David & Carolyn’s Journey to River Spring Lodge
Carolyn was raised in a devout Catholic home. Sensing a divine call from a very young age, as soon as she graduated from high school, Carolyn entered the convent where she served the Lord for seven years. David was also raised in a Catholic home but he was a godless rebel devoted to raising hell until the grace of God rescued him in 1972. The entire trajectory of David’s life changed that night when he turned from his sins to follow Jesus. Longing to serve the Savior and hungering to learn more about Him, David enrolled in bible school. Then for several years he pastored a Jesus people church in Attica, NY.
About the same time, Carolyn made the difficult decision to leave the convent. Then she discovered the Catholic Charismatic Movement where she served in leadership. After being introduced by a mutual friend, Carolyn arranged for David to speak at a prayer meeting she attended. That same year David and Carolyn were married. They spent most of their years together traveling in ministry across the Nation and overseas until they purchased and opened River Spring Lodge in 2016.
After graduating from high school David was trained as a chef at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. During their years of ministry serving small, rural churches the Hamers were self-supported, working seasonally as a hospitality couple at some of the most distinguished sporting and destination lodges in America. Now David and Carolyn provide exceptional lodging and memorable cuisine to appreciative guests that come to their Upstate New York bed and breakfast from across the nation and around the world. The Hamers Pastor a church that meets each Sunday morning in the village of Attica. They also oversee a multi-faceted ministry out of the lodge that includes River Spring Records and Truth Quest Studios. David and Carolyn also host ministry events to encourage and strengthen church leaders while mentoring others that have a call to ministry. Recently River Spring Lodge was honored by TripAdvisor as a Top 25 small inn in America and the highest rated bed and breakfast in the State of New York.
Ministry Gatherings and Sunday Morning Worship
In addition to providing warm hospitality and remarkable cuisine at their luxury inn in Darien Center, the Hamers host several ministry gatherings each year at the lodge. On Sunday mornings at 10:30 the church family they pastor gathers at River Spring Chapel at 909 Creek Rd in Attica for worship, prayer, the sharing of the gospel and the Lord’s Table. This is your invitation to come. Click here for more information.
River Spring Records
David is a gifted songwriter, worship leader and recording artist. In a separate wing at the lodge the Hamers built a music studio. The control room, a recording room and the video production studio are complete. Currently they are being used to record David’s vocals, music videos and teaching videos. In Nashville Jeff Nelson is producing David’s music using the best studio musicians, vocalists and chorale singers in the Music City. Click here to listen.
An 800 square foot recording room is also being built at the lodge. Once it is finished, live worship videos of David’s music will be recorded with local musicians and a forty-eight voice volunteer choir from the WNY worship community. Sign up here to learn more or to audition.
The studio will open in 2022 to record Christian artists, praise bands, church worship teams and choirs. Recording packages with lodging and meals will be available for out of town artists. Sign up to learn more.