We have asked two participants of the retreat to give their impressions on the week:
Karen as a retreatant, Richard as a helper.
To spend time at a five-day Green Abbey retreat at Sclerder Abbey was a wonderful experience. I had attended ‘Quiet Days’ at the Abbey before and they had been spiritually uplifting, but the five-day retreat was something extra-special.
The building has, in its time, housed an enclosed community of Carmelites and other nuns, as well as having been a monastery for a time. Thus, the experience of spending time in a house which has been used for silent prayer, communal work and private meditation was an honour and a pleasure.
The community worked hard to prepare a variety of activities for us. The mornings were silent and included guided prayer as well as talks on the permaculture which motivates the Green Abbey’s ethos.
Lunchtimes and suppertimes were happy, chatty, tasty and collaborative, particularly the washing up, which was great fun. We learnt about each others’ lives, hometowns and families, sharing tips on recipes, gardening and lots more.
Afternoons were spent in craft sessions or garden work, which was bliss. I learnt something of permaculture, enjoying the work, the birdsong, the bees, the flowers, the trees, the ducks and the hens.
We sang, worked, ate and in particular, prayed together to weave unforgettable memories of a blessed time together. Roll on the next one!
Karen, happy retreatant
13 of us gathered for a joyful five days mid-April at beautiful Sclerder Abbey in Cornwall. There were 6 retreatants together with the community.
We shared a life of prayer, silence and craft in the mornings and contemplation and work in nature in the afternoons. It was very good to reflect on God’s loving care for all creation, to spend time enjoying the birdsong, the bright fields, the vibrant wildflowers of the meadow. And to learn both how we are failing to love the world God has given into our care, and how we can, through the principles of permaculture, work effectively with nature for its restoration, health and fruitfulness.
The Lord blessed us with the generous ministry of a visiting Jesuit priest, with sunshine, bluebells, starlit nights, guitar, banjo and laughter. I look forward to next year!
Richard, precious helper and CCN member
Green Abbey Retreat, 17-22 April 2026 at Sclerder Abbey, Cornwall
