TIME OUT – INDIVIDUAL SELF-GUIDED RETREAT
3rd-7th June
12th-18th August
minimum 2 nights
Spend a few days at Worth Abbey enjoying the rhythm of the monastic prayer and liturgy, time in reflection and the peace of the Sussex countryside. No set programme other than an optional daily Lectio Divina session, the usual monastic timetable of divine office and liturgy and the opportunity for a 1:1 meeting with a member of the monastic community.
Meal times: Breakfast 8-9am, Lunch 1:15pm and Supper 7:15pm. Worth Abbey Church Liturgy and prayer
COST: £90 per person, per night
If the dates above are not convenient, please contact us to check availability for your preferred dates as we may be able accommodate you.
FINDING STILLNESS
10th-12th May (Fri-Sun)
20th-23rd May
2nd-5th September
‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46). Come to Worth Abbey and encounter the power of stillness. Through the Benedictine tradition, discover how stillness can be part of your everyday life and how transformative it can be. The retreat will include teachings in Lectio Divina and stilling the mind as well as an opportunity to have a 1:1 meeting with a member of the monastic community.
COST:
£220 per person, single occupancy (2 nights)
£330 per person, single occupancy (3 nights)
THE LIFE JOURNEY MAP WORKSHOP
…. time to stop…look… listen
Saturday 11th May
10am – 4pm
Led by Elizabeth Elliott
As an experienced life coach and mentor, Elizabeth has coached and mentored people, young and older for 20 years towards clearer direction and enriched lives, with a heart for embracing both life’s joys and brokenness ….. having lived through depression…. she discovered the hidden treasures which proved to be a lifechanging adventure.
The day will provide a tool for seekers on life’s journey…..and provide a fresh look at life so far…this will include a look at: living from gratitude for all the good and happy, facing and making use of trials and setbacks and learning from both carefree and sadder times.
You will receive encouraging support as you stop, look and listen; chances to hear and learn from others’ stories; your own created life journey map to treasure.
Cost: £30 per person – includes refreshments, please bring a packed lunch
C.S. Lewis – on Goodness and Evil
Saturday 15th June
10am – 4pm
Led by Robert Elliott
Alongside his professional career in the world of education, Robert has delivered programmes that explore the writings of Christian thinkers. Robert’s life passion is for working in a way that enables full engagement interactively and that challenges, emancipates and brings bigger thinking. He encourages lively and thoughtful debate. He reads widely but particularly enjoys the works of Christian writers – C.S. Lewis is a special favourite. He has an interest in philosophy and social history and has led several workshops on C.S. Lewis. Robert has been married to Elizabeth for 50 years and together they have set up Treasures of Darkness.
This Workshop/ Retreat Day will explore Goodness and Evil in the writings of C. S. Lewis – both his novels and his philosophical/theological works – as well as other Christian writers/ thinkers.
The day will consist of interactive talks – with opportunity to work in small groups – to explore Goodness and Evil and the implications for our personal lives and the church.
Cost: £30 includes refreshments, please bring a packed lunch.
BENEDICTINE INDIVIDUALLY GUIDED RETREAT:
8th-14th July
7th-13th October
An IGR is an individual guided retreat and an opportunity to participate in a contemplative retreat. The Benedictine IGR takes the general concept of an IGR and adapts it for a Benedictine setting. It offers a contemplative Benedictine environment as a place of discernment – where you follow the monastic rhythm of the day but also meet up daily with a spiritual guide to reflect on what God might be saying to you at this time.
With a maximum of 10 participants, the retreat is largely held in silence and will also follow the daily rhythm of the monastic office.
COST: £110 per person, per night (minimum 3 nights)
TAI CHI & CHRISTIAN MEDITATION
22nd-25th April – SOLD OUT (Wait list available)
9th-12th September – SOLD OUT (Wait list available)
Fr Peter Williams OSB
This retreat uses some practises from Tai Chi to explore the concept of balance and energy and how they relate to prayer in the form of stillness and mediation. A truly mind/body/spirit retreat, Fr Peter uses the insights gained from 30 years of practise to guide you in how the body as ‘a temple of the Holy Spirit’ is very central to having a healthy prayer life. No previous experience of Tai Chi is necessary.
Limited number of places available.
Cost: £330 per person
ICON PAINTING COURSE & RETREAT – Sold Out (Wait list)
30th June – 7th July
Hanna Ward
Hanna is a Finnish born, British educated professional iconographer and illuminated manuscript painter, based in Surrey.
This course provides an introduction to all aspects of traditional icon painting: drawing an image onto a gessoed board and painting with natural and semi-precious pigments with egg tempera and using clay and lose leaf gold leaf for gilding. The aim is to understand the history, symbolism and meaning of icons and to gain the basic skills to be able to draw and paint them.
The emphasis will be on copying and tracing an old image correctly and carefully onto the icon board and learning to paint from dark to light in a traditional iconographic way. Participants will be given a step-by-step guide through the various disciplines of this nearly 2000-year-old tradition.
The aim is to paint six full days from Monday to Saturday and finish the icons during this six day retreat, and have them blessed in the church on Sunday.
Cost: £956 per person (includes full board and all materials)
RETREAT ASSOCIATION ICON
Jesus meeting the Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4:1–42)
24th September
1st October
Icons have been used for centuries to offer a way of engaging with a bible story through prayer, stillness and contemplation – practices that lie at the heart of our retreats.
We are delighted to welcome the Retreat Association Icon to Worth. The icon depicts the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4: v.1–42). Created for the Retreat Association by Iconographer John Coleman, who produced icons for over 200 churches worldwide including York Minster, Exeter & Truro Cathedrals and Sherborne Abbey, it was hallowed at The Retreat Association Conference in 2018 and has already been displayed at over 25 retreat centres, 9 churches and cathedrals across the UK. We are offering two day retreats.
10am-4pm
COST: £50 per person (includes refreshments and 2 course lunch)
LIVING WITH LOSS
11th-14th November
Fr Peter Williams OSB
Simon Holland Brown Dip.Couns MBACP
For anyone struggling with bereavement, Fr Peter Williams and Simon Holland-Brown (an experienced bereavement counsellor) offer spiritual space for healing and reconciliation. The retreat uses the Benedictine monastic framework of prayer to provide a spiritual and healing space where the effects of dealing with bereavement and grief can be discussed in a safe and open way. It will offer both a group context to discuss experiences more generally, time for 1:1 accompaniment and also space for silence, prayer and reflection. Bereavement can never fully dealt with finally, but this offers a way forward within a spiritual and healing context.
Cost: £330 per person