Parcevall Hall

22 January

Monday 10am – 4pm

Quiet Day I

Leader: Revd Henriette Howarth

Prayer is not too difficult

On this Quiet day we will explore the gift of prayer. We will find inspiration in the scriptures and Christian tradition to deepen our awareness of God, who is not far away but in whom we live and move and have our being.

We will practice different ways of praying: silence, contemplation and the Ignatian way, seeking nurture and inspiration with the assistance of music, nature and a variety of texts. This quiet day is for everyone, whether you have an established practice of prayer, struggle with prayer, or simply want to find out more about it.

Henriette Howarth is an Anglican priest, originally from the Netherlands, but now based in Yorkshire. She is a spiritual director, meditation teacher and has a Masters in Biblical Studies. She has worked in health care and education chaplaincy and as a parish priest. Henriette has personal experience of caring for and accompanying young people with physical and mental health challenges.

Please bring your own lunch.

Freewill offering

 

5 – 9 February

Arrive Monday 10am, depart Friday 10am

Clergy Reading Week

Leader: Revd Canon Marion Russell

An opportunity to take time away from the parish to read, reflect, walk, chat, rest and sleep. You are invited to bring along books of your own choice of a theological or spiritual nature. All who are present share with the group which books they have chosen and why. This often leads to conversations with each other during the retreat about books of mutual - or diverse - interest.

After that introduction, apart from meal and prayer times, the remainder of this retreat is relaxed and unstructured – a time of refreshment for body, mind and soul in a place of beauty and peace. The cost can be paid from your CMD retreat grant. If you have not been involved in this event before and would like to know more, please contact Revd Canon Marion Russell by email at marion.russell@leeds.anglican.org. For bookings, please contact Parcevall Hall.

Marion is Vicar of Embsay with Eastby and the Clergy Development Officer for the Ripon Episcopal Area, working with curates in training and supporting other clergy. She has a background in the education of vulnerable children, has served as a Self-Supporting Minister (SSM) as well as in full-time incumbency and as Area Dean. Marion is currently additionally involved in the Spiritual Direction Formation Programme for the Diocese of Leeds, and enjoys Parcevall Hall as a place where peace and contemplation can be explored. Reading, walking and good food – these wholesome ingredients in good company are part of the Clergy Reading Week at Parcevall Hall.

Price: £372

 

23 – 25 February

Arrive Friday 4pm, depart Sunday 3pm

Heart & Soul Singing Retreat I

Tutor: Keely Hodgson

Combine singing in harmony with rest, nurture and inspiration. No previous singing experience, or the ability to read music, is required. A varied repertoire of songs and rounds are sensitively taught using call and response.

Keely Hodgson is a composer and natural voice practitioner. She leads a number of community choirs, including the Ben Rhydding Community Choir, and is a member of a team of composers and arrangers for the choral website, ChoirCommunity. She belongs to the Bring Me Sunshine Trio, a social enterprise, playing cello and guitar and singing in local Care Homes and runs The Purple Room, a monthly evening of music and the spoken word in Ben Rhydding. Keely is committed to sharing the sense of well-being and soulful connection singing with others can bring, and helping those who have not sung before to discover their unique voice.

There are three other Heart & Soul Singing Retreats this year: 12 – 14 April, 19 – 21 June, 1 – 3 November.

Price: £214

 

28 March – 1 April

Arrive Thursday, 4pm depart Monday 10am

Easter Retreat

Leader: Canon Graham Bettridge

Join us at Parcevall Hall for this most special week of the year. The programme will be led by our chaplain, Canon Graham Bettridge, taking time to reflect on the significance of Holy Week, and celebrating together the triumph of Easter Day.

