More Bursaries for Retreats for NHS Workers

As the APR’s way of saying ‘thank you’ to NHS Staff and care-workers for their tireless care throughout the pandemic, we have made a number of Bursaries available for them to go on retreat at any of the APR Retreat Houses across the UK. Thanks to some generous donations, we have been able to extend the scheme again, now running until June 2022.

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

If you would like to contribute to the NHS Bursary Fund, and help even more NHS and Care-Workers take a much-needed retreat this year, please follow this link.

‘Oasis Days’ offer quiet reflection for people who need a day to re-charge their spiritual batteries and enjoy the stimulation of an excellent speaker.

Currently offered online via Zoom, the next one (entitled ‘Painting: More than the Eye can see, led by Susan Hewlett)is to be held on Tuesday 14th June, 10.45am – 3.00pm. Please email APR member, Jane Franklin on janefranklinretreats@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

Do you want to go on retreat, but are anxious about what might be expected of you?

Many people are nervous about going on retreat for the first time – but there’s really no need! All retreat houses welcome ‘first-timers’ through their doors, for all their retreats, but some also offer retreats specifically for people who haven’t been on one before.

This year, you could choose from the Coach House Kilmuir (near Inverness) from 24-26 June or 16-18 September?

Or Launde Abbey from 16-18 September?

Or Penhurst Retreat Centre in East Sussex from 28 Nov – 1 Dec?

And many of the individually guided retreats at the House of Prayer, East Molesey, are suitable for beginners too – including retreats from 20-22 May, 30 May-1 June, 8-15 July, 9-13 Sept or 7-9 Oct.

Looking for a retreat? Do you have a window of opportunity in your diary, but don’t know what’s on offer? Or where?

Take a look at our new Diary page – there are dozens of in-person and online retreats happening at our member houses across the UK, listed according to date – you’re bound to find something suitable!

APR Member, Sister Hazel Smith, wrote these meditations on The Way of the Cross some years ago, and has re-released them for our use this Holy Week.

Sister Hazel writes, ‘We are free to worship or not; our brothers and sisters in Ukraine are not; trapped in the war in their land. As we reflect on the great love of Jesus in His Passion, let us hold them up in love and shame that our human family should again see such horrors and brutality, and offer ourselves again to the God whose heart broke on the cross for us’.

Donations from using these meditations are invited for the Diocese of St. Alban’s Ukraine Refugee Fund, which can be made directly through this link. You can also buy the Meditations as a booklet for just £8 (£3 of which goes to the Appeal) by emailing admin@stpaulschurchbedford.org.uk or sisterhazelsmith@gmail.com

‘Make Space for Encounter’ – Individually Guided Retreats at Letton Hall in Norfolk from 19-22 September 2022.

Take time out of your busy schedule to draw near to God, to think, to reflect, pray and grow, noticing and finding God in all things. 1:1 sessions with a Spiritual Director are available (booking in advance required).

The retreat will cost £225, all meals included. Booking forms are also available from the Revd Deborah Hamilton-Grey, (Email: rev@guidedretreats.org.uk, or telephone: 07896 658373) www.guidedretreats.org.uk

Private self-catered IGR’s are also available to book at any time between June and December 2022 – contact Revd Deborah Hamilton-Grey directly to arrange your own!

These are just a selection of the online retreats offered by Donna Worthington. For bookings and further information, please visit www.christianretreats.live, or contact Donna directly: drworthington@live.co.uk

SILENCE in Christian Prayer: 14th May (2-5pm) and 16th May (10am-1pm)

PENTECOST retreat: 5th June (2-5pm)

ST JOHN OF THE CROSS’ SPIRITUAL CANTICLE: 18th June (10am-1pm)

ARAMAIC LORD’S PRAYER: 22nd June (6.30-9pm)

Our AGM at St Columba’s House, Woking in early November was well-attended, both in person and online via Zoom – and we were very grateful to the St Columba’s staff for making the technology of our first ever ‘hybrid’ meeting work so smoothly.

We also bade a fond farewell to Revd Barry Preece who has served as a Trustee of the APR for 9 years, and 6 as Chair – and we welcomed Revd Carol Smith as our new Chair.

You can download the Minutes of the meeting by clicking this link.

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.

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.