Helping you explore and deepen your journey with God through retreats.
Who we are
Patrons
We are very grateful to each of our patrons for their generosity in lending support to our work. They share with us a passionate belief in the value of stillness and silence and their involvement will be a great encouragement to those who seek to deepen their faith journey through retreats and reflective activities.
Dr Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams was born in Swansea, South Wales in 1950, into a Welsh-speaking
family, and was educated at Dynevor Comprehensive School in Swansea and at Christ’s
College Cambridge where he studied theology. He studied for his doctorate at Wadham
College Oxford, taking his DPhil in 1975. After two years as a lecturer at the College
of the Resurrection at Mirfield, near Leeds, he was ordained deacon in Ely Cathedral.
From 1977, he spent nine years in academic and parish work in Cambridge and was ordained priest in 1978. In 1983 he was appointed as a Lecturer in Divinity in the University, and the following year became Dean and Chaplain of Clare College. 1986 saw a return to Oxford as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity and Canon of Christ Church; he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1989, and became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1990.
In 1991 Professor Williams accepted election and consecration as Bishop of Monmouth and in 1999 he was elected Archbishop of Wales. In 2002, Archbishop Williams was confirmed as the 104th bishop of the See of Canterbury: the first Welsh successor to St Augustine of Canterbury and the first since the mid-thirteenth century to be appointed from beyond the English Church.
Lord Williams is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding thinker, writer, scholar and teacher. His more than two dozen books cover a very wide range of related fields – philosophy, theology (especially early and patristic Christianity), spirituality and religious aesthetics. He is also an accomplished poet and translator.
Rowan’s interests include music, fiction and languages. In 1981 he married Jane Paul, a lecturer in theology. They have a daughter and a son.
Rowan Williams is a great supporter of the work of retreat centres and has contributed articles to the Retreats handbook.
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Father Christopher Jamison OSB
Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1951, Father Christopher was educated in England
and holds degrees in Modern Languages, Philosophy and Theology. After becoming a
member of the Benedictine community at Worth Abbey, he was ordained priest in 1978.
He was Headmaster of Worth from 1994 until 2002 when he was elected Abbot of Worth.
In 2005, Worth Abbey was The Monastery on BBC TV, attracting audiences of between two and three million viewers. He has subsequently appeared on a variety of radio and TV programmes around the world. In October 2010, he presented The Big Silence, a BBC TV series that followed people going on retreat and building meditation into their daily lives.
Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life was published by in 2006, with 12 foreign language translations published to date. Finding Happiness: Monastic Steps for a Fulfilling Life was published in 2008.
In 2010, he stepped down as abbot and was appointed Director of the Catholic Church’s National Office for Vocation based in London.
Christopher was a speaker at the Retreat Association Conference in 2008 and The Big Silence was also a major topic for discussion at the 2012 Conference.
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Revd Graham Sparkes
Graham was born in Waterlooville, Hampshire in 1956, and grew up in the London area.
Having studied philosophy at the University of North Wales, Bangor, he then worked
for the Methodist organisation now called ‘Action for Children’, before studying
theology at Regent’s Park College in Oxford and entering the ordained ministry within
the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Graham served two pastorates at Horfield Baptist Church, Bristol, and at Christ Church Baptist, Kings Langley, before working for 12 years at Baptist House, with responsibility for the Faith and Unity Department. This included national and international ecumenical engagement, and work on current social and political issues. In 2011 he became President of Luther King House Educational Trust in Manchester, an ecumenical partnership for theological education.
Graham is married to Lisa and they have two children. For many years, he served as a Trustee of Christian Aid and has also been a long-standing member of the Baptist Union Retreat Group. As a result of studying for an MTh in Christian Spirituality at Heythrop College in London, Graham developed a particular interest in the relationship between art and faith, and has co-authored God and the Art of Seeing: visual resources for a journey of faith.
Graham joined the planning group of the Retreat Association 2012 Conference, in which he took a key role as speaker, sharing his insights on the subject of desert spirituality through images from the art world.
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Trustees
The trustees of the Retreat Association are responsible for the governance of the organisation and for guiding its vision and mission. They work with the Director to develop the overall strategy of the Retreat Association.
The trustees are unpaid volunteers and meet four times a year, some also serving on sub-committees to provide additional support for the work of the organisation.
Current trustees:
Mark Argent
Revd Liz Baker
Tim Blewett
Revd Martin Davies
Revd Ian Green (Vice-Chair)
Jill Keegan
Sheila Pollard
Sr Diane Reynolds
Revd Dr Malcolm Rothwell (Chair)
Roger Seaton (Treasurer)
Karen Turner
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Staff
Alison MacTier
Alison is the Director of the Retreat Association, with overall responsibility for
the leadership of the charity. Alison has a professional background in book publishing
and the charity sector. She is also a trained spiritual director and leads quiet
days and retreats.
Alison describes her role as ‘A great challenge – we will never quite know the effects
of the work we do. It's very much a journey of faith – and one I feel privileged
to be involved in.’
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Margaret Palladino
Margaret responds to our website enquiries concerning spiritual direction and retreats
and is Secretary to the Catholic Network for Retreats and Spirituality, supporting
the administration of their annual conference.
She lives in central London and is part of a group in the RC Diocese of Southwark seeking to raise the profile of spirituality, retreats and spiritual direction within the Catholic parishes.
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Adam Thomas
Adam is the Office Administrator, responsible for the day-to-day administrative duties
of the office.
Adam responds to phone enquiries, updates the membership database, sends out information and processes invoices and payments. Adam is also responsible for regularly updating the website, managing our Twitter account and our electronic communications.