Parcevall Hall

Anglican Association Retreat
2024-04-22 16:00 - 2024-04-26 15:00 UTC
Hope is a Duty
Conductor: Canon Andy Hawes SSC
Living in times of great uncertainty and jeopardy in many aspects of life, this retreat will explore the Christian understanding and experience of hope. Services will be in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer and the Authorised Version of the Bible.
It is not necessary to be a member of the Anglican Association to come on this retreat, and all are welcome.
All bookings should be made through Mrs Rosemary Hall. Rosemary is also the contact for questions and enquiries relating to this event. Telephone 0191 285 7534 or email hallrosemary36@gmail.com

Beauty & The Survival of the Beautiful
2024-04-26 16:00 - 2024-04-28 15:00
Tutor: The Rt Revd David Hawkins
Charles Darwin said in a fit of frustration, ‘The peacock’s tail makes me sick!’ In this course we shall travel together into the origins of beauty and the challenge it presented Darwin for his theory of evolution with its ‘Survival of the Fittest’. We will explore the interplay between beauty, art and culture in the evolution of animals and humans. There will be engagement with some science, zoology, history, archaeology, aesthetics and art appreciation.
David is an environmental artist with a studio in Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales where he works in acrylics, watercolour, photography, collage and mixed media. It’s the essence of things which is his quest…the ‘tree-ness’ of things, as Paul Cezanne used to say. Playing with the juxtaposition of images, which have no apparent relation but can result in evocative association, provides endless fascination – like the Surrealists, Magritte, Dali and co. Recent work includes socio-political themes, as David believes art can be a more effective influence in society than rhetoric or campaigning. He’s the chair of Craven Arts and exhibits regularly in Yorkshire and London. David has been a Church of England minister all his adult life and has worked in Merseyside, Kenya, Nigeria, Oxford, Leeds and East London and Essex, where he was the Bishop of Barking for twelve years. Since his retirement he’s been an honorary, assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Leeds.

Friends of Parcevall Hall Eucharist & Annual Dinner
2024-05-01 16:00 - 21:00
The Friends of Parcevall Hall meet for a time of worship and fellowship over a three course dinner, served with wine. There is the option to stay overnight.
Dinner: £29
Dinner, bed & breakfast £89

Beginners' Birdwatching & The Dawn Chorus
2024-05-07 16:00 - 2024-05-09 15:00
Leader: Chris Bradshaw

Join us on a relaxed birdwatching break aimed at people new to birdwatching, or those just wishing to enjoy commoner birds in a tranquil location. We will have a programme of birdwatching walks which focus on learning how to identify and understand more about the life histories of the commoner resident and migrant birds that occur in the area. There will also be the opportunity to experience one of nature’s most delightful spring events; the dawn chorus.
Chris Bradshaw has been working as a freelance ornithologist and birdwatching tour guide for over 25 years. Currently spending much of his time undertaking ornithological survey work across northern England, he formerly led many overseas birdwatching tours, and still runs customised birdwatching trips in the UK. He finds great joy in watching and passing on his knowledge of the commoner British birds which first inspired his interest as a child.

Recorder Players' Workshop II
2024-05-28 16:00 - 2024-05-30 15:00
Tutor: Terry Smurthwaite
Ensemble playing in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, this workshop is aimed at experienced adult players who ideally offer two instruments and are able to swap between them. The ability to hold your own part in a group and good sight-reading skills are key. Expect a wide variety of interesting music and technique tuition, as required.
Terry conducts at SRP branches across the North of England including York, Sheffield, Cleveland and Durham. He is currently music director at both The West Riding Branch and the Cumbria Recorder Society. He has conducted regularly at the SRP National Festivals and has been invited to conduct at the October Recorder Festival in Bury St Edmonds in the Autumn of 2023. He is founder and conductor of Rombald’s Recorders, an orchestra set up to perform music from the Renaissance to the present day. The group performs at venues across the North of England. Peacock Press have recently published several of his arrangements for recorder in their Early Music series.
In addition to bringing a wide range of music, he is able to offer advice on the techniques of ensemble playing and musicianship.
There are four other Recorder Player Workshops this year: 5 – 7 March, 2 – 4 August, 8 – 10 October & 6 – 8 December.

