In these days of uncertainty and change, many are anxious about the road ahead – rising energy and food costs, the war in Ukraine, ill-health, loss of loved ones – and other situations affecting daily life.
In Philippians 4: 6-7 we read…
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
On a personal note, when my mum was given just a few weeks to live earlier this year, as a family, including mum in those days, a peace fell over us like nothing any of us had experienced before. Her passing just 4 weeks later was peaceful and pain-free. Of course, a terrible sadness then, and still now, but we thank God for his protection through this time.
It is our prayer that, whatever situation you find yourself in, you are able to experience the peace spoken of in those verses above.
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We continue to be excited about the future of St Katharine’s Parmoor. Despite the challenges that many are facing, we are seeing increased numbers of people taking time out on retreat.
We highlight here a number of things that are happening over the coming weeks and months and if you would like further information about any of the following updates, please click on the links or contact me, Stewart, via the contact details on this website.
We are once again offering the opportunity to enjoy a St Katharine’s Christmas Lunch.
With a Christmas Tree and roaring log fire in the Entrance Hall, we invite you to share a lunch with your Homegroup, Staff team or simply friends or family.
Cost is £35 per person for a traditional 3 course Christmas lunch.
While we understand that in these days, for many, their financial situation is getting tougher, we strongly believe that for those who benefit from, or are exploring the exercise of taking time out on retreat, whether for a day or longer, this is something that they should endeavour to keep doing.
As such, we are able to offer a 20% discount on all retreats at St Katharine’s Parmoor through the months of December 2022 and January 2023.
2023 Programme
We are putting together a small programme of retreats and quiet days for 2023 and details can be found by clicking on the “praying hands” picture opposite to go to the Events page.
The first event being the “Dawn of a New Year” retreat/quiet days – see below. Others will be added as they are finalized.
Dawn of a New Year – Monday 9th to Sunday 15th January
How do you prepare for this new year? What does 2023 hold for you? Some big decisions? Looking for some peace and stillness after the busy Christmas period?
We encourage you to take some time out over this week to spend time in prayer, reading or just to enjoy the stillness of St Katharine’s.
Day visitor – £28 to include lunch Residential – £71.20 per 24hrs to include all meals. (Discounted price)
Chaplaincy Team An exciting development at St Katharine’s Parmoor, is the formation of a team of volunteer Chaplains. We are already greatly encouraged by the interest shown.
Team members are, and will be, qualified or experienced Spiritual Directors. If this is something that interests you please contact me, Stewart, for further details.
Social Media We don’t pretend to be ‘up there with the best of them’ when it comes to social media but can we encourage you to like/follow St Katharine’s Parmoor on the 3 platforms we use. Clicking on each logo below will take you to the relevant page where you will be able to like/follow us.
At the beginning of most weeks, we post a ‘Monday Musings’, written by different members of the Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship. This is being very well received. Look out for it on our FB and Instagram pages.
Fundraising Needless to say, running a building like St Katharine’s, Parmoor can be and is, a costly venture. We are completely self-funding and reliant on the bookings we receive to pay our ever increasing costs.
We have been prudent throughout the lockdown periods, making some tough decisions and being able to make significant savings whilst following this, seeing an impressive increase in revenue since we were able to reopen fully in 2021.
As an indicator, the increased revenue in the last year, which was the contingency for the start of 2023, has been spent on the hugely increased energy costs since January 2022.
We remain confident about the future of St Katharine’s Parmoor and already see a very good and encouraging number of bookings for 2023.
If you find it in your heart to be able to offer some assistance over these quieter winter days, we would clearly be most grateful.
A donation can be made either by; – a BACS payment to CAF Bank – Acct No: 00029867 Sort-Code: 50-52-40 Acct Name: The Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship – a cheque made payable to The Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship – via this website by clicking on the DONATE button above If you are able to Gift Aid, a GA Declaration form can be emailed to you.
If you have any questions or would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Stewart, by email – office@srpf.org.uk or phone – 01494 881037
We thank you in anticipation of any assistance you might be able to offer. If you aren’t in a position to be able to, we simply ask for your continued prayers for the House, the Staff and Volunteers and of course, the guests who continue to use us as a place of peace, rest and retreat.
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“ Thank you so much for everything that you and your team did for our family yesterday. Everything went so smoothly and everyone said what a wonderful venue St Katharine's was both in terms of food and venue. Your team were absolutely outstanding and made the day very easy for us. ”
CM - Feb 2020
“ Thank you for a wonderful stay. It was perfect. The memorial garden is wonderful and so good to have time to sit and appreciate the atmosphere. ”
Rosemary
“ Just wanted to thank you for the lovely day we spent on Saturday. I felt very welcome, the food was delicious and the grounds were so peaceful. It was really good to get away from the hustle and bustle for a few hours. Please convey my thanks to all who were involved. May God bless you all ”
J.K. London 2022
“ Stunning house and gardens both are beautifully cared for. Staff were wonderful and vegan food was delicious. Thank you for a wonderful day. ”
Melissa - Sept 2022
“ Just a short note of thanks for my wonderful day at St. Katherine's yesterday. It was such a fruitful and blessed time with God. Please pass on my thanks for the warmth of the welcome. I look forward to booking another day with you in the future and will be in touch then. ”
Sheila - April 2022
“ I just wanted to say thank you to you and your staff for a wonderful retreat weekend. Everything was just lovely - the location, the accommodation and the food. It was a truly refreshing time and having everything arranged so perfectly meant that there were no distractions to relaxing and hearing from God ”
Rachel - April 2022
“ Just wanted to thank you for the lovely day we spent on Saturday. I felt very welcome, the food was delicious and the grounds were so peaceful. It was really good to get away from the hustle and bustle for a few hours. ”
Jenny - March 2022
“ Many thanks to all those who made our retreat such a success. Peaceful surroundings with ideal facilities and great hospitality made for a memorable time. ”
VW - Nov 22
“ We had a marvellous time last week. The house is so clean and tidy and beautifully supportive of quiet yet productive prayer. It is a credit to you all. ”
LD - Nov 22
“ I was with you today for the Deanery Retreat Day and it was so lovely to be there, and we were so well looked after – thank you so much! ”
JD - Nov 22
“ It was a WONDERFUL venue and we very much enjoyed meeting you, and were blessed by the amazing hospitality by you and your team. Thank you so much. ”
DH - Dec 2022
“ Please pass on my thanks and appreciation for my two day stay last week. The meals were all great and my stay was a real help to me and I hope to be coming back again in the next few months. ”
TP - Feb 2023
“ Thanks for letting us use St Katherine's this last couple of days. We had a lovely time and were very well looked after. The ladies really loved being there and felt very much that they had got away from the stresses of everyday life. ”
RM - March 2023
“ Thank you for a super day on Saturday. There has only been positive feedback from everyone. We were well looked after by your catering team. The Prayer Room worked well - and the sun came out in the afternoon, so the team up top also doing marvellous work. ”
LW - March 2023
“ A huge thanks for a WONDERFUL time at our men's weekend away. ”
SB - March 2023
“ We had a wonderful day in so many ways. Loved the food and the setting, the sense of space and peace there is so tangible. ”
SW - May 2023