We live in a time when peace can feel almost impossible to imagine.
Across the world, we see deepening division, inequality, injustice and conflict. Many people look towards the future with a growing sense of uncertainty.
Yet peace is not only something we can only hope for in the world. It is also something we can cultivate within ourselves. Interior peace gives birth to exterior peace. If we are peaceful, we radiate peace. Even if we can’t see it, we create small ripples of peace around us. But how do we do this?
This special one-day experiential retreat is presented in partnership with The Association for Promoting Retreats.
The Heart of the Day
At the heart of Christianity is an ancient, largely forgotten way of meditation, a tradition of silent prayer that can help transform our lives and relationships. This one-day experiential retreat will explore Christian meditation as a spiritual path to peace, community and oneness.
Led by Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani and Chris Whittington, the day will involve a flow of short talks, silent meditation, and opportunities for conversation and personal reflection. Together, we’ll explore:
Christian meditation, like all prayer, is not about mastering techniques. It’s about relationship. It’s a school of community. The simple practice helps us turn to what is before all our words and ideas, before all religious metaphors and doctrines, and opens us to the peace which transforms all that we think divides us and lays bare who we are – members of one family living in one shared home.
The morning will feature Bishop Guli and Chris in conversation, exploring what it means to become a place of peace in a divided world. Drawing on their different experiences of Christian faith, contemplative practice and life in the world, they will reflect on the relationship between inner peace and the ways we respond to the needs of others.
The afternoon, led by Chris, will look in more detail at the practice of meditation. With help from saints and sages from across the Christian centuries, we will explore how meditation can help us to meet all that life offers us and throws at us with less struggle and resistance, to cultivate a new relationship with life characterised by greater awareness and freedom, compassion and peace.
Refreshments, including tea and coffee, will be available on a donation basis.
Who is this for?
This retreat is an invitation to explore an ancient wisdom-path that has much to offer our contemporary culture. It has been carefully crafted to be inclusive and accessible, welcoming anyone seeking truth, peace and spiritual renewal, regardless of their faith, beliefs or previous experience of meditation. No previous experience of meditation is necessary.
Who is the retreat led by?
Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani and Chris Whittington will lead the programme together until 1.00pm. Chris will lead the afternoon sessions.
The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani has served as Bishop of Chelmsford since April 2021 and as President of the Association for Promoting Retreats since 2026. Born in Iran, Guli’s family left the country in the wake of the Iranian Revolution in 1980, when she was 13 years old, and to date she has been unable to return.
Bishop Guli was also appointed as the lead Bishop for Housing for the Church of England and she has served as a member of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords since November 2021. Between 2017 and 2021, Bishop Guli served as the first Bishop of Loughborough in the Diocese of Leicester. She has written extensively, including three recent books, Cries for a Lost Homeland: Reflections on Jesus’ sayings from the cross, Stations of the Resurrection: Encounters with the risen Christ and Listening to the Music of the Soul.
Chris Whittington is the Founder of The School of Contemplative Life. He was introduced to contemplative practice during several years of formation when he lived at the Benedictine monastery of Prinknash Abbey in England. Chris’ monastic teachers taught meditation as a universal wisdom found within all the great spiritual traditions, a pathway to peace and solidarity with people of all faiths and none. Following an introduction by the Abbot of the Prinknash community, Chris subsequently studied at the Dalai Lama’s monastery in Dharamshala, India.
Chris regularly delivers talks, workshops and retreats and has introduced the practice of meditation in the Christian tradition to thousands of people in the UK and abroad. Chris is the author of the book The Missing Peace published by Canterbury Press.
Terms and conditions
This event is subject to the following Event Terms & Conditions (available in full here). For this event, The School of Contemplative Life is managing bookings, while the Association for Promoting Retreats has arranged the venue.
Please note: our events and those we contribute to or lead on behalf of a third party should be understood as providing spiritual guidance and advice to help participants deepen their own meditation practice and understanding. If you have any mental, emotional or physical health conditions, please ask your medical practitioner if it is advisable for you to attend and make sure you always follow your medical practitioner’s advice.
All our paid-for events are priced to cover costs, rather than make a profit, so they are as accessible as possible. However, if you are struggling to make ends meet, please don’t hesitate to email us and ask for information about our bursaries.