Quiet Days in Holy Week

Observe Holy Week at St Katharine’s, Parmoor

Through Holy Week and leading up to Easter weekend, we have organised three led Quiet Days followed by a day for you to come and ‘Be Still’. You are invited to attend any one day, or book in residentially and make a Holy Week Retreat out of two or more of these days.

Monday 6th April: ‘Beginning at Bethany’ with Revd Sally Dakin

Tuesday 7th April: ‘Living wheat, fruits of the journey’ led by Shirley Taylor

Wed. 8th April: ‘Finding calm in the storm’ with Anthea Wratten.

Thurs. 9th April: ‘Come and be still’, an un-led day of stillness with midday prayers.

Each day will cost £35, to include lunch and refreshments. For more details, and bookings, please ring 01494 881037, or email office@srpf.org.uk.

Preparation for Easter: Journey to the cross with Jesus
April 1st – 3rd 2020

Letton Hall, Shipdham, Norfolk IP25 7SA

The retreat is centred around the monastic rhythm of prayer including a lunchtime Eucharist. During your retreat, there will also be the opportunity to meet up with a Spiritual Director each day.

Accomodation, full board including all meals and led retreat, are included in ticket cost, £160 per person. More information, and booking forms, are available from www.guidedretreats.org.uk, or download a flyer here.

Springtime for the Soul – A day retreat to welcome the season.  Thursday 23 April

A labyrinth day retreat led by Brian Draper, writer, broadcaster and experienced retreat guide. Bothy 5, Wigwam Retreat Centre, near Diss, Norfolk

Brian writes, “It’s so good for the soul when we pause to reconnect with what matters most. But it’s not always easy to know how to do that. I’ll provide the prompts as we go in search of a renewed sense of communion with the Creator, and the rhythms of Creation. My prayer is that you leave refreshed, re-orientated and reinvigorated!”

Cost: £35 including light lunch and teas/coffees (concessions available for those on low incomes).

A flyer with further details and a booking form is available to download here, by email from pwtcfl@aol.com, or by post by telephoning 020-8491-0222.

Mon 2^nd – Wed 4^th November 2020

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.

(more…)

Living as Easter people: The Resurrected Christ
April 22nd – 24th 2020

Letton Hall, Shipdham, Norfolk IP25 7SA

The retreat is centred around the monastic rhythm of prayer including a lunchtime Eucharist. During your retreat, there will also be the opportunity to meet up with a Spiritual Director each day (advance booking required), and you will be welcome to join in with the monastic rhythm of prayer, good food and fellowship.

Accomodation, full board including all meals and led retreat, are included in ticket cost, £160 per person. More information, and booking forms, are available from www.guidedretreats.org.uk, or download a flyer here.

The APR is currently preparing for its biennial diocesan Spirituality Advisers’ Conference, to be help at Launde Abbey from 27th-29th April 2020.

Entitled ‘LOST FOR WORDS’, it will include workshops and opportunities for discussion in regional groups, as well as welcoming speakers (including the poet Revd Malcolm Guite, Retreat Association Patron, Revd Graham Sparkes, and Revd Canon Andrew Walker) who will explore how poetry, music and art can stimulate and encourage prayer.

We are hoping that a representative (or two) from every diocese in the UK will be able to attend, and have already taken more than 40 bookings.

The AGM took place on Wednesday 30th October at the Red Hill Christian Centre, Snitterfield, Stratford upon Avon.

Led by the President, Bishop John Stroyan, and supported by 15 Trustees and other APR Members, it was a day full of fellowship, prayer, good conversation and even some business!  The 2019 AGM Minutes are now available to be downloaded, along with the Annual Report and Accounts 2019 (just click on these links).

 

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’.

The APR autumn retreat, held at St. Columba’s House, Woking from 6-8 November, was a refreshing and prayerful event, attended by 16 people from across the UK. Lavishly illustrating his words with a range of colourful and engaging icons, Bishop John invited participants into a deeper and more intimate relationship with God.  He also drew inspiration from writers as diverse as St Augustine and the Desert Fathers, St Thérèse of Liseaux, C.S. Lewis and Jean Vanier.

The retreat was punctuated with meditative and prayerful services in the spacious chapel at St Columba’s, and both the food and accommodation at St Columba’s were excellent. Even the vibrant autumn colours of the trees in and around the grounds contributed to what was a really meaningful and profound experience.

A full review of the Retreat, Take off your Shoes - A Review, can be found by clicking here.