Welcome to the Association for Promoting Retreats!

Are you looking for somewhere to go on retreat?

We can help!

On the interactive map above you will find all the APR member retreat houses, with contact details and a link to their website; we also have a member house in South Africa. We support the work of several retreat leaders across the UK, many of whom can offer you an online retreat.

Promoting Christian Spirituality Through Retreats

The Association for Promoting Retreats exists to encourage more people to go on retreat and to support the ministry of our member retreat houses and retreat leaders. We also organise a biannual conference for Church of England diocesan spirituality advisers, and administer a bursary fund to enable individuals to go on retreat when cost is an obstacle.

Retreat Calendar

Calendar of Events

At the APR we aim to:

  • promote the value of retreats and the work of retreat houses and retreat leaders
  • support the provision of opportunities for quiet and reflection within the context of everyday life
  • encourage training in retreat leadership and spiritual direction
  • facilitate renewal and growth in spirituality
  • enable the exploration of different expressions of Christian spirituality

As a membership organisation, we rely on subscriptions and donations to enable our work. If you are not already a member, please do consider joining APR, or you can make a one-off donation by clicking the ‘Donate’ button at the bottom of the page.

Announcements

The 2025 Annual General Meeting will be held at St Columba’s House, Woking, at 2pm on Thursday 23rd October; it will also be accessible by Zoom. Find out more, or book your place, by clicking here.

There are still one or two places left for our 2025 Autumn retreat led by APR President, Bishop John Stroyan, at St Columba’s House, Woking from 21-23 October. To find out more, or book your place, please follow this link.

Bookings are also now open for the 2026 APR Spring Retreat at Sheldon Retreat Centre, with Helen Evans and Demelza Henderson. Click here to find out more or book your place. 

Our 2025 Autumn Newsletter is now available – read it online here.

If you are looking for an Individually Guided Retreat (IGR) or Quiet Day, simply type ‘IGR’ or ‘Quiet Day’ into the search function on our online calendar – there are dozens of both listed throughout the year!

This week we are praying for...

Each week we pray for one of our member retreat houses or leaders. This week we are praying for Allison Hilton (Warden), and all who live, work or seek refreshment at Shepherds Dene, in Northumbria.

Are you looking for a new challenge?

There are vacancies for staff at the following APR Member Retreat Houses:

Cook at Whalley Abbey
Deputy Warden at Launde Abbey
Part-time Chaplain at Launde Abbey
Cook/Kitchen lead at The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay
Cook/Housekeeper at the Bield at Blackruthven
Core Member at the Othona Community (West Dorset)
General Assistant at Shepherds Dene
Administrator at the Sheldon Community
Catering Manager at Holy Rood House
Housekeeper and Assistant Cook at St Katharine’s Parmoor
Community member at the Sheldon Community

Membership

Please consider joining APR, and help us support retreat houses and extend the benefit of retreats to more people. See the membership page for more information.

Bursaries

Our Bursary Scheme is there to help our retreat house members enable more people to benefit from retreats, especially where cost might be an obstacle. See the Bursary page for details.

Resources

We regularly post articles and information on topics related to retreats, prayer, and Christian spirituality. We hope you will find something of interest; see the Resources Pages here.

Support the work of APR

As a membership organisation, we rely on subscriptions to enable our work. If you are not already a member, please do consider joining APR, so that we can do even more to promote retreats.

If you are a UK taxpayer, please consider Gift Aiding your donation. We are able to claim an additional 25% from HMRC on top of your donation, at no extra cost to you. All you need do is complete our online Gift Aid declaration form and we’ll take care of the rest.

How to Donate

If you would like to make a donation to support the work of APR, or specifically to the Bursary Fund, you can do so by means of the online donation button below.