We Look Forward to Seeing at Minsteracres
Retreats at Minsteracres
We offer a varied programme of day, weekend and week-long events throughout the year. Please see the programme details below.
We offer individual retreats and are happy to provide guidance, or you can have space to yourself for reflection. Please use the enquiry form below.
We welcome groups which support our ethos and would like to use Minsteracres for an event / workshop. Please enquire using the form below.
Welcome to Our 2021 Programme
Situated in the land of the northern saints in beautiful countryside on the borders of Northumberland and County Durham, our community based retreat centre is ideally placed to promote the development of both the spiritual and the natural world.
We have a varied programme of day, weekend and week-long events which are detailed below.
The theme for 2021 is “The God who Speaks…”. Responding to the invitation of the bishops of England and Wales, we will explore some of the many ways in which God speaks to us; through prayer, through scripture, through challenging times and through nature.
2021 is also the Tricentenary celebration of the founding by St. Paul of the Cross of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ. We will honour this jubilee year with a special retreat, when we will explore key elements of the Passionist tradition and spirituality and reflect on the message of the Cross for the world of today.
During all of our retreats we will be invited to consider new ways of attending to and living out the Gospel.
Due to coronavirus restrictions our accommodation is now limited to 21 residential guests across two houses. You can still enjoy the outdoors in our 110 acres of gardens, park and woodland.
We look forward to welcoming you!
It costs approximately £1,500 per day to run Minsteracres Retreat Centre. The suggested offerings indicated help us to cover our costs, but no one should feel excluded for financial reasons and concessions are available.
Calendar for 2021
Our retreats are listed below in a calendar view – please click on the retreat of your choice to find out more and book online.
May
June
July
September
October
November
December
Programme List
Our programme includes a range of retreats including day, weekend and week-long events.
Is a retreat right for me?
As part of our programme of organised events we offer residential and day retreats during which we explore the annual theme. ‘The God who speaks….’ is the theme for 2021. We hope it will help you to connect with your unique individual life journey and offer nourishment for the collective journey of faith communities in this time of change for the church. Our retreats provide space to reflect and pray and to have quality time with others.
You can also come to us for an individual retreat, enabling yourself to take a step back from everyday life, relax, reflect and be nourished. We are happy to offer you guidance whilst you are here or you may decide just to have some space to yourself.
We have many resources for reflection: the pilgrim walk – a reflective walk through the grounds; Trasna (the labyrinth); the Cross of Hope; stations of the cross; prayer spaces; peace garden and the art studio. Minsteracres is also ideally located for visiting the places associated with the Northern Saints.
We welcome groups which support our ethos and want to use Minsteracres as a venue for an event or workshop. We can accommodate up to 80 people for residential or day events. We offer warm hospitality and good home cooking, using organic and locally sourced foods. Our youth centre is self-catering, with dormitories and separate accommodation for group leaders.
We have made a video about what it is like to come on retreat and at the bottom of the page you’ll find stories about different people’s experiences here at Minsteracres.
Retreat Questions
A retreat is exactly what it sounds like — the chance to step aside from life for a while, to rest and just ‘be’ in a welcoming, peaceful and inspiring place like Minsteracres.
Retreats are for ordinary people at any time in their lives. There are no expectations on anyone going on retreat and you don’t need to be a churchgoer – we welcome people who share our values.
Do you:
- Wish for some quiet time to reflect on things that matter most to you?
- Need some time away from work or family?
- Want to deepen your spiritual life?
- Want to simply pray?
- Want to develop a particular interest? …then a retreat might be just for you.
Retreats offer the opportunity to:
- Find space
- Reflect
- Pray and worship in peaceful and comfortable surroundings
We offer a wide variety of retreats including retreats:
- For the beginner
- With a theme such as Holy Week, Pentecost, Advent,
- Structured with a programme
- For individuals or groups who wish to deepen their faith
- Free form where you can do your own thing
Thanks to the presence of the resident community there is always a warm welcome and a real sense of being a guest in their home. The community is the guardian of the Passionist ethos of Minsteracres, which is expressed through a life of prayer, presence and hospitality.
- We offer a warm welcome to all
- We have beautiful Grade II buildings set in an 110 acre estate of gardens and woodland
- We have a wide range of meeting rooms from small (up to 10 people) to large (up to 90 people)
- We have a library, various prayer spaces and an art room that are available to use
- We offer overnight accommodation—from simple rooms with shared facilities to a few en suite rooms
- We provide tasty, home-cooked food and can accommodate special dietary needs with advanced warning
- We cater for those with disabilities
Yes, we welcome people who wish to spend some time alone.
Yes, we offer the opportunity to talk to someone in complete confidence. We can also provide individually guided retreats where someone is assigned to listen and guide you whilst on retreat.
A retreat varies in length but is usually anything from two to seven days. We also offer one-day retreats such as quiet days and walking retreats throughout the year.
Yes. It costs over £1,000 per day to keep Minsteracres Retreat Centre running. We do not have another principal source of income and so we charge our visitors a competitive rate to cover our costs (but not to profit) that include:
- Maintaining the Grade II buildings and 110 acre estate
- Providing food and accommodation for all our visitors
- Paying for staff and retreat leaders
