Tag Archives: Launde Abbey

Contemplarium: Silence, Meditation, Chant

An aquarium is filled with water, and a solarium is filled with sunlight. A Contemplarium is a place filled with contemplative silence.

Many of us experience a longing for a richer life of prayer, for the contemplative experience of dwelling in God’s presence, loving and being loved. We resonate with the words of Richard Foster when he writes that “the desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people” – and we want to discover those depths for ourselves.

During the Contemplarium retreat we’ll immerse ourselves in brief meditations on scripture, in simple prayer drawing in echoes of ancient chant, and in generous opportunities for silence and stillness.

While plenty of space and time for silence will be provided on this retreat, the silence is never compulsory – you can dip in and out as you need. So this is an ideal retreat both for beginners to silent retreats and for experienced retreatants.

This retreat will be led by The Revd Chris Webb, Deputy Warden of Launde Abbey.

Chris Webb is an Anglican priest, author, speaker and teacher dedicated to helping people experience a richer walk with God by growing in prayer and the spiritual life. He has ministered in a wide variety of contexts: as president of Renovaré, a spiritual formation ministry in the USA; as parish priest in Welsh farming communities and steelworking towns; and even in a church for the homeless. Chris is the author of two books: The Fire of the Word (2011) and God-Soaked Life (2017).

Retreat price: £295 includes en-suite accommodation, all meals, and all retreat resources.
We offer an ‘Early Bird’ price of £275 if you pay in full before 31st January 2023.
It may be possible for you to extend your stay by staying on after the retreat. Why not check on availability and ask for a quote when you contact us.

Please complete this form to request a place on the retreat.

Treasures in Clay Jars: A Textiles and Sewing Retreat * FULLY BOOKED *

***This retreat is now fully booked – please complete the form below if you wished to be placed on a waitlist in case of cancellations. ***

“Treasures in Clay Jars” – a retreat led by Claire Goode.

Using our creativity and the medium of textiles, we will explore what it means for us to be ‘clay jars’ in the service of God. We will also explore the nature of clay and the potter who shapes us. We will do these using prayers and poetry, together with creative stitching.

There will also be an opportunity to discover the Japanese art of Kintsugi: that of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — a metaphor for embracing your flaws and imperfections.

Ideas for sewing projects will be provided, both hand stitching and machine work. You will not need to be an expert. You are also welcome to bring your own sewing project.

We recommend that any sewing machines to be used should have been PAT tested within the last three years.

Revd Claire Goode

Claire was most recently a Chaplain at Launde Abbey. She is an experienced parish priest and retreat leader who was most recently the Vicar of a city centre church in Nottingham. Claire was also one of the team offering Spiritual Direction (Spiritual Accompaniment) and Mentoring in Southwell & Nottingham Diocese. She has been sewing ever since she can remember – she had her first sewing machine aged 9 years and has recently studied for a City and Guilds Patchwork and Quilting Certificate.

Retreat price: £540 includes en-suite accommodation, all meals, and all retreat resources.
We offer an ‘Early Bird’ price of £520 if you pay in full before 14th June 2023.
It may be possible for you to extend your stay by leaving later. Why not check on availability and ask for a quote when you contact us.

Please complete this form to request being placed on the waiting list for this retreat.

Dayspring from on High: A Retreat for Advent FULLY BOOKED

This retreat is now fully booked.

Through the tender mercy of our God …
the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

The old priest Zechariah prophesied that his son, John the Baptist, would welcome the coming Messiah like dawn breaking into the dark night – or, in the poetic words of the Authorised Version, as a “Dayspring from on High”.

Our Advent Retreat this year will focus on hope: the hope anticipated by the great saints of the Hebrew Bible, the hope celebrated by the New Testament church, the hope that breaks into our lives like a sunburst through the gloom. We’ll enter together into this season of waiting and watching with our eyes firmly fixed on the hope set before us, the glory of Christ.

There will be times of shared reflection and prayer, opportunities to worship with the Launde community, great food a friendship, as well as generous time set aside for silence, stillness, prayer and meditation, or just rest and recovery.

This retreat will be led by the Revd Chris Webb, Deputy Warden of Launde Abbey.

Retreat price: £425 includes en-suite accommodation, all meals, and all retreat resources.
We offer an ‘Early Bird’ price of £405 if you pay in full before 27th September 2023.
It may be possible for you to extend your stay by leaving later. Why not check on availability and ask for a quote when you contact us.

Please complete this form to request a place on the retreat.

Quiet Day: Praying With All The Saints

As we gather just after the Church’s celebration of All Saints’ Day, this quiet day will begin by exploring aspects of theology relating to the role of icons in our worship. We will then consider more practically how icons and iconography can help us in our own spiritual practice.

This Quiet Day will be led by Catherine Lomas.

The Revd Catherine Lomas was, until earlier this year, a parish priest and pioneer in the Diocese of Peterborough. Her particular interest is in the use of visual means to explore theology and spirituality. Her interest in icons began in 2007 and she painted her first icon in 2016. Now based in Wiltshire, she is exploring a calling to full-time ministry as an iconographer and Christian artist.

Quiet Day price: £44 includes lunch and coffee and tea throughout the day.
Why not think about extending your time at Launde by staying overnight after the event. Check for availability and a quote when you contact us.

Yes – I’d like to take part in this Quiet Day! (Please complete this form to request a place.)

Saturday Quiet Day: Waters Of Life

The Scriptures and the sacraments resonate with the symbolism of water. Beyond our daily home-based involvement with water in drinking and washing, the wild water of the natural world speaks of God’s intimate relationship with the created world. The day will lead into time to explore and ponder the significance of water and spiritual life, in ways that are seen and unseen, expected but also sometimes surprising.

