History

The St. Iakovos Retreat Center was a long time vision and goal, not only of the Hierarchs, but of many dedicated parishioners of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago; encompassing the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. The search began in the early 2000’s to find a property, which would become the home for Metropolis ministries, as well as for the successful youth camping program, Fanari. After a long search, members of the Retreat Center Board discovered a beautiful 137-acre property located in the quaint town of Kansasville, Wisconsin, nestled between Kenosha and Racine. Not only was the setting perfect, but also conveniently located just a little over an hour north of Chicago, IL and a half hour South of Milwaukee, making it a central location for the churches of the Metropolis of Chicago.

Since the original purchase in 2006, much effort has been placed into building this home, which had been so longed for.

• One of the first jobs undertaken was transforming the old garage/boathouse into the current chapel, and around the same time, the log lodge enclosed patio was made into two bedroom areas.
• In May of 2013, ground was broken for the first phase of building, which included a 26-room main lodge featuring individual style accommodations and two cottages featuring communal style accommodations. With the completion of this phase of building, the total capacity of the facility increased from just over 20 (twenty) individuals to over 200 (two hundred) individuals.
• In 2018, under the guidance of Mr. Ernie Karras, the marina was constructed for kids to enjoy boating activities.
• In 2019, generous donations facilitated the construction of the infirmary building. The facility has two offices, a small conference room, secured storage area for medication, an exam room and 4 individual bedrooms. 

In addition to the lodging accommodations, the facility also includes a variety of indoor meeting and gathering rooms, over two miles of trails for walking, a campfire pit, an outdoor pool, and various outdoor activities such as basketball, tennis, sand volleyball, soccer, Octoball, softball, cornhole and a large playground for children. We also offer boating on Friendship Lake.

Future plans for the St. Iakovos Retreat Center include the continued development of the permanent activity area which will feature softball, soccer, basketball, and bocce ball. However, most importantly our greatest dream, and the master plan, will not be complete until a full Byzantine-style Church is erected on the property. The Church location has been identified over a decade, and it will sit in the center of the property just across from the Tomaras Lodge.

A Look Back / A Look Forward

Learn more about the history of St. Iakovos Retreat Center in this video, created to commemorate our 15th anniversary.