Resting in God
2024-06-07 16:00 - 2024-06-09 15:00
I will give you rest

Leader: Revd Henriette Howarth
Resting in God
The intention of this retreat is to respond to Jesus’ invitation: ‘Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ There will be space to rest and to receive from God, and opportunities to be nurtured by Scripture, other spiritual resources and prayer. This retreat is especially for those who long to drink deeper from the wells of God’s living waters. The weekend will nurture those who need a short break from the busyness and stresses of life, for example because you live with or care for loved ones who struggle with physical or mental health challenges. (This retreat was formally called ‘Carers’ Retreat)
There will be a chance to talk confidentially with the retreat leaders. Music and creativity will be offered as tools to relax and experience God’s Spirit. Sally Sutcliffe will support with music and Carol Wood with creative arts.
Henriette Howarth is an Anglican priest, originally from the Netherlands, but now based in Yorkshire. She is a spiritual director, meditation teacher and has a Masters in Biblical Studies. She has worked in health care and education chaplaincy and as a parish priest.
Finance should not be a barrier to coming on this retreat. Bursaries will be available in these cases.

Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer Retreat
2024-06-13 16:00 - 2024-06-16 15:00
Witness: Debbie Kirby

A silent ‘listening’ retreat. Jesus invites you to rest in him, lean in and listen to his heartbeat. Contemplative life is the expression of the desire to seek stillness amid the rush of life, to hear ‘the still small voice’ amid today’s clamour; to search for and listen to God. Experienced with others in a group, silence is deeper and more powerful than when alone. By making a space for yourself and your relationship with God, you are giving yourself and Him a wonderful gift.
Bookings should be made through Sue Davies, who is also the contact for more information on any aspect of this FCP retreat. Phone 01924 255129/07749 592858, or email susandavies367@gmail.com.
For more information about the Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer, visit www.contemplative-prayer.org.uk.

Heart & Soul Singing Retreat III
2024-06-19 16:00 - 2024-06-21 15:00
Tutor: Keely Hodgson

Combine singing in harmony with rest, nurture and inspiration. No previous singing experience, or the ability to read music, is required. A varied repertoire of songs and rounds are sensitively taught using call and response.
Keely Hodgson is a composer and natural voice practitioner. She leads a number of community choirs, including the Ben Rhydding Community Choir, and is a member of a team of composers and arrangers for the choral website, ChoirCommunity. She belongs to the Bring Me Sunshine Trio, a social enterprise, playing cello and guitar and singing in local care homes and runs The Purple Room, a monthly evening of music and the spoken word in Ben Rhydding. Keely is committed to sharing the sense of well-being and soulful connection singing with others can bring, and helping those who have not sung before to discover their unique voice.
There are three other Heart & Soul Singing Retreats this yea; 23 – 25 February, 12 – 14 April & 1 – 3 November

Friends of Parcevall Hall Annual Gathering & AGM
2024-07-10 16:00 - 2024-07-12 15:00
The Friends of Parcevall Hall meet for a time of fellowship and sharing together at the Hall. The AGM takes place on Thursday 11th July.
Full Gathering: £186
Day guest – AGM & lunch only: £34
Day guest – AGM, lunch & dinner: £52

Living Life in to Prayer
2024-07-12 16:00 - 2024-07-15 15:00
Leader: Jill Benet

In Centering Prayer, our intention is to consent to the presence and action of the Divine within us. It is sometimes referred to as the Prayer of Consent. The effect of Centering Prayer is seen in daily life, increasing our awareness, making us aware of our attachments, identifications and the hidden motivations that lie behind our actions. Seen as obstacles to being present, we wish to be free of such distractions. But how do we do that? Little do we realise that what we might at first consider an obstacle is, in fact, a welcome step to living into who we truly are. In an atmosphere of silence, presence and practice, learning how to welcome and be with what comes, we sense a new way to living life fully.
Our time together will include extended periods of prayer and silence as well as practical teaching on how to meet and be with the circumstances arising in our daily life.
Jill Benet is the London Co-ordinator of Contemplative Outreach, founded to teach the method of Centering Prayer and to support Centering Prayer groups and communities. She has studied in-depth the conceptual background of Centering Prayer, trained in the US and UK, and has studied under its founder, Fr Thomas Keating. Jill is a co-founder of the Silence in the City series of talks on the contemplative life and has collaborated with Cynthia Bourgeault, James Finley and Richard Rohr, among others. She leads groups, Introductory Days, Quiet Days, and retreats. She is a professional teacher and guide of Inner Relationship Focusing.

