The Heritage Chapel sits nestled in the Courtyard of Coldstream Meadows, surrounded by 23 acres of beautiful landscape, with vast rolling hills acting as a dazzling backdrop for this scenic venue. With the sunlight streaming through the beautiful stained glass, and the birds singing along to your chosen wedding music, the Heritage Chapel at Coldstream Meadows is the ideal place to host your intimate wedding in any season.

Celebrating 50 Years!

In 1957 the Heritage Chapel was rebuilt as a part of the Vernon Preparatory School for Boys that had been ravaged by fire earlier that year. The founder of the school, Reverend Austen Mackie, brought Sunday sermons to the boys of the Prep School and the surrounding Coldstream community in the Heritage Chapel. Reverend Mackie resided over the school and the church until the early 1970’s. Since that time, the Heritage Chapel has served as a place of worship for persons of any denomination.

The Heritage Chapel remains a steadfast fixture in Coldstream, a reminder of days gone by and a look to futures new.

The Meadows School Project launched in 2001 is an example how the Heritage Chapel is bringing generations together. The Meadows School Project has moved the classroom to the Heritage Chapel twice a year for a number of weeks for the past 6 years. The classes involve students from the ages of nine to fourteen years. The activities the children participate in are divided to include inter-generational partnerships with Residents of Coldstream Meadows, core government mandated curriculum, and public service. This immersion of generations of old and young have helped to forge long lasting friendships and understanding of our community as a whole, where we have come from and where we are going.

An Ideal Place to Hold Your Intimate Wedding

If you would like to share your special day with up to 100 of your family and friends at this unique venue, the Chapel may be reserved for $250.00 (plus GST). This outstanding price includes a reserved time for your wedding rehearsal, the wedding ceremony and use of the surrounding gardens and gazebo for scenic photo opportunities.

For more information and to reserve the Heritage Chapel at The Meadows, please call (250) 542 - 5661

Coldstream Retirement Community has been happy to host and to participate in the Meadows School Project for the last 6 years.

As the founder and leader of The Meadows School Project Sharon Mackenzie had became aware of, and concerned about, the increasing alienation between generations in our society. It appeared that various ages of people were growing farther apart, physically, socially, and emotionally, particularly the young and the elderly. Sharon has looked at the history of social development of family and community and it seemed that this stratification was awkward, and in fact that the separation of elders and youth was unhealthy. As a result of this concern, the Meadows School Project was launched in 2001, in Coldstream, B.C.

The Meadows School Project moved the classroom to the Heritage Chapel in Coldstream Meadows Retirement Community. Students moved out of the traditional classroom for five weeks in the fall semester and three weeks in the spring semester, and were placed in an ‘immersion’ situation within the Retirement Community. After this time the integration of seniors and youth continued with bi-weekly cross-over visits for the rest of the school year. The classes involved students from the ages of nine to fourteen years and the activities were divided to include inter-generational partnerships (meeting with seniors on a person to person basis within one hour appointments), core government curriculum, and public service (maintenance jobs, assisting staff and residents). The learning outcomes of the project were specific and yet wide-ranging, promoting fundamental human connectedness within a community context.

The intent of the project was to begin the dissolution of unspoken beliefs and prejudices held by youth about seniors, and seniors about youth. The ‘immersion’ situation was to create an opportunity for development of understanding and long term friendship between youth and seniors and to allow youth the benefits of education from the elders. The hope is to instill lifelong learning in matters of the heart, and soul and to give experiences to youth that will translate positively into career and life choices.

The project has been received to great reviews and has been picked up local, provincial and national news medias and government. Shelagh Rogers and Anne Penman of CBC Radio ‘Sounds Like Canada’ visited for a full day to record a one hour show aired across Canada four times. BCTV, CHBC and Shaw TV have all run stories on the project, Local newspapers have also printed many stories about the project and its benefits. The project was listed as Promising Practise by the B.C.Ministry of Education, and has been commended by Her Excellency Governor-General Michaelle Jean, and the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, Her Honour Iona Campagnola. June Callwood endorsed the programme as well, working with Sharon as mentor and advisor for the past five years.

Annually a reunion is held, inviting all students from previous years of the Meadows School Project to return to Coldstream Meadows Retirement Community. Aside from reuniting children and the remaining seniors, it reaffirms the feelings of connectedness to elders and their living space.

Coldstream Meadows Retirement Community feels honored to be part of such a unique project and hopes to support The Meadows School project for many years to come.