Retreat-Holidays
What are Retreat-Holidays?
The Archbishop of Canterbury has likened prayer to sunbathing:
“You’re not going to get a better tan
by screwing up your eyes
and concentrating.
You give the time and that’s it.
All you have to do is turn up.
And then things change,
at their own pace.
You simply have to be there
where the light can get at you.”
Coming on a retreat-holiday
is a way of putting yourself
in the right place and
leaving the rest up to God.
Cartoon by kind permission of Jonathan Pugh
and the Tablet (www.thetablet.co.uk)
There is a wonderful verse in Micah which sums up the feel of
Retreat-Holidays:
Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land. Micah 7:14
In other words: God is in charge, we are his people and we are combining a retreat (being "alone in a forest") with a holiday ("in the midst of a garden land").
Retreat-Holidays are a treat for the whole person: 
spiritual, emotional and physical
refreshment for tired people. They are
meant for Christians of all traditions -
and, indeed, for others who are
searching. You don't need to be
particularly "pious" to enjoy retreat-
holidays - in fact, those of us who find
praying difficult are often the ones who
find them most liberating.
All of our Retreat-Holidays are set in beautiful surroundings 
which put us in holiday mood from the outset and still us down enough to stand and stare at God's creation. Retreat-Holidays are about making space to listen to God through Scripture, through the beauty of creation, through our God-given imagination and through other people.
Retreat-Holidays are not pilgrimages,
not busy-busy but gentle. 
They
are in peaceful locations
chosen for their atmosphere.
They offer comfortable,
welcoming accommodation,
with all rooms en suite. We don't do spartan! You are free to go out visiting or to wind down and do nothing very much. You'll want to spend some of the time being quiet, but getting to know other Christians is also part of
the pleasure of the stay.
