FEATURE WBC Retreat Centre
Making a retreat Captain Lynley Oliver unveils a new space at William Booth College
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N exciting initiative is taking shape at William Booth College: a new retreat centre will open later this year. William Booth College is a centre for learning and spiritual formation. The learning aspect is shared with the territory in a variety of ways, but the aim is to share some of the spiritual formation opportunities as well. Therefore, the retreat centre will be open to you! House 9, which originally served as accommodation for cadets, is currently being transformed into an urban oasis of serenity. The house has been repurposed several times over the years, but our vision is to provide a permanent space that is well utilised by all. It has been designed to bring the outside inside, with a consistent nature theme throughout. The plan is to create a space that enables people to open themselves up to God. We are confident that those who visit the retreat centre will easily experience a sense of tranquillity. The builders are hard at work on the 36-bed facility, which will feature
3 floors of twin en-suite rooms, a conference room on the ground floor, a prayer room, a fully operational kitchen and a breakout area. The aesthetically pleasing spaces will not only look and feel good, but also be a safe place to all who want to use the centre, whether for individual or structured retreats. An individual retreat will be available to anyone at any point, provided there is availability and a booking is made in advance. It will provide independent space for anyone to use the available resources in a self-directed way, with the option to commence with led prayers in the morning. Structured retreats will provide a space for people to come together in groups at particular points of the year and be guided in retreat by some great leaders. These will include Lieut-Colonel Wendy Caffull, Majors Kath and Melvyn Jones, Commissioners Carol and Ivor Telfer, Tony Horsfall (author of Working From A Place Of Rest and A Fruitful Life) and Margaret Silf (author of At Sea With God and Sacred Spaces). Dates of these planned and structured retreats are being released soon. To keep up to date we encourage you to join our mailing list by sending an email to WBCretreat@salvationarmy.org.uk or by going to our Facebook page: WBC Retreat Centre SA. Our aim is to make this facility available to as many people as possible, so we are also
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Our vision is to provide a permanent space that is well utilised by all
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offering the space for group, corps and divisional retreats. If you have been searching for a suitable location for your corps to have a retreat, William Booth College could be the place! It would be entirely up to the retreat’s organisers whether we provided someone to lead it; you would also be welcome to find someone yourself. Self-catering is an option or food can be provided. However you might wish to use the centre, we will do our best to accommodate your plans. It will be important to us to talk through these with you so that the space and facilities will be just what you need. Feel free to call 020 7326 2700 and ask to speak to Captain Lynley Oliver to discuss your requirements. Any rates charged will be competitive and we will be happy to present these to you once we are able to determine your needs. We look forward to welcoming you to the WBC Retreat Centre and we are grateful to God for making it possible to share this beneficial resource. CAPTAIN OLIVER IS A TUTOR AT WILLIAM BOOTH COLLEGE Salvationist 29 June 2019
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