Why I Began Working to Preserve Margee Iddings’ Legacy

When I began exploring the story of Reverend Doctor Margee Iddings and Rising Phoenix, I saw a place created with a purpose: Christian hospitality, renewal, and room for people to draw closer to God. I wanted to understand whether that purpose could continue, and whether I could help.

That question led me to create the Rising Phoenix Legacy website and begin reaching out. My role is an independent preservation effort: sharing Margee’s story, bringing information together, and looking for people who might be able to carry the mission forward. Margee founded the retreat. I do not own it, and I have no financial stake in the property.

A place built around a purpose

A retreat can offer something that is easy to lose in ordinary life: time to be still, to listen, to pray, and to receive another person with care. What moves me about Margee’s work is the intention behind the place. She made room for a particular kind of welcome, rooted in her faith.

I would love to see that setting serve its original purpose again. I also recognize that preserving a property takes resources, capable stewardship, and commitments that a website or a hopeful conversation cannot supply. There is no promised outcome. My part is to keep the effort honest, learn what is possible, and connect with people who may be able to help.

Following the message further

The property set me on this path, but the work has led me to think more deeply about the message I want to share. My hope is to help people find freedom in Jesus from the earthly things that hold us so tightly: the pressures, attachments, and distractions that can keep us from loving God and one another.

That is part of the reflection behind Carry the Torch Forward, my sermon on Stay at the Table. I am trying to discern God’s will as I go. I do not have every answer, and I cannot know in advance what this effort will become. I can take the next practical step with care and remain willing to learn.

Carrying a legacy into ordinary life

Preservation matters to me because of the life and service a place can support. A legacy also continues through people: someone offering a meal, listening patiently, praying with a friend, or making space for a person who needs rest. Those acts are available to us while larger questions remain unresolved.

My family’s separate Harmony Gardens vision grows from a related desire for Christian welcome, shared meals, gardening, and learning together. It is still in development. Rising Phoenix has its own history and mission, and I want to honor that distinction as both efforts take shape.

For now, I am continuing to share Margee’s story and seek thoughtful connections. If her work speaks to you, I invite you to explore Rising Phoenix Legacy and consider what you might be able to contribute to the conversation. I hope this effort helps carry forward the welcome and faith that gave the retreat its purpose.