Mary Magdalene's Easter: Study of John 20
2024-07-15 16:00 - 2024-07-17 15:00
Tutor: Margaret Barker

Preparing for the feast of St Mary Magdalene on July 22nd, we shall look in depth at St John’s account of her meeting Jesus. Mary Magdalene was remembered as a visionary, a teacher and a leader in the early Church, and St John has recorded the reason for this.
What she learned from her encounter with the risen Lord became the basis for understanding his death and resurrection.
Margaret Barker read theology at Cambridge and went on to pursue her research independently. She was elected President of the Society for Old Testament Study in 1998, and edited the Society’s second Monograph Series, published by Ashgate. She has so far written 17 books, which form a sequence, later volumes building on her earlier conclusions. Since 1997, she has been part of the symposium Religion, Science and the Environment, convened by His All Holiness Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Margaret developed an approach to Biblical Studies now known as Temple Theology. In 2008 she was awarded a Lambeth Degree of Doctor of Divinity by Rowan Williams, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, ‘in recognition of her work on the Jerusalem Temple and the origins of Christian Liturgy, which has made a significantly new contribution to our understanding of the New Testament and opened up important fields for research’.
Margaret Barker is a mother and grandmother, a retired Methodist preacher and was involved for over 30 years with the work of a women’s refuge.

Recorder Players' Workshop III
2024-08-02 16:00 - 2024-08-04 15:00
Tutor: Sheila Richards
Ensemble playing in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, this workshop is aimed at experienced adult players who ideally offer two instruments and are able to swap between them. The ability to hold your own part in a group and good sight-reading skills are key. Expect a wide variety of interesting music and technique tuition, as required.
Sheila has been teaching recorder for the past 40 years(!) – initially in London but, since 2006, in the East Midlands. She is currently the Musical Director of the Lincolnshire branch of the Society of Recorder Players and is regularly invited to guest conduct at other SRP branches and festivals. In 2016 she founded the East Midlands Recorder Orchestra which she continues to conduct in addition to maintaining her conducting role with the London Recorder Orchestra. In her ‘spare time’ she arranges music for recorder groups which she publishes under the name of Willobie Press.
There are four other Recorder Player Workshops this year: 5 – 7 March, 28 – 30 May, 8 – 10 October and 6 – 8 December.

Art Appreciation II
2024-08-13 16:00 - 2024-08-15 15:00
Tutor: Tim Stimson
How Pleasant to know Edward Lear

Edward Lear`s Book of Nonsense has never been out of print, but what often isn`t realized is that he made his living producing exquisite topographical watercolours from exotic locations. A man of versatile genius; ornithologist, diarist, composer- this warm and delightful person expressed his philosophy through timeless humour.
Tim’s involvement in art began with the practical. For a number of years, he was a professional painter and ceramicist in Scotland and Wales, before returning to university to study literature and the history of art. For the last 30 years he has been a freelance cultural/art historian, specialising in 17th and 19th-century art and society. He now lectures for the University of Cambridge, the WEA, the Art Fund and the Arts Society (formerly NADFAS), and presents residential study courses in Britain and Europe. Tim has now completed two lecture tours of Australia, the last in 2016, and presented a lecture for Hull City of Culture 2017 on T E Ferens, patron of Hull’s newly refurbished gallery.
The first Art Appreciation retreat this year is from 16 – 18 April.

Quiet Day III
2024-08-19 10:00 - 16:00
Potholes and Mountains
Leader: Revd Jenny Savage
Potholes and Mountains will journey us underground, and on the mountain tops, looking at some of the risks we take in life and the beauty of God we find when we dare to take risks. We will wonder about the trust and faith that has developed in us because we have taken risks, and the beauty we have found.
Jenny spent several years as a PE and Dance teacher before taking time out to raise 4 children. She was ordained priest in the year 2000 and is now retired, finding God’s beauty in the garden.
This is free event, but please contact the Hall to book your place.
Please bring your own lunch.

