Charney Manor - Art & Prayer Retreat 2/14-2/16

Charney Manor is a Quaker retreat center in Charney Bassett, Oxfordshire, England. Near the "Vale of the White Horse" where there is a lot of ancient human history, the oldest part of the building dates from the mid-1200's and was originally used by monks of the Abbey of Abingdon; the rest of the main Manor house is Elizabethan. It was given to the Quakers by the Gilletts during the 20th century, and now it is used to run study and retreat programs.

I went for a retreat focused on 'Art and Prayer.' This was a fantastic experience. I will not say overly much about it... I think the pictures will do some justice to the quality of the light (and Light), and the place itself. The peacefulness, and quiet; the gentle way we were led into exploring our artistic sides by way of creating a prayerful space. In the hope of sharing something of the atmosphere of the program, and the place, I will share a poem (or two?) that I wrote while there.

The people were lovely, and respectful, and willing to try out exercises the leader had prepared for us. And the food (the food!) was wonderful. Hearty, home-made traditional fare - and typically followed by at least three kinds of 'pudding' (dessert)! - served up in the 'undercroft' of the 13th century hall. I was told the food was excellent - and I was not disappointed! Plus, there were plentiful opportunities for tea (and coffee, and hot chocolate - Cadbury's, of course, originally started by Quakers).

(Written after drawing each other with charcoal by candlelight:)


Daliance...

shadow plays
across the faces
facing candlelight
with grace --
we capture what we can
with strokes and smudges,
charcoal dusted,
and focused in:
on that indelible mark
of the Light
reflected


(ˆnormally formatting would look like the silhouette of a face, but that's apparently too fancy for the blog)





















'The barn' where we did our drawings (my room is on the right...)
The view from the sitting room, sipping tea...

The view from outside the sitting room (once the sun came out)...





:-)

Remember to take some time to be still, and pay attention to the light... it is always there. We only need disperse what distractions, noise - darkness makers - obscure it, to see...