– a retreat to renew and refresh your approaches to prayer

Led by Revd Dr Christopher Landau, director of ReSource, with Revd Esther McCafferty.

ReSource works to encourage spiritual renewal in local churches, particularly ‘little, local, ordinary’ churches. This retreat will explore a variety of approaches to prayer, with a particular emphasis on what it means for prayer to come alive through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The work of ReSource is founded on the promise of living water for every Christian (John 7:38), and we will relate this hope to our life of prayer, reflecting also on the promise in Romans 8 that the Spirit ‘helps us in our weakness’ and ‘intercedes for us’.

ReSource is publishing a new course, Together in Prayer, which is particularly designed to help encourage small group prayer, including in contexts where few people are used to praying together in small groups. Some elements of the retreat will draw on this material, and we will encourage those on the retreat to journey together in small group prayer (whether or not this is a new adventure in prayer for you!).

Revd Dr Christopher Landau is the Director of ReSource. Before ordination he was the BBC World Service’s religious affairs correspondent; he is the author of Loving Disagreement and has a particular desire to see the Spirit bring unity among Christians. He has previously been in parish ministry in London, and student chaplaincy in Oxford. He is Honorary Professor of Practice in Christian Spirituality at Emmanuel Theological College.

Revd Esther McCafferty spent 37 years in full-time stipendiary ministry in ‘little, local and ordinary’ churches, having originally trained as a primary school teacher. Intercession has sustained and encouraged her in tough inner city/urban situations, and she now feels called to be a blessing to others, through intercession, in renewal, discipleship and mission. She has been an Intercessor for both ReSource and the international mission agency SOMA.