TIME OUT
Taking time out to pray and reflect on our lives – where we are and where we’re going, being clarifying our priorities, hopes and values – is a basic part of spiritual growth. It a commended by all faiths and religious traditions, and is particularly vital as life gets more complex and challenging. Jesus took time out, and he invited his disciples to do the same; he said to them: ‘Come apart and rest awhile’ (Mark 6.31). The opportunities listed below are a way of responding to his invitation.
FORTHCOMING RETREATS : STEPPING INTO THE BIBLE
I am leading a series of study retreats based on my book Six Steps Into the Bible. The first was a Quiet Day in January 2025 at The House of Prayer, East Molesey, Surrey. The response was very positive. ‘Absolutely brilliant’; ‘An enjoyable and insightful day with plenty to ponder and chew over’; ‘Enjoyable and enlightening’, were some of the comments.
The retreats at Launde Abbey and the Ammerdown Centre went well, one participant describing it as taking her to a ‘new place’. Another said: “Thank you for the recent study retreat which I found rewarding, entertaining, interesting and very worth while.” And another: ‘It was a joyful, sometimes serious, at other times very moving, experience. I feel quietly closer to God.”
I will leading a further study retreat in 2026 –
10–13 February 2026 : Ashburnham Place, East Sussex– https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/stepping-into-the-bible-tickets-1345429639269?aff=oddtdtcreator
Unfortunately, the retreat at Rydal Hall, Cumbria, will not now take place. However, I will be leading a short course covering the same ground from 9–12 March. For further information please contact me: peter@peter.sills.co.uk
Drawing on material from Six Steps Into The Bible, these study retreats combine teaching and discussion with times of prayer, reflection and relaxation. The focus is the evolving spirituality of the Bible, particularly how ideas of God and Jesus, morality and destiny developed over the many centuries of its writing.
Although the Bible is the foundational document for the Christian faith, many Christians find it puzzling, a bit of a closed book; Bible study sounds a bit heavy, and so we don’t really engage with it. These retreats offer an accessible journey of discovery as we step into the Bible and open it up. We get under the skin of the Bible, learning to understand its world and the motivation of its authors. Together we make a journey exploring when, why and by whom the different books were written and how the Old and New Testaments relate to one another. We discover how the Biblical message developed over the many centuries of its writing, and we explore the different levels of biblical truth – from the literal to the prophetic and the poetic. There’s lots time to ask about the things we find difficult or disturbing.
The biblical authors wrestled with the same questions about God, life and human society that we face today. Understanding how their ideas evolved is particularly relevant in today’s world where what we believe still shapes what we do, from issues like welfare and immigration to the future of Gaza. You don’t always appreciate this from on-line sources about the Bible, particularly those that come from well-funded groups which promote a literalist understanding of the text and a theologically conservative approach that focusses on personal faith and ignores the social dimension of the biblical message. Stepping Into the Bible is the antidote to superficiality and packaged thinking.
In welcoming places and beautiful environments, these retreats offer tools for deeper understanding and imaginative engagement with the scriptures. Being open to new perspectives and the wisdom of scholars who have studied the Bible in depth makes the message more believable – and also more challenging! Stepping into the Bible we discover it is not ‘a sacred monolith’, but a dynamic testament to an evolving story and a developing faith.
For information about the venues and to make a booking, please refer to the websites above.
RENEW:ALL
In 2024 I contributed to RENEW:ALL, the National Retreat Week sponsored by St. Katharine’s Foundation in London: 21–28 September 2024. RENEW:ALL provides online free resources for those taking time aside. It began in 2023 when 15K people engaged with the programme. The hope is to raise awareness of the positive spiritual wellbeing that comes from taking time on retreat. For further information about RENEW:ALL click here: Renewall | be transformed by the renewal of your mind…
My contribution, Stepping Into The Bible, is based on Steps One and Three of Six Steps, offering an approach to reading and studying the scriptures that helps us get under the skin of the Bible. The link above should take you to it.
TIME OUT IN TOURNAY
The Abbaye Notre-Dame de Tournay, nestling by the river Arros in the glorious foothills of the Pyrenées, is a Benedictine community founded around 60 years ago. Like all monasteries it is a holy place, hallowed by prayer and the rhythm of the monastic life. The warm welcome, the peace and quiet, and the beautiful liturgy provide space for the spirit and make it the perfect place to take some time out. The surrounding area is rich in natural beauty with many places of pilgrimage and is noted for its Romanesque Churches.
Every three years, or so, I lead a week of refection at Tournay Abbey combining quiet time at the Abbey with visits to places of interest in the area. Unfortunately, the visit planned for September this year has been postponed to late May / early June 2026. Full details will be posted well in advance. If you would like to receive the details when they are available, please contact me: peter@peter-sills.co.uk .
INVITATIONS
I have led a variety of Retreats and Quiet Days, Parish Weekends and Prayer workshops, among them an Ordination Retreat for the Ely Diocese and an Advent Retreat for Lutheran pastors in Pennsylvania. Topics have included – How to read the Bible / Meditative Prayer / Lectio Divina / Benedictine Spirituality / Preparing for Advent / and A Holy Week Pilgrimage.
I am happy to respond to invitations; to contact me click here.
A HOME-BASED RETREAT
What is a home-based retreat?
It’s just what it says, a time of guided prayer based in your own home. It is ideal for those
– whose commitments rule out going on a residential retreat;
– who have wondered about doing a retreat, but aren’t sure what’s involved;
– who would like to deepen their prayer-life.
What does it involve?
Those taking part are asked to make four commitments –
1. Clear your diary as much as possible for the week.
2. Set aside each day two times for silent prayer of half-an-hour to an hour, one in the morning, the other in the afternoon.
3. Meet for half-an-hour each day with one of the retreat conductors to talk over your experience.
4. Come to the service that concludes the retreat.
Will there be anything to read?
As there are no addresses in a home-based retreat, it is a good idea for a short book or set of meditations to take their place, for example my Lent book, The Life Hidden with Christ in God.
THE LIVING REMINDER
In 2005 I led the Ordination Retreat for the Ely Diocese. I drew the title for my addresses from Henri Nouwen’s book The Living Reminder, three lectures about the spiritual resources of ministers. What is it, asked Nouwen, that enables them to preach, teach, counsel and celebrate with a continuing sense of joy, wonder, gratitude and praise? His answer is to picture the minister as a ‘living reminder’, one whose life points to God and who heals, sustains and guides the people of God. At the end of the book he recalls how he realised that he had, in fact, discussed the minister using the familiar threefold pattern of pastor, priest and prophet. Following Nouwen’s theme, the addresses reflect on what it means to be a pastor, priest and prophet in today’s world, and I explore this using the symbols that we use in our ministry , the ordinary things of life that we endow with special significance and which become effective signs of the grace of God. The text of the addresses is available here. Read now.