A Warm Welcome to Sycamores Christian Retreat
A Message from Liz and Tim
Thank you for visiting our website. We hope you find what you are searching for. Whilst the central ministry of Sycamores is our programme of retreats for individuals, listed on our website below, we are always open to working with small groups and ministry teams who feel that Sycamores offers a space for them to fellowship and reflect together. If that sounds like you, then do please contact us. As you will see the programme is planned roughly a year in advance but sometimes we can make space within that for groups to attend.
What is a Retreat?
According to the Northumbria Community, 'In its simplest form ‘Retreat’, means ‘to withdraw, to drawback.’ Throughout the ages, the Christian tradition has understood Retreat to be an important part of spiritual formation. That is, time consciously set aside for God, a change of focus, a deliberate act of stepping outside of normal routine by withdrawing (not running away) from the noise and pressures; the immediate and insistent claims of our social, domestic and workaday responsibilities in order to be in a quiet place where all our senses are open and ready to listen to God.'
About Sycamores Christian Retreat
Our Mission
This is a place of rest and renewal for all who want to live an authentic life. For us that has been through faith in Jesus Christ. The house is intended to be warm, welcoming and safe and allow people space to reflect and draw inspiration from nature, scripture and each other.
Accommodation
Sycamores is a relatively small retreat house with residential space for up to 10 people; five bedrooms, 3 double and 2 twin. It can accommodate up to 14 for day retreats (quiet days).
Contact us if you are interested in any of the listed retreats on this website or in discussing using Sycamores for a small group non-residential quiet day.
Please note that there is no wheelchair access and there are 56 steps with a handrail to the main house front door.
Why Sycamores?
Initial Contact
At one level this is very easy, there’s a Sycamore tree in the corner of the garden and several further up the valley. However, at another level it has a deep resonance with the experience of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) and the change that Jesus brings as we spend time in His presence.
Initial Contact
Initial Contact
Once you have made initial contact by email (see Contact Us), we will ask for a call, preferably on ZOOM so we can check out your expectations and that Sycamores is the right fit for you. If it is, we will ask you to complete an application form and will begin to plan with you how your time at Sycamores might be best spent.
Preparation for Retreat
Prior to arriving on retreat, it will be important to begin to consider your priorities, for example, do you need rest and relaxation, space to just be with God, or do you need something more directive? Are you looking for specific answers to prayer and need time away from the business of life, to listen?
Living in Community
Whether you choose to come on a more structured or a more contemplative retreat, you will be sharing the house with others who you may not have met before. Tim and Liz will remain in the house throughout and will endeavour to put everyone at ease, respecting privacy and confidentiality at all times. However, in our experience, we can be richly blessed through encounters with new, fellow travellers.
About Us
Liz Bryan
Liz is a palliative care nurse and palliative and end-of-life care educationalist. Qualified also as a counselling psychotherapist, Liz is interested in how adults use experience to raise self-awareness and consciously change behaviours that might have been damaging to themselves and others. Liz has worked as a lecturer for Macmillan Cancer Support and in the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care at Kings College London. From 2013 to 2019 she was Director of Education and Training at St Christopher's Hospice in London. Liz now works mainly from home delivering online training for end-of-life care practitioners around the world.
Liz is married to Tim. She became a Christian when she was training to be a nurse in the late 70s. It hasn't always been plain sailing but without her faith in God, through Jesus Christ, Liz admits her life would have been without meaning or purpose.
Tim Bryan
Tim, a former Canon at Southwark Cathedral, was ordained over 30 years ago whilst working as a detective inspector in the Metropolitan Police. During a police career of 27yrs he undertook significant roles running a large child protection team in South London and then later on secondment to the National Probation Service designed and implemented MAPPA, the national system for the management of high-risk offenders in the community. In 2006, having held honorary curacy roles in local churches within Southwark Diocese he became a prison chaplain in response to God’s prompting. He was the lead chaplain at HMP Wandsworth for over 10years before becoming a senior chaplain for the Prison Service and overseeing several chaplaincy teams across the North of England, Midlands and Wales. He retired from the Prison Service in 2020 but maintains his involvement with prison chaplaincy and resettlement by being a trustee for the local charity Yellow Ribbon, Langley Trust, a specialist accommodation provider, and chairing the Mission Team for Prisons Week. He holds a Permission to Officiate for Hereford Diocese and is part of the ministry team in Church Stretton.
