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A weekend retreat booked at Pine Mountain Settlement School (PMSS) by The Waymaker’s Collective, an artist’s organization, recently resulted in law enforcement being called to the property to address a confrontation involving some local residents who interpreted the collective’s activities as non-Christian.

According to Harlan County Sheriff Chris Brewer, deputies were dispatched to the scene shortly after a call was received.

“On Saturday, Aug. 19, the Harlan County Sheriff’s Office received a call that the group that had rented the Pine Mountain Settlement School were in the chapel, which was not part of the rental agreement,” Brewer said. “The staff requested assistance from the Harlan County Sheriff’s Office to be present and keep the peace as they asked the group to vacate the chapel.”
Brewer said when deputies arrived, Kentucky State Police were already on the scene.

“The group stated the chapel was included in their rental agreement, but they would voluntarily vacate the chapel,” Brewer said. “The Harlan County Sheriff’s Office remained at Pine Mountain Settlement School for several hours as a precaution to keep the peace.”

The Pine Mountain Settlement School released a statement on its website – www.pinemountainsettlementschool.com – addressing the incident.

“While this group (Waymakers) was engaged in their meeting, several images were posted on the Waymakers’ social media, depicting their classes and events,” reads the statement. “The images, particularly those showing a healing space set up in the chapel, upset some members of the local community, who interpreted this as non-Christian. They reached out to the School’s Interim Director and, later, the Chair of the Board of Trustees.”

According to the statement, the Pine Mountain Settlement School asked the Waymakers to address the situation.

“To address these concerns and avoid misunderstanding, the Interim Director and Chair of the Board asked the Waymakers Collective to relocate their healing space to another building. The Collective agreed they would relocate the space at their next class break. However, some community members decided to come to campus, enter the chapel, and block access to buildings and roads. The Waymakers Collective felt threatened and called law enforcement,” states the release.

A Pine Mountain Settlement School staff member responded to the campus before law enforcement arrived to help diffuse the situation. She listened to concerns from both sides and communicated the issue to the PMSS interim director. It was decided the chapel would remain vacant and be locked to avoid further conflict. By the time law enforcement arrived, most local residents had left the campus. Afterwards, the Waymakers’ Collective ended their retreat early, leaving the campus.

“This incident happened at a private function on the Pine Mountain Settlement School campus,” states the PMSS release. “The Waymakers Collective was responsible for the planning and content of their retreat. The School prepared meals and offered lodging and meeting space.”

The Waymakers’ Collective also released a statement on their website – www.waymakerscollective.org – addressing the incident, stating a group of men and women arrived unannounced at the group’s private gathering on ATVs and in trucks.

“During that period, some of our members were in workshops, and a few were gathered in the chapel to rest: taking naps, or sitting in quiet reflection or prayer,” states the Waymakers’ release. “At that time, two men and one woman who were not a part of our group entered the chapel and sat apart from the group, watching our participants enjoy the healing space that was set up for them. Shortly after that, more people from outside our gathering entered the chapel and began engaging our participants while using their vehicles to block the roads and paths to exit. The people who entered the chapel demanded that we leave. Our group was told they did not belong there, were desecrating a Christian space, and needed to leave right away. We were shocked by this as we had rented out the entire campus of PMSS for our event and were treating the entire property with respect and in the manner we had communicated to PMSS prior to our event. However, our group was now being told by the people who entered the chapel that we did not have a right to be there. It was unclear to us who they were representing.”

According to the Waymakers’ release, the individuals who entered the chapel remained for over an hour, and often told Waymakers’ members they were not welcome and were being watched. Police were called by PMSS staff and some members of the Waymakers’ who feared the situation could escalate. The Waymakers’ were informed at this time not to use the chapel.

There were no injuries reported during the incident.

“At this time, there is no criminal investigation being conducted by the Sheriff’s Office, which is typical when you are the secondary agency responding to a scene,” Brewer said.