Freewill offering

Literature Appreciation II
2024-09-09 16:00 - 2024-09-12 15:00
Music in Literature
Part 2
Tutor: Hugh Parry

Music is obviously in debt to literature for the texts which it turns into song and opera. The debt is not one-way: poems, short stories, novels and song lyrics interpret music verbally, or describe composers, musicians, musical events, and audiences. The material is so copious that any choice amongst it would be random, so the course will make a virtue of this with a wide variety of musical genres and writers. Where possible, we will listen to the music which stimulated the texts, too.
Hugh Parry has offered adult education classes in literature for over 30 years. Although loyal all his life to Shakespeare, he has over the years given courses on a diverse range of topics, including detective fiction, utopias, ghost stories, Cowper, Swift and R S Thomas.
Please note: This is a supplement to the course of the same name offered in 2023, but with a completely different collection of texts and musical influences, so it is not at all necessary to have attended the previous course.
The first Literature Appreciation event this year is from 9 – 11 April.

Autumn Rambling in Wharfedale
2024-09-24 16:00 - 2024-09-27 15:00
Wharfedale’s varied landscape is on a reassuringly human scale; wild moorland, wooded vales and boulder-strewn hillsides above the peaty waters of the River Wharfe. We offer a choice each day of either short or longer walks with our guides, returning to the welcome and warmth of the Hall. Packed lunches are provided, but if at any time you would rather take a stroll around the gardens, lunch can be served for you in the dining room.
Our chaplain, Canon Graham Bettridge, will be here for a part of your stay to provide spiritual leadership for those who would like to participate.
There is one other walking break this year: 11 – 14 March

Friends of Parcevall Hall Eucharist & Lunch
2024-10-01 11:00 - 15:00
The Friends of Parcevall Hall meet for a time of worship and fellowship together over lunch. Coffee and biscuits will be served from 10.30am.

Quiet Day IV
2024-10-07 10:00 - 16:00
Resting from Work and Working from Rest
Leader: Revd Colin Blake

The first commandment given to us by God was to “be fruitful and multiply”. God designed us to be productive. But we build our identities around our activities. We are not living in the truth of who God created us to be. We have become human “doings” rather than human “beings.” We need a biblical framework for a rhythm of life that allows us to be fruitful in balance with being at rest. We need to be secure in who we are, based on what Christ did for us on the cross and the very great promises we have that we are loved and accepted by him. We must stop striving to gain the acceptance of others by what we do, leading to a driven lifestyle. The day will explore a Biblical understanding of the rhythms of rest and work which will enable us to lead fruitful lives.
Colin Blake has always had a desire to engage with new way of being church. After planting a church and school in the Bristol Diocese, a move to Bath & Wells saw him lead a community church in a local pub, alongside being a regional co-ordinator in the early days of Messy Church. This led to a relocation to Yorkshire where he became Fresh Expressions advisor to the Bishop of Bradford, and leader of GraceSpace Fresh Expression in Saltaire. He concluded his ministry as Vicar of Wrose in Bradford before retiring with wife Katy to Hellifield. Colin enjoys computers, blogging, music and promoting concerts.
This is free event, but please contact the Hall to book your place.
Please bring your own lunch.

Freewill offering

Recorder Players' Workshop IV
2024-10-08 16:00 - 2024-10-10 15:00
Tutor: Hilary Oliver

Ensemble playing in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, this workshop is aimed at experienced adult players who ideally offer two instruments and are able to swap between them. The ability to hold your own part in a group and good sight-reading skills are key. Expect a wide variety of interesting music and technique tuition, as required.
Hilary is a retired music teacher who has played recorder for over 50 years. She started conducting and teaching whilst in the school sixth form, then continued her musical studies at the Birmingham School of Music. She worked as a peripatetic woodwind tutor for more than 25 years. Playing in a local consort as well as an early music wind ensemble, she also conducts SRP meetings to indulge her passion for both ancient and modern recorder music.
There are four other Recorder Player Workshops this year: 5 – 7 March, 28 – 30 May, 2 – 4 August & 6 – 8 December

