While vacationing in England last fall, my wife, Donna, and I returned to Hothorpe Hall, where I was honored to have spent a year (1966–67) as a Luther volunteer. Hothorpe is an English manor house in central England first built in 960. During the Second World War, the hall was used as a children’s home for youngsters evacuated from London. Ten years later, when Central European refugees—some of whom had been persecuted for their faith—fled to England, the Lutheran Council of Great Britain was formed to give some unity to this influx of Lutherans. The council purchased Hothorpe, which by this time was in considerable disrepair, to be used as a retreat and conference center for spiritual growth and renewal, particularly among young people.
Rev. Jerry Moe ’49, who died in October 2015, was the first Hothorpe director. He arranged for Luther to send two volunteers to work at the hall for a year, cementing a close relationship between Luther and Hothorpe that spanned a quarter century. Hothorpe’s special relationship with Luther was further strengthened in 1966 when Rev. Marlyn Sundheim ’60, himself a Luther volunteer, returned to Hothorpe as director. It is said that one cannot go back because the past is in the past. So it was not surprising that so much has changed at Hothorpe over these 50 years, and yet, at its core Hothorpe remains very much intact. The gate houses that flanked the entrance to Hothorpe for centuries are still there and occupied, but the entrance has been moved a quarter mile down the road from the hall’s home village of Theddingworth. As you drive up, the hall looks exactly the same on the exterior, as does the adjacent chapel. Inside the hall, the green, blue, and round rooms are still known as such and continue to be used for meetings, special gatherings, and afternoon tea.
The view from the green and blue rooms of green, rolling English countryside
is still so peaceful. The kitchen, with its large wood-burning stove and ovens where many volunteers toiled daily, is gone. It has been replaced
by a modern, much larger facility in an annex. The large, walled-in garden and greenhouse that fed Hothorpe’s visitors and where I spent much of my time is gone, built over with a new complex of suites and bedrooms.
The stables are no longer recognizable, as they have been extended to provide a spacious dining room. The sauna, our favorite gathering place on Saturday evening, is gone too. Rose gardens grown by the gardener, Oscar, in the
front and side of the hall, which were special, are also gone.
Perhaps the biggest change is Hothorpe’s staffing. When I was there, five permanent staff ran Hothorpe—a director, a housekeeper, a secretary, John (the Polish cook), and Oscar (the Latvian gardener)—supported by two Luther volunteers and up to 15 or 20 university volunteers from the continent during the summer. Today Hothorpe, which hosts retreats for church groups and others, has up to 40 full-time staff and 60-plus part-time staff. Of course, Hothorpe now has about 23,000 guests each year. While it is truly a business now, at its core Hothorpe is still a Christian conference center, where visitors come to experience spiritual refreshment and fellowship. Reflecting back on Hothorpe’s purpose and the opportunity it provided Luther volunteers to learn through service to understand and value diverse cultures, customs, and beliefs, I can’t help wondering if Luther will find new opportunities for its present generation of students to serve and support our 21st-century refugees.