Online Advent Course

As we prepare for another period of enforced isolation and/or reflection, why not consider doing an online Advent Course?

This one was written in the Diocese of Sheffield specifically for 2020, and engages with many of the challenges of the pandemic. It aims to help us reflect, at the darkest time of the year, on our calling to be Lights for Christ. We’ll consider what that means and looks like; how that light may shine more brightly at the close of this year. It is a 4-week course, and can be used individually or in groups.

More information and enrollment details from www.lightsforchrist.uk/lightinthedarkness

The APR would like to thank NHS Staff and care-workers for their tireless care throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic.

And to say ‘thank you’, we have made a number of Bursaries available for NHS staff and care-workers to make a retreat at any of the APR Retreat Houses across the UK before April 2021.

Full details about how the scheme works, and how to apply, can be found on the Bursary page of our website.

23-25th April 2021 at St Katharine’s Parmoor, near Henley

Have you ever wanted to lead a Retreat for Beginners, but haven’t known how, or where, to start? APR Trustees and experienced retreat-leaders, Alison Christian and Dawn Pointing, will guide you through some of the do’s, don’t’s and FAQ’s of this, whilst sharing a weekend retreat together as though for the very first time!

The retreat will cost £205 per person, to include all your meals, and in line with the current Covid-guidelines, all rooms are single and en-suite. Click here for more information, or download a Booking Form.

(Please note that whilst this retreat is, of course, open to everyone, it will be particularly useful for those people (including existing retreat-leaders) wishing to lead retreats for first-time retreatants)

Donna Worthington (a spiritual director and retreat leader) is offering a number of online retreats this autumn, including:

EXPLORING THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE DESERT MOTHERS. Saturday Nov 7^th 2-5pm  or  Monday Nov 9^th 9.30am-12.30pm (£20)

A DESERT FATHER OF THESE ISLANDS – SAINT CUTHBERT. Sunday 29^th Nov 6.30-9pm (£20).

THE INTERIOR CASTLE – EXPLORE THE SEVEN DWELLING PLACES OF PRAYER OF ST TERESA’S PIONEERING WORK. This course/retreat involves 6 weekly sessions (every Tuesday (6.30-9pm) from Nov 3^rd to Dec 8^th , Cost £100)

For bookings and further information, please visit www.christianretreats.live, or contact Donna Worthington directly: drworthington@live.co.uk

Soul Desire is a timely publication, written for those who are new to contemplation. Author and Spirituality Adviser, Cameron Butland, writes, ‘If we are to value silence and meditation, we need to trust in the contemplative relationship and allow ourselves to experience the love of God. This experience will teach us everything we need to know. God’s love taught St Anthony of Egypt and in the same way this love alone can transform our lives’.

To order your copy, cost £12 (free p&p), please email booksosp@gmail.com, or contact Cameron Butland directly at cdsa03@gmail.com.

2pm Wednesday 4th November 2020

Given the current restrictions on travel and group gatherings, this year’s AGM will be conducted online using ‘Zoom’. Whilst we will really miss meeting our members in person, and sharing lunch and worship together, it might be an opportunity for a wider geographical spread of people to join us as we reflect on the past year, and look forward to new projects.

Everyone is welcome to join – but you will need to register with us beforehand to get the Zoom link. Please email the APR Administrator on promoting.retreats@gmail.com, or telephone 01395 272243, for all the details.

Published in March 2020, this beautifully-produced guide offers some practical ideas to help Retreat Houses of all denominations reach out to a wider audience. These include ideas on how to best utilise online and social media promotion, as well as how to promote the value of retreat through more traditional local, regional and national channels.

Spreading the Word is available to download for free here as a pdf file, and comes with our blessings for your ongoing ministries. However, if you would like a hard copy, you can purchase one online (using Paypal) through this link, or by emailing the APR Administrator on promoting.retreats@gmail.com.

Due to the Coronavirus situation, this retreat has been postponed, and will now be held from 1st-3rd November 2021. 

The retreat will cost £205 per person (or £185 per person, sharing a room), which will include all your meals. To book, please complete and return the downloadable Booking Form, with your deposit, or contact the APR Administrator who will be able to help you.

Led by APR Chair, the Revd Barry Preece, the retreat is entitled ‘Late Musings’. Barry writes, ‘I am a reflective person by nature and this retreat will be an opportunity to share thoughts about aspects of faith and life which have become increasingly important to me.  With titles of talks that include “Good Enough”, “Such is the Mystery” and “Letting in the Light” you may already have an idea of what some of those things might be.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury invited Trustees of the APR to Lambeth recently, for a conversation about how to better promote retreats throughout the Church of England. It was a very positive meeting. Archbishop Justin spoke both of his enthusiasm for encouraging prayer, and of his support the work of the APR as we promote the benefits of both retreats and Quiet Days, and support the work of Retreat Houses across the country, and beyond. In particular, he emphasised the value to everyone in ministry of taking regular time out to nurture their own relationships with God, saying that, ‘Evangelism or witness can only be genuine when it comes from an overflow of the love of God’.

The APR website is expanding, with a range of new resources soon to be available – the first of these are already published under the tab, ‘Signposts for Spiritual Growth’. These ‘signposts’ direct readers to a wealth of top-quality pages across the internet, concerning all aspect of prayer, spiritual formation, and growth in faith.

The pages, ‘Encountering Spirituality’, will be a virtual library of documents exploring both traditional spiritualities, contemporary role models and ‘life moments and transitions’, and are due to be published soon. Later this year, we will also be publishing a ‘Marketing Tool-Kit for Retreat Centres/Houses’.