, amidst ongoing research and discussions of possible locations for a continuing care facility, all, as a friend put it, “on their own dime.”

Eventually the efforts of this dedicated pair created an undeniable momentum. And public attention began to focus on the need they espoused. The following item appeared in the New Orleans Times-Picayune on April 11, 1991:

“By now it is hardly a secret that St. Tammany Parish is high on national lists as a preferred location for retirees. A recent issue of USA Today again ranks St. Tammany as one of the better places in the nation for retirement.”

In June of 1991, the Christ Episcopal Church vestry adopted the name Christwood and established a corporation as the sole owner of the community.

The first board of Christwood included John Lohman, executive director; the Rev L. Stephen Holzhalb, president; Pamela D. Freeman, vice president; Virginia H. Carlson, secretary; Harbert G. Gregory, treasurer; Elton Arceneaux, Anita G. Barfield, Ann M. Butts, Ronald Cambre, Claude Duet, Judge Frederick S. Ellis, Thom Franklin, M.D., Suzanne Graham, Gerald Heep, John R. Mayer, Ralph Menetre Jr., Lucy Rausch, Russell Rudolph, Clinton W. Shinn, Esq., and Raymond Tremont.

Many long-standing St. Tammany residents will recognize more than a few of those names.

The vestry also authorized a $100,000 mortgage of Christ Church to initiate the fundraising efforts that would follow.

In a letter to parishioners and the public, Father Steve began:

“I doubt that in 1845 when those first few folks gathered in someone’s living room to talk about forming a church for the English settlers in British West Florida, that there was one among them who could envision what needs for ministry would emerge in the years ahead. They doubtless were taking one step at a time, to build a simple country church in which to thank God, to marry, baptize their children, and bury their dead.

“Each step along the way for this growing church was a challenge to courage and faith. We don’t know what opportunities were lost when faith failed or the challenge was not met. We’ll never know what needs went unmet because the arguments against faith and courage prevailed. We do know when this church and this community responded in faith and courage. Never easy, they ventured to the next step and built a place to worship, provided space for fellowship, and provided for the spiritual education of children in an excellent academic setting through Christ School.

“We are now faced with that next step, a challenge to faith and courage. Would you not be a part of this next step?...CHRISTWOOD.”

Following this solicitation a $250,000 anonymous gift arrived as did numerous smaller donations.

In the five years that elapsed between the initial solicitation and the opening of Christwood’s doors in May of 1996 with Jack Lohman as its first executive director, there were many challenges. But these challenges eventually were met and overcome, because faith and courage prevailed among the many pioneers who supported this worthy cause.

Today, under Father Steve’s direction as Executive Officer, and with the guidance of a 16-member volunteer Board of Directors, Christwood offers concierge living, resort-style amenities, convenient services, and easy access to healthcare to more than 270 residents.

Nestled on a 117-acre wooded and beautifully landscaped campus in Covington, adjacent to Christ Episcopal School, the Christwood Retirement Community is a not-for-profit ‘Life Plan Community,’ also known as a continuing care retirement community, offering independent and assisted living, as well as cognitive memory, skilled nursing and rehabilitative care.

The Community is now complemented by the adjacent Community Center at Christwood, a unique multi-purpose fitness center that serves not only Christwood residents, but many other members of the Northshore 55+ community.

In addition to providing the latest in exercise equipment, the Community Center also houses a 25-yard heated indoor pool, an aerobics studio, a Pickle Ball court, day spa, game room, art studio, and the Forever Fit Kitchen.

Designed to promote health and wellbeing, the center has become a hub of residential and communitywide activities that include frequent social events, musical performances, health fairs, on-site land-based and aquatic physical therapy, and wellness educational programs.

“Christwood was really, really blessed,” Father Steve said as he reminisced about the journey – ultimately the successful journey – that led to the opening of the community. “Being sponsored and nurtured by a small church such as ours, I mean, today not all efforts like that succeed.

“But now I look back with gratitude for those pioneers, those pilgrims, who chose to live with us to make Christwood the wonderful place it is. Still maturing, learning, developing, I see the community growing gracefully, with increasing wisdom and understanding, as we hope will be the case for each of the residents. God has blessed us in a vision become reality. There is so much for which to give thanks.”

One of these early pioneers is Anne Butts, whose support of Christwood began when she agreed to serve on a Christwood steering committee in 1985. She then sat on the board of directors from 1991 to 2005, and is still active in promoting the institution as a volunteer.

She remembers interviewing residents for an early in-house newsletter she wrote.

“There were only nineteen residents in Independent Living at that time as I remember, and they all loved the place. I’ll never forget, one of the ladies I interviewed – a most elegant lady she was – told me she was excited ‘because this is my last chance to make new friends.’”

Today Anne walks the halls of Christwood visiting old friends and making new ones.

“What makes Christwood special,” she says, “is the people – the people who run it, the people who live here and the wonderful staff that support them. It all works together in harmony.”

And then there is Ethyl Mary Dameron Manard, who is, by her reckoning, the longest Christwood resident.

“I have loved Christwood from the first day I set foot here,” she said recently. There is such a personal touch here. Do you know to this day I get handwritten birthday notes from Father Steve? And I love the staff and count many of them as close friends. I still read a lot, but I also like spending time with my fellow residents and with my friends on the staff. I am very comfortable and happy here.”

Christwood’s management team is planning a year-long celebration of its 25th anniversary, including a number of events honoring employees, an anniversary oak planting in May, a celebratory mass and reception at Christ Church on September 26, and an open house in the Christwood atrium on October 23. The open house will coincide with an exhibition of the community’s Healing Arts initiative presented by Northshore artist and Christwood resident Emery Clark, along with Christwood Foundation Interim President Ray Rabidoux.