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With the pace of life today, it is hard to find space to pause and nourish your spiritual life, but there are places and communities that can help. Launde Abbey is one of them.
When they come over the hill and drop down into the fold in the countryside that holds Launde Abbey, many feel they have space to breathe again. Staying here for one or more days you can let the noise and distractions of life fall away. Baptist pastor Chris has found Launde Abbey to be “a ‘thin place’ - where the presence of God is more easily felt, and where prayer and devotion come freely and creatively.”
900 years ago, an Augustinian priory was founded at Launde. 500 years ago, the Tudor manor house was built around a chapel within the priory church. In the 1950s the site was given to the Anglican Diocese of Leicester. Today, an independent charity, it is a Christian place of retreat and meeting, welcoming guests daily.
Prayer remains at the heart of the Abbey’s life. The praying community gathers three times a day in the chapel and all guests, whether groups or individuals, are held in prayer as the day begins. Guests are invited to participate in services which follow the Anglican daily office and are simple and reflective. The labyrinth, the little Emmaus chapel and the ‘way of the cross’ walk all help people find a way into prayer.
Like a monastic community, the Abbey community works as well as prays. Hospitality is offered via its 39 bedrooms in the manor house and in the converted 17th century stables. The excellent kitchen provides three meals a day, sometimes using produce from the Abbey’s walled garden. A café in the old dairy and courtyard welcomes those who come to walk around the gardens, the parkland or in the ancient woodland nearby.
You can stay here at any time - online booking now makes this easy to set up. However, the Abbey runs an extensive programme of day and residential retreats. These might use craft to encourage reflection, take a contemplative approach to biblical material, provide an introduction to a spiritual practice, or offer resources to consider a life event. They also run courses to support leadership development. For instance, the two-year Holy Listening Course trains spiritual accompaniers.
The Abbey is also used by a wide range of groups taking time away together. Its meeting rooms can accommodate anything from 6 to 60. Neal, senior pastor at a Vineyard Church, is encouraging: “We use Launde Abbey regularly for team retreats and away days. It’s the perfect venue with a variety of spaces for group activities and personal reflection. The setting is peaceful and beautiful, and the hospitality is great.”
Ultimately, what is important to the Abbey’s community is that their hospitality and prayer sustain a place where people can encounter God. So, if this is what you are looking for, then come and see for yourself. They will make you very welcome.
