Walsingham House

Retreats at Walsingham House

Peer Ministry

Walsingham House is a Catholic retreat centre for young people. There is a tremendous value in young Catholics witnessing to other young Catholics, and this is fundamental to the charism of the House.

Before the retreat even begins, young people are being welcomed into a house in which prayer is important, and where a young team have volunteered to give a year or more of their life dedicated to Youth Ministry as Catholics sharing their faith.

Everyone is welcome

Every young person is welcome at Walsingham House. Although we are a Catholic house, and a Catholic Team, we recognise that many young people are asking lots of questions in their journeys of life and faith, and we try to give space on retreat for those questions to be asked and answers offered in a way which is non judgemental.

You are God's children, who he loves, so try to be like Him

— Eph. 5:1

Our residential programmes include celebrations of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, and we try to explain these in a way which is clear and accessible.

In school groups, particularly, where a number of students may not be Catholic, or may not be practising, we are very sensitive in the way that we run our sessions, and would never coerce any young person into a situation where they felt uncomfortable.

We are happy to celebrate our Catholic faith, but we are also very careful to welcome and include everyone.

Spirituality & Prayer within the retreat

The chapel at Walsingham House is a place where young people can pray quietly during the retreat, in addition to the structured times of prayer and reflection within the retreat.

The retreat sessions include reflection on the young people’s relationship with Jesus, their faith, their values, and they provide an opportunity for young people to explore their role within the Church.

The young people are given the opportunity to discover different styles of prayer, such as meditation and shared prayer, and each retreat ends with a Mass or liturgy.

Residential retreats include morning and night prayers, and a three day retreat includes a Reconciliation Service.

Retreat Programmes

The Walsingham House Team use a number of programmes that have been developed for use with different school year groups, and Confirmation groups.

The vocabulary and structure of the sessions is intended to engage young people, with use of video clips from contemporary films, small and large group discussions, drama and music. The programmes are continually being refined, based on feedback from groups.

Example programmes are available on request for residential and day retreats. Once a retreat booking is made, there is space for a group to suggest preferences for a focus for the programme, in discussion with the Team.

Usually for school groups the Team will offer a theme tailored to the particular year group. This is open to discussion so as to best suit the particular year group coming on retreat.

For Confirmation groups, the programme can be adapted to reflect the stage of catechesis the group have received prior to the retreat. Sometimes retreats come early in the sacramental programme, and so the focus may be more on helping the group to bond, and drawing out their questions about faith which can then be taken back to the catechesis sessions in the parish.

With a group on retreat later in the programme, the focus may be more on their role in the church, and how they can use their gifts and talents after Confirmation, as well as ways in which they can continue to deepen their faith and their relationship with Jesus.

Walsingham House is also pleased to offer further opportunities for retreat to young people who have made their Confirmation, through post-Confirmation retreats for a group from a parish and Open House retreats open to anyone in the Diocese aged school year 10+. The Open House retreats usually happen in Advent, on Palm Sunday weekend and in July, just before the Summer holidays.

Finally, Walsingham House offers Gap Year opportunities to anyone aged 18-25 who would like to commit themselves to a year living and working at Walsingham House. Applications for the following academic year usually open in December, and the year runs from the beginning of September to the end of July.

Download an application form »

Brentwood Catholic Youth Service

As part of the Brentwood Catholic Youth Service, the Team can also give information about forthcoming Diocesan events, helping young people to celebrate their faith with other young Catholics from across Essex and East London.

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