Oxford Retreat House

I've had a wonderful couple of days on the retreat that my cell group share annually. There has been so much that we have shared over the years as we journey together, with the continued sense that God is walking with us.

This was the second occasion that our retreat has been at the Oxford Retreat House run by the Disclaced Carmelite Friars. 52 years ago, the Carmelite Order purchased Chilswell House, former home of Poet Laureate Robert Bridges. Since then, a community of Carmelite friars has followed a life of prayer and ministry in the spirit of St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross. Their life revolves around the times of liturgical and personal silent prayer each day.

All guests are invited to join in this prayer. The Retreat Centre has recently been

extensively refurbished and welcomes a wide variety of groups. Set in 17 acres of woodland, and overlooking the ‘city of dreaming spires’, the Centre has 27 rooms, 13 of which are twin. The Centre offers preached and guided retreats, as well as weekends on various Carmelite-related themes. The Retreat House is also available for private groups and retreats. We couldn't wish for a better setting for our group retreat.

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Loreena McKennitt - The Dark Night Of The Soul.

Cell Group retreat

Worth Abbey

Worth Abbey

Worth Parish Church

Relaxing at Worth Church

In the churchyard of Worth Church

Yesterday I got back from my annual cell group retreat at Worth Abbey. As in previous years this was a wonderful time of rest and refreshment with close friends who accept and support absolutely.

While at Worth we divide our time between food preparation, country walks, table communions, quiet spaces and worship with the monks in the Abbey Church. Most of which provides us with the time we need to share where we are in our ministries and to pray for and encourage one another. It certainly isn't a silent retreat as we discuss the issues we, and the Church as a whole face, together with swapping stories and advice on the practicalities of ministry but it is punctuated by key moments of quiet reflection in the Abbey's services and in time spent in individual prayer and reading.

This year I finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and also finished Tom Wright's Surprised by Hope before, on Sam's recommendation, starting James Alison's Faith beyond Resentment.

I enjoyed a more measured read through the Harry Potter than had been the case on reading it initially post-publication. The significance and strength of self-sacrifice is very apparent as the story reaches its conclusion together with the inability of evil to comprehend, as C.S. Lewis would have phrased it, the 'deeper magic' of sacrificing oneself for others.

In Surprised by Hope Tom Wright makes a strong case for the biblical vision of the future being 'life after life after death' i.e. 'rest' in paradise prior to resurrection into the united new heaven and new earth that will be the kingdom of God come on earth as in heaven and towards which we work by creating anticipations of this hope in the present through justice, beauty and evangelism.

I'm particularly looking forward to reading further in Faith beyond Resentment, in part because Alison writes from a Girardian perspective but also because, to judge from the first chapter, his readings of scripture will feed in to my posts on 'The Bible - open or closed?'

Post Remembrance Day and pre-Advent is a great time in which to go on retreat. I went to Worth feeling overtired and overburdened by issues and challenges. Rested and refreshed from stimulating conversation, wonderful countryside, transcendant worship, stunning architecture, committed friendships, and challenging reading, I feel more able to tackle the issues and opportunities of parish and deanery ministry with renewed vigour and hope.

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Extreme - Stop The World.