See below for details of events in July and August at Alton Abbey.
To book a place on a Workshop or Retreat please contact the Guestmaster: Br John OSB on 562145 or by e-mail. There is also the option of booking an individual Retreat – please contact Br John OSB.
To buy tickets please send a cheque and SAE to “Tickets for date of event” Alton Abbey, Abbey Road, Beech, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 4AP, giving a phone number &/or email address. Cheques should be made payable to “Alton Abbey”. For further information please contact the Guestmaster: Br John OSB on 562145 or by e-mail.
July 5th Saturday
The English Reformation – Its significance then and now
Revd Canon Norman Boakes
“For members of the Church of England, the events of the sixteenth century are very significant for both our sense of our identity and our understanding of who we are. This day will seek to look at the actual events, what that meant for the people then and what they mean for us today. There will be opportunities for reflection and discussion.”
- One day Workshop
- Mass 9am, meet in Reception 10.15am, finish 4pm
- £25
- Please bring a packed lunch; tea and coffee will be available in the Visitor’s Centre kitchen
July 18th – 20th
Challenged by Love A weekend Retreat – A Benedictine Monastic Experience
Led by Br John OSB & Susan Allshorn Dip. Theo (Monastic Studies)
An invitation to spend time exploring Benedictine Monasticism: £85. Anticipate an early morning start: 6.30am Morning Prayer; and lots of quiet. The Benedictine Day is challenging – 365 days a year spent in prayer, learning to love self and others in the light of God’s love for us. This weekend offers an opportunity to deepen our understanding of community, and experience the stillness and balance a life centred on prayer can bring. The expectation is that all participants will want to attend daily office; there will be short talks through the day; time to participate in suitable physical work; experience the silence and take a break from technology. Br John experiences at first hand the life of a monk, and Susan, as well as knowledge of the history of Anglican Benedictine houses, lives and works from the Abbey gatehouse to support the life of the Community. Together we would like to share with you some of the insights this gives into the challenge we all face in learning to “treat one another as Christ”.
August 16th Saturday – 7pm evening will finish by 9pm
Orthodox Church West and East – New Vistas for us in the 21st Century
Two talks by William Cooper Bailey OSB Obl.
William Cooper Bailey, an Oblate of the Abbey, who graduated from the Cambridge Institute for Orthodox Studies specialising in the Early Church, gives a fascinating account, not only of the world of the Early Christians, but the practical implications for us in the world today. For those who are gluttons for punishment, handouts will be provided to enable anyone interested to take the subject further. This evening represents a version of the talk he was originally invited to give to a major Conference in Tbilisi (Georgia), but adapted for the Friends of the Abbey on a pleasant summer evening £15 with wine and nibbles in the break between sessions by the Friends of Alton Abbey.
August 23rd Saturday 7.30pm
Organ Recital
Duncan Bradley OSB Obl.
This will be English Composers, and suitable for a Summer’s evening. Duncan studied organ at Lichfield Cathedral and Birmingham School of Music from where he graduated GBSM, ABSM(Gen Mus) ABSM (Organ) in 1971. This was followed by a year’s teacher training at Reading University. Duncan has taught in schools in the Midlands, Wiltshire and Hampshire since 1973 and in 1979 was appointed to the staff of the Gregg School, Southampton , where he was Director of Music for over thirty three years before retiring in 2012. In 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Saint Cecilia . In 2013, after a three year course in theology, Duncan was licensed as a Reader in the Diocese of Winchester and serves at St Mary’s Church Southampton where he has also been appointed Director of Music. £15 Followed by wine and nibbles in the Cloister Garden by the Friends of Alton Abbey
August 29th Friday 7.30pm
Hymns and Pimm’s: Hymns in the Abbey Church
£5 for Pimm’s and nibbles in the Cloister Garden by the Friends of Alton Abbey