Looking back to the beginning place of Individually Guided Retreats, I was at Letton Hall looking after a large Church group for the weekend. Whilst cooking in the kitchen God gave me a vision for offering guided retreats to individuals and groups. After praying, planning and thinking about what this might look like and with encouragement from the team at Letton I presented the vision to the Trustees of Letton Hall and the door opened. Friends and colleagues, Franciscans, clergy and others offered to help with the provision of spiritual direction and facilitating retreat sessions.
We offered our first retreat on Ash Wednesday 2020 at Letton Hall in Norfolk. Then the world went into lockdown. Lockdowns and covid restrictions didn't stop us from successfully offering online retreats during Lent in 2021, we were still able to offer sacred space and holy listening to people. People from around the world including our Bishops in the Diocese of Norwich gave of their time generously to provide online reflective resources. (see below).
In July and November of 2021 we held two weekend retreats at The Pleasaunce in Overstrand, 2022 arrived and we were grinding to a halt once again with retreats. But with encouragement from friends and the generous gift of bursaries from the Association for the Promotion of Retreats and also moving onto the grounds of Letton Hall recently I am delighted to be able to offer more space and time to those who need space, healing and peace in the form of retreat. We begin again this year to offer space to all those who need it, in the meantime my grateful thanks go to my husband Michael, Letton Hall Trustees and staff (Jon and Gill and the team), and all those wonderful people and organisations who have provided prayerful support, spiritual direction and helped out on retreats. We look forward to seeing what God's plan is for the coming year as we continue to develop and grow in disicpleship together, gathered and scattered in the grace of God.
If you would like to offer your gifts to help out on a retreat we would love you to come and grow with us contact Revd Deborah in the first place, rev@guidedretreats.org.uk.
God bless you now and always.
Lent Reflections
A series of video reflections for you to use during Lent.
Pray As You Go is a daily prayer session, designed to go with you wherever you go, to help you pray whenever you find time. A new prayer session is produced every day of the working week and one session for the weekend. The style of prayer is based on Ignatian Spirituality. It is produced by Jesuit Media Initiatives, with material written by a number of Jesuits, both in Britain and further afield, and other experts in the spirituality of St Ignatius of Loyola.
individually guided retreat
Make Space for Encounter September 19th-22nd at Letton Hall, Norfolk.
The Association for Promoting Retreats (APR) Bursaries for NHS staff and care-workers
We will support bursary applications from NHS and Care-workers from across the health service for retreats with us. Bursaries can be for up to 50% of the cost of your retreat (to a maximum of £ per person). Email us for details.
Make Space for Encounter September 19th-22nd at Letton Hall, Norfolk.
The Association for Promoting Retreats (APR) Bursaries for NHS staff and care-workers