Graham trained for the ministry at the Society of the Sacred Mission at Kelham, Nottinghamshire. He was ordained in the Bradford Diocese by Bishop Michael Parker, and his ordination retreat was spent at Parcevall, which was then the newly-acquired retreat house of Bradford Diocese. After ordination, Graham was Team Rector of the seven Rainbow Parishes, based in Kirby Lonsdale. He was also Honorary Canon and Senior Chaplain of Cumbria Police Service from 1992 until 2012. In 2007 he was appointed Honorary Chaplain of Parcevall Hall by Bishop Nick Baines.

Price: £362

 

3 – 5 April

Arrive Wednesday 4pm, depart Friday 3pm

Four Waters of Prayer

Tutor: Julienne McLean

In this two-day retreat, we will be reflecting on some of the profound symbols of the soul in the mystical text ‘The Interior Castle’ by the sixteenth century Carmelite saint, reformer and writer, St Teresa of Avila, from Jungian and spiritual perspectives. In particular, we will focus on her well- known teaching on contemplative prayer, known as the four waters of prayer, to help deepen our own understanding, and living practice, of interior prayer. A beautiful DVD of St Teresa’s Four Waters of Prayer, in Word, Image and Song will be shown.

Julienne McLean is a psychologist, psychotherapist, Jungian analyst, supervisor and spiritual director practising in North London. She has taught on several Anglican ordination courses, at Sarum College, Salisbury and St Mary’s University, Strawberry Hill, London. She has a particular interest in the relationship between modern depth psychology, contemplative prayer and the Christian mystical tradition.

For many years, she has also been teaching, and running study groups and retreats in England, Scotland and Spain on Jungian psychology and Carmelite Spirituality, particularly in relation to the lives/writings of the Carmelite saints, St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross. She teaches on the Carmelite Spiritual Direction Formation Programme (www.oxcacs.org).

She is the author of ‘Towards Mystical Union’, (St Paul's, 2003, 2013, 2017), a modern commentary on St Teresa’s text on prayer, ‘The Interior Castle’ and ‘The Diamond Heart – Jungian Psychology and the Christian Mystical Tradition’ (Chiron, 2023). She co-founded Friends of Sophia (www.friendsofsophia.com) and Soul Encounters (www.soulencountersconference.com).

Price: £221

 

12 – 14 April

Arrive Friday 4pm, depart Sunday 3pm

Heart & Soul Singing Retreat II

Tutor: Keely Hodgson

Combine singing in harmony with rest, nurture and inspiration. No previous singing experience, or the ability to read music, is required. A varied repertoire of songs and rounds are sensitively taught using call and response.

Keely Hodgson is a composer and natural voice practitioner. She leads a number of community choirs, including the Ben Rhydding Community Choir, and is a member of a team of composers and arrangers for the choral website, ChoirCommunity. She belongs to the Bring Me Sunshine Trio, a social enterprise, playing cello and guitar and singing in local Care Homes and runs The Purple Room, a monthly evening of music and the spoken word in Ben Rhydding. Keely is committed to sharing the sense of well-being and soulful connection singing with others can bring, and helping those who have not sung before to discover their unique voice.

There are three other Heart & Soul Singing retreats this year; 23 – 25 February, 19 – 21 June & 1 – 3 November.

Price: £214

 

15 April

Monday 10am – 4pm

Quiet Day II

Please bring your own lunch.

Freewill offering

 

26 – 28 April

Arrive Friday 4pm, depart Sunday 3pm

Beauty & The Survival of the Beautiful

Tutor: David Hawkins

Charles Darwin said in a fit of frustration, ‘The peacock’s tail makes me sick!’ In this course we shall travel together into the origins of beauty and the challenge it presented Darwin for his theory of evolution with its ‘Survival of the Fittest’. We will explore the interplay between beauty, art and culture in the evolution of animals and humans. There will be engagement with some science, zoology, history, archaeology, aesthetics and art appreciation.

