Our Mission

Mission

Rau-Wood Retreat Center, owned by The Nashville Lutherans, is a non-profit organization which oversees this Christian camp for groups who want an atmosphere in which to program religious, educational, or recreational activities for children, teens and adults in a private setting.

The Rau-Wood property was purchased in 1963.   The camp was named for a local pastor, Robert Rau, and the bishop of the Lutheran Church at that time, Bishop Wood.   The camp property was previously called Clearwater Beach.  

Rau-Wood Retreat Center is located at 8687 Old Harding Pike in Nashville.  It is a beautiful, 70 acre piece of property located beside the South Harpeth River.  It is a convenient 20 minute drive from downtown Nashville, TN and 15 minute drive from Franklin, TN. 

Rau-Wood is used by many church groups and organizations at the present time.  It has accommodations for 32 people with a dormitory and separate meeting room and kitchen.  Prior to the flood in 2010, the camp accommodated twice that number of people and had a large meeting area with commercial kitchen plus a two story log house.  The log house washed away in the flood and the meeting area had almost 6’ of water in it which ruined the interior and has not been used in 6 years.

We have slowly been doing repairs and making improvements.  Our wish would be to build and renovate so that Rau-Wood Retreat Center can accommodate children’s camps, couples retreats and many other activities that took place prior to the flood.  

Organizations Who Have Used Rau-Wood Retreat Center