Revd Canon Mike Booker

This Quiet Day will be led by Mike Booker. After many years in parish ministry, theological education and on a bishop’s staff team, Mike is now partly retired and is rediscovering his roots as a geographer. He lives on the bank of the Great Ouse in Huntingdonshire, and loves the local wild life, kayaking through the seasons and occasional wild swimming. Mike is married to Liz, and has three grown-up children.+

Quiet Day price: £44 includes lunch and coffee and tea throughout the day.
Why not think about extending your time at Launde by staying overnight before or after the event or even both! Check for availability and a quote when you contact us.

Yes – I’d like to take part in this Quiet Day! (Please complete this form to request a place.)

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Quiet Day: In Dependence

In Dependence

Is God dependable? … What does it mean to depend on God?

Drawing on the life of Peter, this day will offer space to be known, held, and affirmed by God, and to find safety in His dependability.

This Quiet Day will be led by Emily Owen.

There will be opportunities for 1-1s with Emily, either with speech or in sign language

Emily Owen is an award-winning author and speaker, with several books to her name. She lost her hearing overnight aged 21, and has had numerous surgeries. Emily knows what it is to be broken, and she knows what it is to meet God there.

Sign language support will be available for this Quiet Day.

Quiet Day price: £44 includes lunch and coffee and tea throughout the day.
Why not think about extending your time at Launde by staying overnight before or after the event or even both!. Check for availability and a quote when you contact us.

Yes – I’d like to take part in this Quiet Day! (Please complete this form to request a place.)

Quiet Day: The Impact of Advent FULLY BOOKED

This event is now fully booked.

In this Quiet Day we shall be seeking to understand something of the impact of Advent on our vision, out attitudes and our way of life. As we come before God, we shall be following the practice of the Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer in receiving the word of God in stillness. There will be an opportunity to pray together, to listen to God, and also to be alone and enjoy the beauty of the Launde Abbey surroundings.

Revd Canon Charles Dobbin

This Quiet Day will be led by The Revd Canon Charles Dobbin. Charles has spent a considerable amount of his ministry in Leicester diocese, moving from ministry in South London to serve in Melton Mowbray, then Loughborough and Ashy-de-la-Zouch before moving to be team rector in Leeds. There he became involved in inter faith work, becoming chair of Leeds Faiths Forum, receiving an MBE for services to community cohesion. At this time, he was also chaplain of the Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer. Retiring in 2016, he and his wife Ros moved to Loughborough to be near the family. Since then, he has revived old links, among which has been the leading of some Quiet Days at Launde.

Yes – I’d like to take part in this Quiet Day! (Please complete this form to request a place.)

Quiet Day: Different Harvests

This Quiet Day will be led by Rosie Feuell. The day will consider traditional ideas of Harvest Thanksgiving, the Harvest of our Lives, and Harvest in modern and future contexts, where we are detached from food production and more interested in protecting the environment.

We will focus on Scriptures from Deuteronomy, Psalms, Gospels and other writing.

Rosie will begin the day with a Liturgy of Thanksgiving and the day will end with a celebration of Holy Communion led by one of the Launde Abbey Team.

Rosie Feuell

Rosey Feuell is an LLM in the parish of St Mary the Virgin, Great Shelford, (near Cambridge) and an experienced spiritual director. She has special interest in ways of praying, especially with Holy Scripture, the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, and work with older people in church and community.

Rosey has conducted Quiet Days, Retreats, and Courses on Prayer in various contexts, including Iona and Lindisfarne, Lincolnshire, Ely Diocese, London, and the Community of St Mary the Virgin (CSMV), of which she is an Associate, as well as Retreat Secretary to the Associates’ network. She also guides on Weeks/Months of Accompanied Prayer and has published poetry/articles in Christian magazines.

Yes – I’d like to take part in this Quiet Day! (Please complete this form to request a place.)

Quiet Day: Transformed, Converted

Transformed, Converted … or merely a Make-over

On the Feast of the Transfiguration, this is a chance to reflect upon the account of how Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain and they witnessed something extraordinary. The story is written in all 3 synoptic Gospels and we will explore something of its significance!

Additional details of this Quiet Day, led by Claire Goode, will follow shortly. Please check back regularly.

Revd Claire Goode

Claire is an experienced parish priest and retreat leader who was most recently a Chaplain at Launde Abbey. Previously she had been the Vicar of a city centre church in Nottingham. Claire was also one of the team offering Spiritual Direction (Spiritual Accompaniment) and Mentoring in Southwell & Nottingham Diocese.

Yes – I’d like to take part in this Quiet Day! (Please complete this form to request a place.)

Quiet Day: This is My Body

If the Word became flesh and blood, and “moved into the neighbourhood”, how then do we see our own bodies? How do we relate to the bits we like? And the bits we don’t? A chance to think about our bodies, in both their brokenness and beauty, as “very good… wonderfully made”!

Revd David Harknett

This Quiet Day will be led by The Revd David Harknett and assisted by his daughter Rose.

David has been given to Rose as a parent, carer, friend, explorer and annoyance. Not expected to live because of sepsis in 2013, David has mild, chronic fatigue, but is able to swim, cycle and run. He also oversees 6 small, rural villages outside Melton Mowbray.

Rose Harknett at Launde

Rose has been given to David as a daughter, demand, friend, entertainer and irritant. During David’s sabbatical in 2022, his wife Vicky described Rose as his “greatest Mentor”. She is non-verbal and attends Birch Wood Special School.

Yes – I’d like to take part in this Quiet Day! (Please complete this form to request a place.)