Sheldon retreat centre Blog

New Year, New Sheldon  

refurbishing and maintaining people and place

Getting to know us here at Sheldon  

Introducing ourselves with some short video interviews ...

What is a "stretch"?  Thu 13 January 2022

Sheldon is recruiting ...

Resurgence  Tue 13 July 2021

The retreat centre is bustling...

Beneath the leaf mold  Thu 04 March 2021

Underneath the surface of winter ...

Shelter in Place  Tue 02 February 2021

Waiting patiently ...

Summer news  Fri 21 August 2020

Getting used to the new normal

Taking bookings again  Tue 16 June 2020

Tentatively looking towards re-opening the doors

Cautious Steps towards re-opening Sheldon  Sun 17 May 2020

Planning for re-opening the doors

Sheldon Lockdown Life  Fri 24 April 2020

First month of lockdown life at Sheldon

Closing doors, opening hearts  Tue 24 March 2020

Sheldon closes for Coronavirus lockdown. Keeping in touch with what's happening.

Friends of Sheldon   Mon 20 November 2017

The Friends of Sheldon newsletter is out now - your comments welcome!

Taking the long view  Tue 06 September 2016

What’s it like to view things from a different angle now and again?

Behind the scenes  Sun 14 August 2016

Meet the people working behind the scenes at Sheldon ...

Why Mary and Martha?  Sun 24 July 2016

Find out why Mary, Martha ... and Lazarus ... mean so much to us ...

Social media  Sun 17 July 2016

For the very latest Sheldon news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube …

New Alongsider  Sun 03 July 2016

Alison is joining the Sheldon team in September. We would welcome your prayers for the preparation ...

Hospitality volunteers  Sun 26 June 2016

Our hospitality volunteers are crucial to the care that we are able to give to our guests ...

Let us pray  Mon 06 June 2016

Prayer is central to our life as a Community and to everything that we do at Sheldon ...

Sourcing our food  Sun 22 May 2016

Find out where the ingredients come from for all those delicious Sheldon meals ...

Open Air Theatre  Sun 08 May 2016

For six evenings each summer, the usual peace and tranquillity of Sheldon is set aside. Find out why ...

Sheldon's library  Sun 24 April 2016

A comfortable place to browse and relax with an eclectic range of books to enjoy. More ...

Spring Lambs  Sun 10 April 2016

At Sheldon we have two flocks of rare breed sheep. Meet this year's new-born lambs ...

Archbishop awards Canterbury Cross for Sheldon Ministry  Fri 01 April 2016

Archbishop Justin has awarded the Canterbury Cross for Services to the Church of England for contributions to the alleviation of clergy stress. More ...

Alleluia! Christ is risen!  Sun 27 March 2016

At Easter, we welcome a mix of volunteers and guests on retreat to share in our devotions and celebrations.

Vocational Openings at Sheldon  Sun 28 February 2016

The Sheldon Community is looking to grow. Might this be you or someone you know? More ...

Caring for our land  Sun 21 February 2016

The 45 acres of pasture, woodland and gardens at Sheldon don't look after themselves!

Farmhouse Office  Sun 24 January 2016

Ever wondered what goes on behind the door of the Farmhouse Office?

Happy New Year  Fri 01 January 2016

May the power of God this year enable us, the nakedness of God disarm us ...

Christmas at Sheldon  Fri 18 December 2015

An Art Shed  Tue 06 October 2015

We're just about to apply for planning permission to build a dedicated Art Shed for guests at Sheldon to use. More ...

Blessing of the Farmhouse  Tue 04 August 2015

The Bishop of London joined us for the weekend for Community Rededication, Annual Eucharist and Blessing of the Farmhouse. 

The Sheldon Open Air Theatre  Mon 20 July 2015

July sees Sheldon just a little noisier than some other times - concerts in support of Sheldon's ministry. More ...

Clergy Shop Talk  

Sheldon has some rather special House Rules and we've recently taken a fresh look at how to help guests benefit from them

Infrastructure  Mon 08 June 2015

Lots of work going on behind the scenes at Sheldon with physical and other infrastructure that underpins the ministry. 

Farmhouse Thatch  Tue 19 May 2015

Thatching a house is only done once every 20 - 30 years so we enjoy when it happens.

Transitional months  Thu 30 April 2015

I came at a time of major transition in my life, and a time of great uncertainty as to my future ... Sheldon has been what I would call a very special holding place.

Blessing of the Community GreenHouse  Mon 06 April 2015

A sunny Easter Monday for the blessing of the new Community GreenHouse

Being Good Enough  Tue 24 March 2015

Emma Percy leads a retreat in July challenging expectations of perfection in the Christian the life. More ...

Why are we waiting?  Sun 22 March 2015

A particular attitude to waiting is central to any serious spiritual practice. But what is it that makes enforced waiting so hard to bear?

Lent Lilies  Sun 08 March 2015

The Teign Valley is famous for its Lent Lilies and we have some in the Sheldon Copse ...

Digging the Labyrinth  Sun 01 March 2015

The beautiful labyrinth is available as a prayer space for guests to walk. We just have to keep filling in the holes the rabbits find it amusing to dig ...

News of Growing Community  Mon 02 February 2015

It seems the new Community GreenHouse really is "growing Community" as we had hoped and prayed over recent months. More ...

The Community GreenHouse  Thu 22 January 2015

The new Community GreenHouse is complete and Carl and Sue have moved in. 

Spring Cleaning  Fri 19 December 2014

It sounds a bit weird to be talking about "Spring" cleaning in December, but that's when the annual task begins. Sheldon's brilliant housekeeping team are hard at work cleaning every nook and cranny of the place.

Internal Communications  Tue 16 December 2014

Friends with long memories may know that Sheldon's telephone line was struck by lightning on 4th January 2014. Almost 12 months later we have finally got to the end of the process of finding and repairing all the damage.

Community GreenHouse - nearly done!  Mon 15 December 2014

We're very nearly there. Photos to follow soon.