David is an environmental artist with a studio in Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales where he works in acrylics, watercolour, photography, collage and mixed media. It’s the essence of things which is his quest…the ‘tree-ness’ of things, as Paul Cezanne used to say. Playing with the juxtaposition of images, which have no apparent relation but can result in evocative association, provides endless fascination – like the Surrealists, Magritte, Dali and co. Recent work includes socio-political themes, as David believes art can be a more effective influence in society than rhetoric or campaigning. He’s the chair of Craven Arts and exhibits regularly in Yorkshire and London. David has been a Church of England minister all his adult life and has worked in Merseyside, Kenya, Nigeria, Oxford, Leeds and East London and Essex, where he was the Bishop of Barking for twelve years. Since his retirement he’s been an honorary, assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Leeds.

Price: £195

 

7 – 9 June

Arrive 4pm Friday, depart 3pm Sunday

Carers’ Retreat

I will give you rest!

Leader: Revd Henriette Howarth.

The intention of this retreat is to respond to Jesus’ invitation: 'Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’

This weekend is for those who are looking for spiritual nourishment, especially for those who live with or care for loved ones who struggle with physical or mental health challenges. There will be space to rest and time to receive from God, and opportunities to learn from Scripture and other spiritual resources about His compassion and love for those who care deeply for others. We won't shy away from addressing some of the difficult questions regarding pain and suffering, but this will be done in a sensitive and restorative way.

We don't expect people to share personal stories with the group, but there will be a chance to talk confidentially with the retreat leaders. Music and creativity will be offered as tools to relax and experience God’s Spirit. Sally Sutcliffe will support with music and Carol Wood with creative arts.

Henriette Howarth is an Anglican priest, originally from the Netherlands, but now based in Yorkshire. She is a spiritual director, meditation teacher and has a Masters in Biblical Studies. She has worked in health care and education chaplaincy and as a parish priest. She has personal experience of caring for and accompanying young people with physical and mental health challenges.

Finance should not be a barrier to coming on this retreat. Bursaries will be available in these cases.

Price: £200

 

14 – 16 June

Arrive Friday 4pm, depart 3pm Sunday

Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer Retreat

A silent ‘listening’ retreat. Contemplative life is the expression of the desire to seek stillness amid the rush of life, to hear ‘the still small voice’ amid today’s clamour; to search for and listen to God. Experienced with others in a group, silence is deeper and more powerful than when alone. By making a space for yourself and your relationship with God, you are giving yourself and Him a wonderful gift.

Bookings should be made through the Hall. For more information on any aspect of this FCP retreat, please contact Sue Davies on 01924 255129/07749 592858, or email susandavies367@gmail.com.

For more information about the Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer, visit www.contemplative-prayer.org.uk.

Price: £186

 

19 – 21 June

Arrive Wednesday 4pm, depart Friday 3pm

Heart & Soul Singing Retreat III

Tutor: Keely Hodgson

Combine singing in harmony with rest, nurture and inspiration. No previous singing experience, or the ability to read music, is required. A varied repertoire of songs and rounds are sensitively taught using call and response.

Keely Hodgson is a composer and natural voice practitioner. She leads a number of community choirs, including the Ben Rhydding Community Choir, and is a member of a team of composers and arrangers for the choral website, ChoirCommunity. She belongs to the Bring Me Sunshine Trio, a social enterprise, playing cello and guitar and singing in local Care Homes and runs The Purple Room, a monthly evening of music and the spoken word in Ben Rhydding. Keely is committed to sharing the sense of well-being and soulful connection singing with others can bring, and helping those who have not sung before to discover their unique voice.

There are three other Heart & Soul Singing Retreats this year: 23 – 25 February, 12 – 14 April & 1 – 3 November

Price: £214

 

12 - 15 July 2024

Arrive Friday 4pm, depart Monday 3pm

Living Prayer into Life

Leader: Jill Benet

In Centering Prayer, our intention is to consent to the presence and action of the Divine within us. It is sometimes referred to as the Prayer of Consent. The effect of Centering Prayer is seen in daily life, increasing our awareness/making us aware of our attachments, identifications and the hidden motivations that lie behind our actions. Seen as obstacles to being present, we wish to be free of such distractions. But how do we do that? Little do we realise that what we might at first consider an obstacle is, in fact, a welcome step to living into who we truly are. In an atmosphere of silence, presence and practice, learning how to Welcome and be with what comes, we sense a new way to living life fully.

