Retreats and Writing

I have just spent two incredibly peaceful days on retreat at the Society of Sacred Mission (SSM) Priory of St Michael in Willen. It is only about 10 miles from where I live but when I pass through its gates, I feel as if I have entered a different world. The sense of peace and God’s presence in palpable in the air. I can sense Christ beside me as I walk in the beautiful flower garden, as I kneel in the chapel, as I sit in silence listening on the Lord. And as I write, I feel as if he guides my thoughts and my hand.

I decided to go on silent retreat to kick start the process of writing my third book which entitled Soul’s Scribe: Your Story and God’s Narrative . In order to write a book which is essentially about communicating, I find that I have to retreat into a world of silence.

I have always been drawn to religious communities. When I first returned to live in North Buckinghamshire, I used to go and pray at St Joseph’s convent in Olney. There was something about these women, who lived a simple life with such joy. Then when I was at World Vision, I used to sometimes take my team on retreat. The most memorable of these retreats was when, accompanied by two of the directors from my Senior Leadership Team, I spent a few days at the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield.

The monks of the community follow the Benedictine Rule and as well as undertaking meetings, we also took part in the liturgical life of the community. We joined them for morning prayers, lunchtime Eucharist, Evening Prayer and Compline. We would share a meal with them without words and walk in the gardens wrapped in silence before retiring to bed. I loved the sacred repetition of the liturgy, the rhythm of life in the community.

And now I am in a different season of my life I am once again drawn to spend time with those who have made a conscious choice to give their lives so wholeheartedly to Christ.

The last time I went to spend time with the community at Willen, I was preparing to go to the Bishop’s Advisory Panel who would decide if I would be recommended for training for ordination. This time I was greeted like a returning warrior for God by the wonderful community there who have offered wholeheartedly to support me as I prepare for that training.

For a number of practical reasons (including the need to deliver my new book), I won’t be starting my training at Ripon College, Cuddesden until the next academic year. But I am determined that this ‘gap’ year will be one of profound preparation, in which I hope to come to know Christ more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly. It was a wonderful God-incidence that I was with the community for the Feast of the Cross and am able to celebrate with them with the Eucharist. And I am very blessed to have been invited to come whenever I want to the Priory, to spend time in prayer, to share meals with the community and to reflect and write in their wonderful library.

What is it that draws people like me to these communities? I am such an extrovert, who works with words and loves the life of a family, but there is something very special about religious communities who choose to share their lives together as the early Christians did. There is a great beauty to the rhythm of Benedictine rule, although I know that I would will never be more than a visitor to this disciplined way of life.

But for a while it is such a blessing to spend time with those who do have the self-discipline to live a life so focused on God, who communicate so clearly their joy in the Lord without words. And every time I spend time with them, I come away with a peace that runs just a little deeper, and a sense of his presence that is just a little clearer.

Kate Nicholas’s best-selling memoir Sea Changed (shortlisted as Christian Biography of the Year 2017) and her latest book Sea Changed: A Companion Guide – Living a Transformed Life are available at Christian bookstores and Waterstones throughout the UK and online at eden.co.uk and Amazon worldwide.

Her TV show Living a Transformed Life can be seen on Sundays at 9.00 pm GMT on premiere Christian Channel TBN UK (Freeview 65 and Sky 582) with repeats at 11.30 am on Mondays, 3.00 p,m. on Wednesdays and at 6.00 pm. PST on Sundays. You can also see all shows online at

https://www.tbnuk.org/vod/browse/category/ministry

To find out more about St Michael’s Priory and the Society of the Sacred Mission go to:

https://www.stmichaelspriory.org.uk/