St Columba Episcopal Church & Retreat House

Located just beyond downtown Inverness on seven and a half beautiful acres encompassing a tree-​rimmed valley above Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and the Tomales Bay, Saint Columba’s Episcopal Church and Retreat House was originally a ten thousand square-​foot redwood mansion built by Robert Frick in 1930. The main room was built like a chapel so that Mr. Frick’s three daughters could be married there. The Episcopal Church bought the Frick Mansion in 1950, and traditional liturgy is celebrated twice per week in the chapel: a stately home for the Inverness parish which was originally established in 1898. The Frick Mansion has many rooms, so the parish added beds and operates a retreat house for individual and group retreats. Stations of the Cross were placed on the wooded hillside above the mansion, ending with a thirty-​five-​foot-​tall stone pilgrims’ cross, constructed in the Celtic tradition. The circle on the face of this cross is a sign of eternal life.
The handsome Frick Mansion was converted into a church of unusual beauty. Its warm redwood interior is illuminated by a triangle of rose glass over the altar and dominated by a large painting of the Madonna and Child. A statue of Saint Columba faces the congregation from a redwood niche. There is an ironwork altar rail and an ironwork gate to a side chapel off the main church. The mansion has four levels. The first and lowest level is where the kitchen and dining hall are. You may bring your own food and cook it here. The dining hall exits to an outdoor deck and parking lot. Upstairs from this level, either by a set of outdoor or indoor stairs, is the second and main level. The main entrance to the mansion leads straight into the church. Behind the church is a well-​decorated formal dining room with a fireplace. Behind that are a sacristy, laundry, nursery, and some rooms. In the back of the chapel is a staircase leading to the main hallway in the third or dormitory level. Most of the bedrooms are off this hallway, including two larger rooms which also serve as dormitories. Directly above the formal dining room is the formal living room with another fireplace. Two staircases lead to the fourth, topmost, and smallest level: one from the hallway and the other from the living room. The living room staircase is not used since it leads directly into one of the bedrooms. The hallway staircase leads to a small landing area on the fourth floor with four bedrooms. This level is popular with individual retreatants because of its seclusion and its views of the Tomales Bay.
Father Robert Weldy, the rector, and his wife, Candace, are very welcoming and hospitable. The parishioners are warm and friendly, and many of them travel here from different parts of the Bay Area. You are welcome to visit as often as you like. Mass is at ten on Sunday and noon on Wednesday. Day retreats are available for $ 20 per person, and overnight retreats are $ 50 per person. You may come and leave as you wish, as long as the staff knows your schedule and it fits in with the retreat schedule. Large groups take priority, so those days are closed for individuals. To make a reservation, call (415) 669‑1039.
We have visited Saint Columba’s many times and come regularly. It is a two-​hour drive from Sacramento. Watch for bicyclists on the road. Inverness is a wonderful place to visit and explore, and it has a great climate. It is an old community, and the vegetation and trees are always luscious and green. Light drizzle is common during the winter months and can be quite inviting. A short drive down Sir Francis Drake Boulevard leads to Point Reyes Station – an old railroad station town – or the Point Reyes National Seashore, depending on which way you go. There are many clean beaches along the seashore, as well as tule elk and dairies dating back to the 1850s which supplied milk by ship to San Francisco. Point Reyes Station and Inverness date back to that same time period. Also along the seashore are Drake’s Bay and the site of an old oyster farm.
We hope that you can visit Saint Columba’s and that your visits are always as enjoyable as ours are. I knew Saint Columba’s was a special, holy place from the very first time I came here in 2001, and my opinion hasn’t changed. The parish is restoring an old amphitheater in the small valley below the mansion and will be hosting plays. The first one will be «Much Ado about Nothing» on August 29^th and 30^th and September 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th.
Have a wonderful and blessed day,
Anthony and Kaylene

St. Columba’s is off the beaten path. It’s a short way north of the little towns of Inverness&Inverness Park, marked by a large Celtic cross. It’s been a spiritual haven for the famous– from the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, to Jefferson Airplane, along with science fiction author Philip K. Dick (artwork by his ex-​wife, Ann, adorns the church) and Prince Charles. The church was established in 1963; there is a signed paper by Bp. James Pike officiating it. It has a spectacular view of Tomales Bay, the San Andreas Fault running underneath, with the bare hills of the North American plate across the way, while it is on the Pacific plate, lush upon ancient granite from the Central Coast.
The main church is beautiful&meditative, however, it’s the Lady Chapel that has the amazing views. The parish library is small&dusty, with an ancient&random assortment of books. There is an outdoor St. Seraphim’s Chapel along with an outdoor Stations of the Cross path.
It is a beautiful church, with a friendly pastor, in the spectacle that is Pt. Reyes National Seashore.