'An oasis for me': Maine family flips P.E.I. church into summer home

When school is out for one Maine teacher and his family, it means church is in.

Craig Clark and his wifehavespent almost every summer for nearly 30 years renovatingand maintaining their Rose Valley, P.E.I., summer home which happens to be an oldchurch.

"Together, we sort of saw a vision, saw the potential of what it was all about," said Clark.

Theystarted converting the church into a summer home 28 years ago.

"Doing construction on the church has been sort of a joy for the two of us for the past 30 years," he added.

When he invites people to their home, he added,they often get the immediate impressionthat it's very much the product of him and his wife.

A lot of work in the early years

"The early years, the first five, 10 years, putting in plumbing, putting in electrical, putting in beds was very busy," Clark said.

He said the church was fairly well kept when they bought it, so the hardest part was creating the bedrooms, bathrooms and a living space for the children.

Although,it's all a passion project for him.

"I was a carpenter in my earlier life, Ireally enjoyed working with my hands and creating things," said Clark. "It's really a hobby and a passion."

Summer home a personal 'oasis'

One of the largest draws for him is the massive Gothic windows that illuminate the living space during the summer days.

"A church, because of its nature, has this large open area with these very very tall gothic windows," Clark said. "To sit in the space and look up through these large windows and spend time in the openness is very relaxing."

Clark said for him, the summer home is a retreat his own personal "oasis." And for family,it's a nice place to come and celebrate life together too.

Back to school

It's also a nice break from school, he said.

"When I'm away from the classroom where it'sof course very very busy it's nice to have those two months in the summer where I can unwind and reflect," Clark said.

"I do tell my students when I'm in school during the year that Igo to church every day during the summer," he added."They often find that a curious statement when they find out Ilive in a church all summer long."

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