We’re sharing here a message from the trustees and staff of Retreat House Chester which was sent to all those on our mailing list at the end of July…

As RHC ends its summer programme and looks ahead, we're in touch with significant news about our future.

We want to let you know that there are two big changes in store. One is that we expect to be leaving 9 Abbey Square at the end of our current lease, in November. The other is that around that time, Clare Black will be moving on from her role as Co-ordinator.

These have been hard decisions to make, and we have been careful and thorough in our explorations of possibilities. Changing circumstances and our charity's drive for sustainability have both played a significant part in the decision-making. We need to find the best way to run a small sustainable charity here in Chester.

We do not intend for this to mean an end to RHC. We plan to continue to host a range of retreats in a variety of locations, as has increasingly become our practice, and perhaps with more people offering these retreats - in keeping with our founding aim of making retreat available and accessible to as many as we can. We also hope to maintain and develop further the wonderful sense of companionship that exists within Retreat House.

There will be more time for goodbyes and good ways of 'moving on' in the months to come. While we will of course deeply miss Clare's ongoing work, we hope to continue to draw on her skills and wisdom in our future activities. In the immediate future, we will be running an Autumn programme in September and October in our usual way, with plenty of opportunity to come along to number 9. We hope that those of you who are local enough will be able to join us in this.

Retreat House Chester has always been an imaginative version of a retreat house, and long may that continue. That continued life rests in no small way in the support of those who come our way, those who support us through giving their time or their money, and those who share our prayer, hope and trust. We very much hope that you will continue to be part of this imaginative, fruitful and - most importantly - much-needed way of making retreat a part of living.