Heart & Soul Singing Retreat IV
2024-11-01 16:00 - 2024-11-03 15:00
Tutor: Keely Hodgson

Combine singing in harmony with rest, nurture and inspiration. No previous singing experience, or the ability to read music, is required. A varied repertoire of songs and rounds are sensitively taught using call and response.
Keely Hodgson is a composer and natural voice practitioner. She leads a number of community choirs, including the Ben Rhydding Community Choir, and is a member of a team of composers and arrangers for the choral website, ChoirCommunity. She belongs to the Bring Me Sunshine Trio, a social enterprise, playing cello and guitar and singing in local Care Homes and runs The Purple Room, a monthly evening of music and the spoken word in Ben Rhydding. Keely is committed to sharing the sense of well-being and soulful connection singing with others can bring, and helping those who have not sung before to discover their unique voice.
There are three other Heart & Soul Singing retreats this year: 23 – 25 February, 12 – 14 April & 19 – 21 June

Advent Retreat
2024-12-02 16:00 - 2024-12-05 15:00
Taking inspiration and hope from the Advent Antiphons
Leader: The Very Revd John Dobson
Advent is a time to be honest about ourselves, the Church and the world as we await the coming of Christ. John Dobson, Dean of Ripon, will help us to find inspiration and hope from the ancient Advent Antiphons, through bible study, prayer, contemplation, and conversation. And relaxed and refreshed, we shall be better prepared to celebrate the great feast of Christmas.
The Very Reverend John Dobson was appointed Dean of Ripon in June 2014 following 25 years of ministry in the Diocese of Durham.
Dean John is delighted to be ministering in his native Yorkshire at a Cathedral that has been important to him since his childhood and which serves a vast rural area as well as the whole of West.
While at Ripon, he has led the Cathedral community in an envisioning process that has resulted in the strategy, ‘Growing God’s Kingdom’. This is shaping the growing and nurturing of the congregation, the development of the Cathedral as a centre of heritage, pilgrimage and tourism, and the mission extended through the Cathedral to the people and communities of the region. In 2019 Dean John became a deputy lieutenant for the County of North Yorkshire.
John is married to Nicola who is the head teacher of a North Yorkshire C of E aided primary school. They have two children who are establishing their careers in London. John and Nicola are church bell ringers; they enjoy walking in the Yorkshire Dales, Scotland and the Alps.

Recorder Players' Workshop V
2024-12-06 16:00 - 2024-12-08 15:00
Tutor: Sheila Richards
Ensemble playing in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, this workshop is aimed at experienced adult players who ideally offer two instruments and are able to swap between them. The ability to hold your own part in a group and good sight-reading skills are key. Expect a wide variety of interesting music and technique tuition, as required.
Sheila has been teaching recorder for the past 40 years(!) – initially in London but, since 2006, in the East Midlands. She is currently the Musical Director of the Lincolnshire branch of the Society of Recorder Players and is regularly invited to guest conduct at other SRP branches and festivals. In 2016 she founded the East Midlands Recorder Orchestra which she continues to conduct in addition to maintaining her conducting role with the London Recorder Orchestra. In her ‘spare time’ she arranges music for recorder groups which she publishes under the name of Willobie Press.
There are four other Recorder Players’ Workshops this year: 5 – 7 March, 28 – 30 May, 2 – 4 August & 8 – 10 October

Friends of Parcevall Hall Eucharist & Christmas Lunch
2024-12-17 11:00 - 15:00
The Friends of Parcevall Hall meet for a time of worship and fellowship together over a traditional Christmas lunch. Coffee and biscuits will be served from 10.30am.

Christmas Houseparty & Retreat
2024-12-23 16:00 - 2024-12-27 10:00
Spend a traditional Christmas in the warm and welcoming surroundings of Parcevall Hall. Home-cooked food, traditional games and times for reflections shared in good company, all help us to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas in this special celebration.

