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Annual Scottish Provincial Retreat

 

Our annual silent retreat provides an opportunity to be quiet and feel God’s presence. The photo above shows those who came to the 2023 retreat. Fortunately Covid-19 was no longer a major issue. It was a joy once again to be in the welcoming and comfortable setting of St. Mary’s Monastery, Kinnoull beside Perth between Tuesday 28th March to Thursday 30th March 2023. There are more details about that Retreat on the 2023 Retreat page.

 

Now we are looking forward to the 2024 Retreat, which will run from Tuesday 9th April to Thursday 11th April. This is the week after Easter Week and is more than a week after the change to British Summer Time so the evenings will be lighter.

 

Our leader will be the Reverend Nick Bowry, Rector of the joint charge of St James the Less, Penicuik and St Mungo, West Linton in the Diocese of Edinburgh.

 

Nick is a fairly recent entrant to the priesthood having been ordained in the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney in 2017. Prior to that, he held many posts in HR with a range of organisations, including the Medical Research Council, the University of Edinburgh and Bethany Christian Trust.

He has been a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Personnel Committe, the Administration Board and served on General Synod. He has also initiated many projects involving local communities, and is an advocate of asset-based community development. He currently represents the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) on the Scottish Faiths’ Action for Refugees group, and is a member of the SEC’s Inter-Faith Relations Committee.

He likes a fairly traditional style of worship including a wide variety of types of music and greatly values the role of music in worship. He is a member of the Iona Community, has participated in and supports the Cursillo movement, and enjoys worship in the style of Taizé.

He continues to enjoy walking the pilgrim way to Santiago de Compestela when he can. Apart from walking, he likes reading and meeting and chatting to folk around our local communities.



Theme

 

Nick’s initial thoughts for the theme are Forgiveness and perhaps using the phrase The Joy of Being Wrong from David Runcorn’s book The Spirituality Workbook. Please watch this page for further updates in future.

 

The retreat promises to offer an opportunity for a time of quietness and renewal in the peace and calm of God’s holy presence. Nick's leadership and the atmosphere of the house are certain to deliver on that promise.

 

The Retreat

 

The retreat is run mid-week from Tuesday  afternoon to Thursday after lunch. The usual format of the retreat is to maintain silence in the building from around 8pm on Tuesday to around 12 noon on Thursday, though there are always areas reserved for those who want to talk during these times. There is a programme of services and talks, but it up to you to decide how much you wish to be involved. You are free to attend everything on offer, just some of it, or to be on your own if you wish.

 

Wednesday afternoon is free time to explore the area or use as you wish. There is usually an opportunity to talk to the leader on a one to one basis during this time.

 

St Mary’s completed a major refurbishment in 2017 so that most rooms are single rooms and all have en-suite facilities. There is a lift serving all floors.

 

The cost for 2024 is £220 per person. We do not want cost to be a barrier, so we have a small fund to provide reduced cost places for those who need them.

 

Please click here for the online application form.

 

If you would like to be added to the email list to be sent details of future Retreats when they are available, please click here.

 

 

Previous Retreats

 

Please take a look at the pages for the previous Retreats to get an idea of what they are like and to look at the photo-galleries. We hope those who were there will enjoy the memories they bring back and we also hope they will encourage those who weren’t there to make a date to come to the 2024 Retreat.

 

2023 Retreat page...

 

2022 Retreat page...

 

2019 Retreat page...

 

2018 Retreat page...

 

2017 Retreat page...

 

2016 Retreat page...

 

2015 Retreat page...

 

2014 Retreat page...

 

2013 Retreat page...

 

2012 Retreat page...

 

2011 Retreat page...

 

2010 Retreat page...

 

2009 Retreat page...

 

Previous Years Retreats...

 

 

Photo Gallery around Kinnoull...

 

More information about St Mary’s Monastery...

 

 

Back...

 

 

Click here to apply for the 2024 Retreat

Bishop Andrew

 

Download the 2024 Retreat Poster

Retreat 2024 Advert Poster.pdf