Tim is married to Liz. They have three adult children. They moved to Church Stretton in 2017 with the intention of using their new home to welcome friends and others for refreshment and retreat. Although delayed by full-time work and the impact of COVID they began in 2022 to invite people to participate in short retreats.
Koinonia for Women
Why 'Koinonia'?
Annual Women's Day of Fellowship (to coincide with International Women's Day)
Jesus's Encounters with Women
Koinonia means “fellowship, sharing in common, communion.” It is a Greek word that occurs 20 times in the bible. The first occurrence of koinonia is Act 2 v 42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Christian fellowship is a key aspect of the Christian life. Believers in Christ are to come together in love, faith, and encouragement. That is the essence of koinonia.
Jesus's Encounters with Women
Annual Women's Day of Fellowship (to coincide with International Women's Day)
Jesus's Encounters with Women
We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 9.30am to 12.00 followed by lunch. We have been studying the encounters Jesus had with women, recorded in the New Testament and asking what do these accounts tell us about our worth and significance to the work of the Kingdom?
Koinonia is for women of faith who are wanting to yield completely to the will of God, to know Jesus and be known by Him and to share His grace with other women who are broken and/or struggling.
Annual Women's Day of Fellowship (to coincide with International Women's Day)
Annual Women's Day of Fellowship (to coincide with International Women's Day)
Annual Women's Day of Fellowship (to coincide with International Women's Day)
This day retreat of fellowship, testimony, worship and prayer is for all women who are searching for peace and purpose through Jesus Christ.
Saturday 6th March 2027
Venue: Dudgeley Farm, All Stretton
Cost: £40 including lunch
For those travelling a distance to join us, there is the option of bed, breakfast and evening meal (Friday and Saturday night) either at Dudgeley Farm or Sycamores at an additional £160 per person for 2 nights.
Women's Day 2026 - Fullness of Life
2 Corinthians 4 v 7 to 18 and 12 v 9
- Rev Fran Brealey, Dean of Women's Ministry, Hereford Diocese, spoke to us about how we can live life to the full despite being broken by life events and hurts. We are like cracked pots that reveal the treasure within.
- We worshipped in freedom whilst acknowledging the experience of persecuted Christians worldwide , especially women.
- We ate together and enjoyed fellowship.
- We went deeper into the passage using craft, meditation and creating our own 'psalm'
Our 'Psalm'
We are weak and broken vessels.
Fragile, flawed, and forever ordinary,
like jars of clay.
Women say:
I feel lonely and not accepted.
I tell myself I don't belong.
Overthinking and wanting control,
am I doing the right things, or the right job?
I have unfulfilled resolves.
And women repeatedly say:
I'm not good enough,
I'm not enough.
I'm still in mourning.
Struggling with a recent diagnosis,
have complicated health issues.
Broken relationships, struggling with trust,
The betrayal!
I’m burdened with rubbish.
I struggle with generosity and humility,
I don't have enough patience,
and I keep choosing my way over yours.
And women repeatedly say:
I'm not good enough,
I'm not enough.
And yet,
we hold treasure, shining through.
All-surpassing power from God. His life,
revealed in our mortal body,
So that women say:
I listen and feel others pain.
I'm not afraid of big emotions,
and I care about those on the outside.
You can come in even if my house, or I, am a mess.
I’m brave or is it foolishness?
I'd like to know what you think.
I wake feeling rubbish and I pray,
then talk to a friend and I'm encouraged.
Treasure, shining through.
All-surpassing power from God. His life,
revealed in our mortal body,
So that women say:
I rejoice in God's presence.
God is my helper,
(when) I pause, and remember.
I'll just make a start.
I experience the joy and simplicity of a child.
Jesus is my extension lead,
when I'm not enough he brings me to the source of life.
I AM CHOSEN!