Clergy Reading Week
2025-02-10 10:00 - 2025-02-14 10:00
Clergy Reading Week 10-14 February led by Revd Canon Marion Russell
An opportunity to take time away from the parish to read, reflect, walk, chat, rest and sleep. You are invited to bring along books of your own choice of a theological or spiritual nature. All we are present share with the groups which books they have chosen and why, which leads to interesting conversations. A retreat for refreshment and inspiration.
Price: £385

Heart & Soul Singing Retreat I
2025-02-21 16:00 - 2025-02-23 15:00
Heart and Soul Singing Retreat – led by Keely Hodgson
21-23 February;

Combine singing in harmony with rest, nurture and inspiration. No previous singing experience, or the ability to read music, is required. A varied repertoire of songs and rounds are sensitively taught using call and response.

Keely Hodgson is a composer and natural voice practitioner. She leads a number of community choirs, including Ben Rhydding Community Choir, and is a member of a team of composers and arrangers for Choir Community. She belongs to the Bring Me Sunshine Trio, a social enterprise that plays and sings in local Care Homes, and runs The Purple Room evenings of music and spoken word in Ben Rhydding. Keely is committed to sharing the sense of well-being and soulful connection singing with others can bring, and helping those who have not sung before to discover their unique voice.

Poustinia Spirituality Lent Retreat
2025-03-04 16:00 - 2025-03-07 15:00
Poustinia Spirituality Lent Retreat 4-7 March led by Bishop David Hawkins
The Lent retreat will focus on the Poustinia (oratory or hermit’s cell) in the grounds of the Hall. Together we will explore the spirituality of the Poustinia developed in the Russian Orthodox Church tradition. We will use the cell for periods of personal private retreat, and share corporate prayer and worship rooted in the Orthodox tradition in the chapel in the Hall.
This Lent Retreat is an opportunity for spiritual growth, learning and prayer.
Residential cost: £295
Day guest cost: £150

Balance - Prayer and Fitness Retreat
2025-03-07 16:00 - 2025-03-09 15:00
Balance – Prayer and Fitness Retreat 7-9 March led by Katherine Hogg
This is a weekend retreat celebrating being active physically and spiritually. The retreat will be led by Personal Trainer and Christian activist, Katherine Hogg, supported by Parcevall Hall Director, Helen Reid. Join the stretch and weights classes, spend time outdoors in the Gardens and the Dales, and take time to reflect on life and faith.
The cost is £225 and eight places are available
Additional prayer and fitness retreat dates will become available later in the year. Please ask to be on our mailing list for this information.

Open Quiet Day
2025-03-17 10:00 - 16:00
Parcevall Hall Quiet Days are gentle days of prayer and reflection. Each Quiet Day has its own theme, and the pattern of each day is designed by the leader to include guided reflection and free time, talking with others and time for silence. Hall staff will serve teas and coffees regularly throughout the day, and all participants bring their own lunch.
Monday 17th March – Pilgrimage with Taize-inspired worship and small group reflections led by Revd Tom Lusty
Arrivals are from 10:00 and the day ends at 16:00.
Quiet Days are Pay As You Feel events and donations can be made on the day by card or in cash.
*For the Creation Quiet Day, we will make a £2 donation per person to the Gardens for the tour, please do include this in your PAYF.
There are 16 places available for each Quiet Day, please do book your place in advance. Parcevall Hall Quiet Days are usually oversubscribed, so if you can’t make the date after all, please let us know and someone else will take your place.

Recorder Players' Workshop I
2025-03-18 16:00 - 2025-03-20 15:00
18-20 March with Conductor Carolyn Wade
Carolyn is a retired teacher who has played the recorder since the age of 7. She has coached and directed various music groups whilst teaching and has, for over 25 years, arranged music and run workshops for concertina groups. Since retiring she has returned to playing in, and arranging music for, recorder ensembles/orchestras. She has conducted at SRP meetings in West Yorkshire and York, and is Associate Conductor for Rombalds Recorders in Ilkley.

These residentials are for recorder ensemble playing in an informal and friendly atmosphere. They are aimed at competent adult players who ideally offer at least two instruments [C and F] and are able to swap between them. The ability to hold your own part in a group and good sight-reading skills are key. Expect a wide variety of interesting music provided by the Conductor.
If you would like further details about the workshop and music, please contact Pauline Welch who is a recorder player and Friend of Parcevall Hall.
Pauline can be reached on paulinewelch.moorfield@gmail.com.
All bookings should be made through Parcevall Hall. admin@parcevallhall.org.uk
Price for each residential: £230
