Registration

• PM 3.00 WS #1.The history of St Beunos by Alan Harrison SJ
  St. Beuno’s was built in 1848 as a College for Jesuits to study theology. During the 20th century its use changed over time until 1980 when the house was dedicated to retreats and spirituality work as it is today. Alan Harrison first came to St. Beuno’s as a novice in 1964 and after many years away, returned 11 years ago. He will talk about the history of St. Beuno’s from his unique perspective of knowing the place when it was used exclusively by the Jesuits and latterly as a retreat house.
• PM 3.00 WS #2. Finding God in danger, darkness and grief by Edward Worrington
  At some point in our ministry of spiritual accompaniment, we find ourselves accompanying someone living through darkness, danger or grief. Such experiences in a person’s life could have spiritual, psychological, medical and material aspects, which may not be easily distinguished or separated from one another. What would be an appropriate pastoral response by the one accompanying the person?
  
  What signs would indicate the need for referral to other specialists, such as psychotherapists or counsellors? What safeguards would be especially necessary to protect a person passing through a time of great distress? What effects could the process of accompaniment have on the spiritual companion? The workshop will address these questions, drawing on the insights provided by the Word of God as well as good practice norms and the expertise of the participants
• PM 3.00 WS #3. The Labyrinth workshop by Maria Theresa Portelli
  During this workshop, you are invited to embark on a gentle spiritual pilgrimage through the practice of the Labyrinth Prayer. Together we will walk St Beuno’s Labyrinth, following its winding path that symbolically leads us toward a sacred centre — a space of stillness where one can encounter a deeper awareness of God. The labyrinth is an ancient contemplative practice that has been used for centuries as a form of prayer and meditation, helping participants slow down, reflect, and open their hearts to personal and spiritual growth.
  
  As we walk, the rhythm of the path invites silence, attentiveness, and inner listening. Each step becomes part of a prayerful journey inward, creating an opportunity to leave behind distractions and gently enter a space of reflection, peace, and spiritual renewal. Should the weather not permit us to walk the outdoor labyrinth, the experience will continue indoors through a finger labyrinth meditation. This quiet and contemplative practice allows participants to trace the labyrinth path slowly with their finger, maintaining the same spirit of prayer, mindfulness, and spiritual encounter.
• PM 4.20 WS #1. Why A study of the poet Gerald Manley Hopkins here is St Beuno’s is a unique privilege! by Una Agnew
  This workshop on the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins aims at offering a modest knowledge of this great religious poet and finding an entrance into his deep spirituality. Our purpose will be to understand and internalise something of his unique poetic vision. It will be a singular privilege to stand in the poet’s footprints here in St Bueno’s and experience something of the dappled landscape that inspired some of his best poetry and his sense of a Christ-centred universe. An opportunity such as this may not come our way again. Even a modest growth in familiarity with his best-known poems could be an investment that will repay dividends over years and become a rich spiritual resource for our ministry in spiritual guidance.
  
  Copies of Hopkin’s best-known poems will be made available along with a list of his most profound spiritual quotations.
• PM 4.20 WS #2. For a synodal SDE: How to Be and Discern Together: ‘Conversations in the Spirit’ by Mary Nono
  The Synod on Synodality (2021-2028), of the Catholic Church, is an ecumenical global consultation with the whole People of God, Group decision-making through spiritual discernment not discussion, listening with others who often are and think very differently! In October 2025 I participated in the Vatican Jubilee for Synodal Teams. This Synodal way of being Church is a ‘change of era’, a gift from Pope Francis, from the experience of Aparecida gatherings in South America (2007).
  
  In this workshop we, as an ecumenical group, will be offered and participate in a synodal way of ‘being and discerning’ together, in every decision-making process, whether in an AGM, Workshop-selection or a Finance Committee, we can listen deeply within, paying attention to the movements of the Spirit within each and every person, allowing God’s will to emerge.