It all started in Atlanta, Georgia ten years ago when a group of Methodists and an Anglican had been gathered by Rev Nicola Vidamour to travel over to the USA. We were to take part in a week-long retreat run by the Academy for Spiritual Formation (part of the Methodist Church in the USA). I wasn’t completely sure what I was letting myself in for, but I trusted that God was leading me somewhere and it was important to ‘let go and let God’. It certainly was a life-changing experience culminating in setting up, on our return, The Community for Spiritual Formation in the UK to run 5-day Communities based on the model we had experienced in Georgia.
As a leadership team, we started planning our first 5-day Community to take place at Drumalis Retreat Centre in 2017. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength. The Community for Spiritual Formation (UK) is a branch of the Academy in America. Both offer a sacred place for hungry pilgrims. The Community is an experience of disciplined Christian togetherness emphasising holistic spirituality to nurture mind, body and spirit.
The retreat is based on the Benedictine pattern of the day and aims to create transformative space to help people encounter communion with God, self, others and creation for the sake of the world. It is normally residential over 5 or 3 days. The retreat programme fosters spiritual rhythms of study prayer, silence and liturgy, solitude and relationship, rest and exercise. Each Community gathering provides the opportunity to develop and grow in the Christian faith, delight in the companionship of Christ, experience the building of community out of all its fragments and witness the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives in an ever-changing world.
The daily programme consists of prayer, teaching, silence, worship and listening groups. These elements are interspersed with meals, community and free time – oh, and also joy! I have noticed that it is the participating in all the elements of the daily programme that seems to create the seeds of change and growth – take one element away and the model falls. Something about how discipline forms discipleship internally and externally. If we give our full presence and attend each of the elements in the day, this act of intentional discipline helps us continue to learn from Christ's teachings and encourages us to live Christ-like lives. I have also found that the different venues which have accommodated the Community over the years have brought their own environment and sense of place to the whole experience. And sharing meals each day helps us get to know the other participants and build community.
Each of the Community gatherings engages different speakers and themes. For our first Community at Larne in Northern Ireland, we explored Living Lightly in Today’s World with Pádraig Ó Tuama and Professor Amy Oden. At Hinsley Hall in Leeds we chose the theme of Community in a Fragmented World. Our speakers, Elaine Heath from North Carolina and Roger Walton, former President of the Methodist Conference, explored what community is, how it can be created and how it can be missional. In 2024 we met at Cliff College in Derbyshire and were led by Dr Rachel Mann who helped us look at Views from the Broken Middle and how we might live within it. From the start of this journey as a leadership team we have encouraged the ecumenical aspect of the gatherings, both through the various speakers we have invited and the participants who have taken part in the retreat.
More recently we have started to offer online overnight retreats, from Friday evening through to Saturday morning to encourage the sense of ongoing community. Each ‘overnighter’ has its own speaker and theme. We have found that the timing resonates well with participants, especially as it gives an opportunity to participate in the Great Silence and to use the quiet of the night for prayer and reflection if wished. The overnighters also give participants a flavour of our 5- and 3- day Communities, and equally offer an experience for those who may not wish to travel.
On a personal level I have been nourished spiritually by all the elements of the retreat programme, but especially the times of silence which give space and time for deeper reflection and to listen to that still, quiet voice of God. It has been a joy to have been part of the formation of the Community and the leadership team since the beginning and to contribute to the various tasks involved in running such an event, ranging from weather forecasting to preaching!
Taking part in the 5-day and 3-day Communities, both as a member of the leadership team and as a participant, has strengthened my understanding of Christian spirituality and helped me to deepen my walk with God. There have been challenges and ideas requiring of me further reflection and internalising. The biggest gift for me personally has been a return to worship and the Eucharist which had been absent in my life for quite a while. Another important aspect has been meeting the great variety of participants over the years, some who return each time and always some new people. The sense of sharing, openness and participation in all the aspects of the gathering is very inspiring and wonderful. We ask for feedback from each of the events and examples have been:
"In the 18+ months since my first experience…I find that it is still influencing my Christian discipleship. The practice of silence and of using silence to reflect on teaching, on the Word, on worship and on the world around has enriched my own walk with God as well as (I hope) filtering through my preaching and leading of worship and my engagement with others, both inside and outside the church. The structure, teaching and silence on the 5-Day Community contributed immensely to my continued Spiritual Formation. I came away both refreshed and renewed, which has stayed with me in my own personal life and in my professional work as a Spiritual companion."
Through a programme of teaching, silence, worship and reflection based on a Benedictine monastic pattern, the 5-day Community for Spiritual Formation aims to root spirituality in Christian faith and tradition, provide opportunity for participation in community life, and form people for life in a changing world. I would encourage anyone to come along to one of our gatherings, whether in person or online, to see if this model of retreat resonates with their own discipleship and continuing walk with God.
Kenneth Boyd Browne is Vice-Chair of the Community for Spiritual Formation (UK), Senior BACP Accredited Counsellor, Spiritual Companion, Spiritual Direction Supervisor and Council Member of the Society of Retreat Conductors. Ken also writes poetry and explores the spirituality of flowers as a way of revealing the Divine.
This article was originally published by www.retreats.org.uk
The Academy for Spiritual Formation is a ministry of The Upper Room that provides intentional, transformative spaces for spiritual growth through contemplative practices, community, and study. To learn more about The Academy’s offerings:
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