Retreats and Quiet Days 2015

Some of you may be interested to know of the retreats I’m offering this year.

I want to explain that I don’t get paid for these. I like it better that way for two reasons – the first being simply that it makes them more accessible as you only have to pay for your food and (where applicable) accommodation. This is also partly why in general I’ve gone more for quiet days than two-day retreats; it keeps it more affordable for people already financially stretched.

The second reason I prefer not to be paid is that it assists in the direction of simplicity and pure intention. Back in the day when I accepted remuneration for retreats, there was an undercurrent of expectation that I was there to provide retreatants with a good time – a sort of spiritual spa experience. But that’s not the way I see it.  The retreats I offer are for people honestly on a journey, helping one another to see more deeply, to reach new levels of insight, to explore and taste and handle life’s realities, probing them for a precious harvest of truth. How can you be paid to do that?

Anyway, what’s on offer from me this year, all at Penhurst Retreat Centre, is as follows:

“Surrender gracefully” – the far side of the bell curve.

Thursday July 9^th 2015 10.00am – 4.00pm        £25.00

"We bring nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out of it" (1 Tim.6:7) If the first necessity of our lives is to acquire what we need – companionship, a home, possessions, income – its second challenge is learning how to relinquish it all. Before we die we will lose everything – money, belongings, relationships, health, occupation, life itself. This day is to help us look ahead to the far side of life’s bell curve, when what we have built up must be dismantled. The art of letting go, with grace and peace.

“Aridity and disenchantment”

Wednesday 23^rd September 2015 10.00am – 4.00pm      £25.00

Faithfulness in times of dryness, disappointment and adversity.

Writers’ Weekend Workshop

Friday 13^th November 4.00pm – Sunday 15^th November 2.00pm

Residential £160.00  Non-residential £90.00

Pen Wilcock, Tony Collins and Claire Dunn are back with another weekend for writers of Christian fiction for publication. Topics this time will be Claire Dunn on Writing Historical Fiction, Researching, and Creating Atmosphere; Tony Collins on Getting Your Message Across, and The Economics of Publishing; Pen Wilcock on How To Make The Time To Write Your Book, and The Narrative Voice and the Character's Voice. Tony Collins has a wealth of experience in Christian publishing, and has championed the cause of Christian fiction in the UK for decades. Claire Dunn is an established novelist. Pen Wilcock writes both fiction and non-fiction.

Here’s the place to get in touch if any of those appeals to you.

Or you might like to browse through all the retreats on offer – it’s an excellent line-up!

Bookings for any retreat or quiet day are made with the retreat centre, not with me. The link you need is here.