Our time together will include extended periods of Prayer and Silence as well as Practical teaching on how to meet and be with the circumstances arising in our daily life.

Jill Benet is the London Co-ordinator of Contemplative Outreach, founded to teach the method of Centering Prayer and to support Centering Prayer groups and communities. She has studied in-depth the conceptual background of Centering Prayer, trained in the US and UK, and has studied under its founder, Fr Thomas Keating. Jill is a co-founder of the Silence in the City series of talks on the contemplative life and has collaborated with Cynthia Bourgeault, James Finley and Richard Rohr, among others. She leads groups, Introductory Days, Quiet Days, and retreats. She is a professional teacher and guide of Inner Relationship Focusing.

Price: £307

 

15 – 17 July

Arrive Monday 4pm, depart Wednesday 3pm

Mary Magdalene’s Easter: A Study of John 20

Tutor: Margaret Barker

Preparing for the feast of St Mary Magdalene on July 22nd, we shall look in depth at St John’s account of her meeting Jesus. Mary Magdalene was remembered as a visionary, a teacher and a leader in the early Church, and St John has recorded the reason for this.

What she learned from her encounter with the risen Lord became the basis for understanding his death and resurrection.

Margaret Barker read theology at Cambridge and went on to pursue her research independently. She was elected President of the Society for Old Testament Study in 1998, and edited the Society’s second Monograph Series, published by Ashgate. She has so far written 17 books, which form a sequence, later volumes building on her earlier conclusions. Since 1997, she has been part of the symposium Religion, Science and the Environment, convened by His All Holiness Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Margaret developed an approach to Biblical Studies now known as Temple Theology. In 2008 she was awarded a Lambeth Degree of Doctor of Divinity by Rowan Williams, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, ‘in recognition of her work on the Jerusalem Temple and the origins of Christian Liturgy, which has made a significantly new contribution to our understanding of the New Testament and opened up important fields for research’.

Margaret Barker is a mother and grandmother, a retired Methodist preacher and was involved for over 30 years with the work of a women’s refuge.

Price: £226

 

19 August

Monday 10am – 4pm

Quiet Day III

Please bring your own lunch.

Freewill offering

 

1 – 3 November

Arrive Friday 4pm, depart 3pm Sunday

Heart & Soul Singing Retreat IV

Tutor: Keely Hodgson

Combine singing in harmony with rest, nurture and inspiration. No previous singing experience, or the ability to read music, is required. A varied repertoire of songs and rounds are sensitively taught using call and response.

Keely Hodgson is a composer and natural voice practitioner. She leads a number of community choirs, including the Ben Rhydding Community Choir, and is a member of a team of composers and arrangers for the choral website, ChoirCommunity. She belongs to the Bring Me Sunshine Trio, a social enterprise, playing cello and guitar and singing in local Care Homes and runs The Purple Room, a monthly evening of music and the spoken word in Ben Rhydding. Keely is committed to sharing the sense of well-being and soulful connection singing with others can bring, and helping those who have not sung before to discover their unique voice.

Price: £214

 

2 – 5 December

Arrive Monday 4pm, depart Thursday 3pm

Advent Retreat led by The Very Reverend John Dobson, Dean of Ripon Cathedral

Price: £285

 

23 – 27 December

Arrive Monday 4pm, depart Friday 10am

Christmas Houseparty & Retreat

Spend a traditional Christmas in the warm and welcoming surroundings of Parcevall Hall. Home-cooked food, traditional games and times for reflections shared in good company, all help us to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas in this special celebration.

Price: £417

Our programme also includes two three-night walking breaks, Recorder Player Workshops and Literature and Art Appreciation events. You can contact us on 01756 720213 or by email at admin@parcevallhall.org.uk for more details and information.