Open to all
Following the success of the weekend retreat in Sussex in 2021, this year in September we’re inviting you to join us for a weekend in the beautiful county of Northumberland with talks, walks and tours exploring themes of water and light. We’ll visit a number of important Christian sites in including Holy Island and Hexham Abbey, as well as smaller ancient churches and public artworks.
PROGRAMME
Start: Friday 16 September 3.00pm Hexham Abbey
Finish: Sunday 18 September 4.30pm Newcastle Station
The weekend will begin with a visit to Hexham Abbey on Friday afternoon followed by a lecture at 5pm Friday by Rev’d Dr Stephanie Burette, Chaplain and Solway Fellow at University College Durham. Her lecture is titled Along the Way of Light, Down to the Tyne Valley: Hexham and she’ll be talking to us in situ in the north transept of the Abbey.
The lecture is followed by drinks and a buffet supper in the stunning and atmospheric surroundings of the Abbey.
On Saturday morning we’ll visit a number of Northumbrian churches with rich historic art and architecture as well as historic sites led by the Rt Revd Dr Stephen Platten. Bishop Stephen is a highly engaging speaker with intimate knowledge of Northumberland and its early Christian history.
After lunch, we’ll continue on to Kielder Water for a guided walk of parts of the art trail, concluding with a visit to James Turrell’s Skyspace. Dinner will be provided in Hexham.
On Sunday, we’ll visit Holy Island guided by Bishop Stephen. Starting with a short walk up the causeway approach to the island we’ll experience a sense of the Island’s signficance in Christian history and pilgrimage. We’ll visit St Mary’s Church on the Island, with art by Fenwick Lawson and stained glass by Leonard Evetts. We’ll also visit the Castle (designed by Edwin Lutyens) with a new sound installation by the contemporary artist, Paul Rooney.
TRANSPORT
Attendees are asked to make their own travels arrangements to Hexham on Friday. All other transport during the weekend will be provided but if attendees wish to drive their own cars they are welcome to do so. For those travelling by train their will be a drop-off at Newcastle Station on Sunday afternoon.
ACCOMMODATION
Attendees are asked to book their own accommodation in or near Hexham.
We recommend looking at airbnb to suit your needs.
NEW - 20 spaces are now available at Minsteracres Retreat Centre (20 minutes from Hexham Abbey) on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 September. £90/person, including Friday night + breakfast and Saturday night + breakfast. Please email admin@artandchristianity.org to liaise for the group booking.
SPEAKERS
The Rev’d Dr Stephanie Burette is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Episcopal Seminary at Yale where she studied theology and prepared for the ordination to the priesthood. Originally from France, she earned a PhD at the Sorbonne on French Literature, more precisely on art criticism and art theory on paintings in the 17th and 18th centuries. Raised atheist, she converted to Christianity in England. She has been ever since interested in the roles that arts play in shaping our representations of God and in inviting our whole selves in the experience of the divine. Stephanie had a first career as a teacher and most recently served as an ordained minister in Jerusalem at St George’s College and Anglican Cathedral, and at St James Episcopal Church in Florence, Italy.
The Rt Rev Dr Stephen Platten is the Assistant Bishop in the dioceses of London, Southwark and Newcastle who lives in Northumberland. He is a former member of the Cathedrals’ Fabric Commission for England, chairman of Hymns Ancient and Modern and of the governors of the Anglican Centre in Romea nd previous positions include the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs, Dean of Norwich and Bishop of Wakefield. He is the author of Cathedrals of Britain, published by Pitkin and is soon to publish Not the Shell Guide to Northumberland.
COSTS
Full weekend ticket members (driving your own car) £140
Full weekend ticket members with coach £190
Full weekend ticket non-members with coach £225
Friday evening lecture and dinner only £35
Please note lunches are not included in the costs.