General Assistant at Parcevall Hall Parcevall Hall is a Retreat and Conference Centre at the heart of the Yorkshire Dales welcoming residential guests and day visitors. The Hall is a beautiful old building surrounded by lovely gardens, with 17 bedrooms and communal areas. www.parcevallhall.org.uk We are looking to recruit a...
In algae blooms and imposing hills, In gnarly twigs bearing singular green buds, In the looming pines and cool soil depths, In seams of bright light in a tapestry of cloud. The small, still voice echoes now as it always has. A ripple of stillness across life’s crashing waves. Surely...
This last weekend it was the Exploring the Enneagram Retreat which runs as part of our Wellbeing Stream of retreats. The leader, Cathy Brown, has been a regular facilitator in recent years. Cathy says that coming to Parcevall is like taking a step out of everyday life and into another...
This rustic relief of Moses hiding his face before the burning bush is all about our rightful demeanour in this season of Lent. It’s typical of Nigerian carved door panels which adorn the entrance to the houses of village chiefs. This one Carole and I saw during our missionary service...
Parcevall Hall is pleased to announce a new programme of Art and Contemplation exhibitions for 2026, created in partnership with Craven Arts. Studies suggest that in a gallery setting, people spend an average of just 15 seconds looking at a work of art. At Parcevall Hall, where historic paintings accompany...
Simeon and Anna had waited a long time for this moment, and the excitement expressed in this painting by the contemporary Dutch artist, Jan von ‘t Hoff, is infectious. His use of blissful expressions and dramatic lighting draws you into the intimate encounter of age and youth. We are made...
The Adoration of the Magi Peter Paul Rubens 1633 This huge painting was originally made as an altar piece for the chapel of the Convent of the White Nuns in Louvain, Belgium. After the closure of the convent and with the painting changing hands several times, it was sold at...
My choice for our Christmas image in the Poustinia is an everyday African scene. A woman ‘backing’ her baby and her partner carrying a heavy load on his head. It was painted by the Ugandan artist, Francis Sekitoleko, to depict the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt. It was made during...
I’ve chosen a bright and colourful image entitled ‘Hope’ for our Advent season in the Poustinia. Expectant hope is the key focus of this much overlooked season in the church’s year. Christmas preparations and festivities seem to begin earlier-and-earlier each year -- in our churches as well as in society...
Article by David Hawkins This icon ‘Christ and Abbot Mena’ is one of the oldest of the Coptic church and was painted in the sixth century in the monastery of St Apollo in Bawit, Egypt. It’s more commonly known as ‘The Icon of Friendship’. Christ bears a cruciform halo under...