Led by Cari Bridgen

Grief is a natural response to change, loss and bereavement. Our experience of grief can be complex, isolating, and confusing. Grief can take many forms, including loss of identity, health, security, companionship or connection. Grief may also arise from collective experiences, including our response to the ecological and social changes taking place in our world.

This gentle retreat offers space to be with our grief without trying to fix or change it, or to offer advice. Through embodied prayer, ritual and liturgy, and creative practices such as poetry, art and music, we will open the door to grief to connect with our bodies and emotions, without becoming overwhelmed.

Drawing on Francis Weller's The Wild Edge of Sorrow, we will explore grief as something we can tend to rather than overcome. Through being present to ourselves and one another, we may discover a deeper sense of connection and compassion, and a capacity for change.

Arrive in time for supper at 6pm on Thursday and depart by 3pm on Sunday.

Cost:

Standard: £375

En-suite: £405

Day guest: £200 (includes lunch)

Cari has been providing Ignatian spiritual accompaniment for the last 10 years. Cari is drawn to the mystical teachings of the saints and living the contemplative Christian journey. She thinks of grief as an integral part of our life's journey, though our culture gives little space to tend to it. We are always being asked to let go of things, whether aspects of ourselves or ways of being we have loved or become attached to. Cari studied Art at Birmingham University and was an Art Psychotherapist for over 20 years. Cari recently learnt the art of icon-making with Peter Murphy and has a deep interest in the environmental issues facing our world.