Retreat at Little Gidding with the Margaret Beaufort Association

Time and Place - An invitation to a day of prayer and poetry with the Margaret Beaufort Association.

When I was at school I had an English teacher who didn't just teach us to answer questions so that we could pass our exams. He taught us that books and poems have the potential to be more than words on a page and the means to an end; they can be companions on our journey through life helping us to understand the world and our place in it.

One of the books of poems he introduced me to was TS Eliot's Four Quartets; from the first time I read them I knew that they were going to be part of my life story. When a friend asked me what I wanted for my birthday I asked for a copy of my own. Forty plus years later I still have that well-thumbed copy and every time I open it I discover something new.

Each of the Four Quartets is named after a place Eliot visited and the themes of time, timelessness, eternity and place are central to all of them. The final poem of the quartet is called Little Gidding: the name of a hamlet which Eliot visited in the 1930s, 28 miles from Cambridge. In the seventeenth century Nicholas Ferrer left London, along with his family and friends to form an Anglican lay community there, a place where they could live a life of prayer and charity. Alongside the manor house they built St John's church which is still there and has been recently restored. When I am traveling along the A1 I sometimes leave the main road to spend time in Little Gidding church. The poem of the same name is addressed to me and others who travel there, it tells us how to approach our visit,

'You are not here to verify,
Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity
Or carry report. You are here to kneel
Where prayer has been valid.'

Celtic spirituality uses the term a 'thin place' to describe locations where heaven and earth seem closer to each other. When I am in St John's church Little Gidding I am in one of those places.

Whether you're new to Little Gidding the place and the poem, or know both well you are invited to join the Margaret Beaufort Association retreat day at Little Gidding on Saturday 26 September 2026 from 10 am to 4 pm. It will be led by me, Jane Crone and Jackie Tevlin.

During the day we will exploring themes of Time and Place using the Little Gidding - the place and the poem; through prayer, Lectio Divina, Jackie's poetry, conversation, silence, walking or writing and drawing. The poem asks us to explore in 'a condition of complete simplicity', so we are preparing a paper guide to the day instead of using technology.

The cost is £25 per person, this includes tea, coffee on arrival, a light lunch and tea and cake before departure. Bookings close on 18 September.

Places are limited, for more information and to book your place email Jane Crone from the MBA leadership circle JCC181@pgr.aru.ac.uk.

See also: Jeremy Irons reads The Four Quartets by TS Eliot: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/23988