Amen
Footsteps of Faith - 18th to 21st May 2027
Engaging with Christian Pilgrimage; Journeying in Prayer
In our few days together, we will reflect on Pilgrimage as an Intentional journey to connect with God and engage with forms of Walking Prayer – The Labyrinth, The Way of the Cross, Prayer Walks and possibly a visit to a local place of Pilgrimage.
We will arrive late morning on Tuesday and depart late morning on Friday
Our Guest Contributor is Revd Caroline Windley
Caroline grew up in Buckinghamshire and came to faith in Christ aged 14. She initially worked as a Social Worker before offering for Ordination. She has been a Parish Priest near Dudley, an Area Dean and more recently Diocesan Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Oxford. She now lives in Church Stretton, having retired early (in part due to the Covid 19 pandemic). Each year she undertakes a Pilgrimage Walk with a friend and finds the practise of pilgrimage engages her more deeply in faith and her journey through life.
If you would like to know more about this event, please do contact us.
Couples in Ministry - 16th to 19th June 2027
Couples serving in ministry together, will often foster teamwork, share joy from serving God, and support each other's spiritual gifts. However, all this requires intentional effort in communication, understanding individual personalities, and prioritizing the marriage as the foundation for ministry. This Led Retreat will give couples the opportunity to spend time together in prayer, reflection and in fellowship with others.
We will arrive late afternoon on Wednesday and depart after a light lunch on Saturday.
It will be hosted and led by Liz and Tim along with guest hosts, Chris and Anna Hembury - see Anna and Chris Hembury, Britain - Church Mission Society (CMS)
£500 per couple
Full board.
If you would like to know more about this event, please do contact us.
Paul Hobbs Art Retreat - October 2027
Art Workshops at Sycamores with guest, Paul Hobbs
We will enjoy the beauty of creation, with options to draw, paint or 'make art' outside (weather permitting) or bring material or photos back to the house. You may be inspired by the landscape, or make a still life relating to it. You might work directly from nature, or more symbolically in relation to one of the reflective worship sessions each day, which will involve some of Paul’s own work.
Paul Hobbs
is a conceptual artist who explores the Christian faith in relation to contemporary life, and who also makes semi-abstract images from natural and man-made forms such as flowers, water, metalwork and architecture —finding beauty in patterns and movement.
Timings and Costs
5th or 6th to 9th October 2027
Arrival by 4pm on Day 1
Leave after 11am on Saturday
Cost - £350 per person for single occupancy (full board)
£300 per person if sharing a room (full board)
Skill and experience may vary.
Come and enjoy experimenting!
Brokenness and Beauty
In the autumn we see the softening light and changing beauty of the landscape, and may also reflect on changes in our lives. As we observe the dying autumn leaves, we know that in the world around there are many broken things—fractured, discarded and decomposing. But there is also much beauty: the play of light on a wall, the jewels of water on a leaf, the reflection in a puddle, the light of a fire, the smile of a friend and the kindness of a stranger. And there is also regeneration, restoration and re-purposing.
Our art making will seek inspiration from the local landscape, the twice daily prayer reflections will help us consider where we are at, and both, we trust, will shed light on how God brings healing and beauty out of brokenness.
Prisons Week; 12th to 15th October 2027
For 50 years, Prisons Week has encouraged Christians everywhere to pray for prisoners and their families, victims of crime and their communities and those working or volunteering in the criminal justice system.
What to expect........
Open Retreats at Sycamores run from late morning, Tuesday, to late morning Friday. These are semi-structured with a rhythm of communal morning and evening prayer using a mixture of Anglican and Celtic liturgy. Breakfast and lunch are self-serve and dinner is shared in fellowship. On this retreat, outside of these times, you are encouraged to join Christians all around the country in prayer, bringing the needs of all those caught up in, or involved with, the criminal justice system.
£250 per person (single occupancy)
£200 per person (if sharing)
Full board.
If you would like to know more about this event, please do contact us.
Reviews
Tola
Chrissie
Justin
This is the third time I've attended this retreat and I have had the most amazing experience. It is so tranquil here, and Tim and Liz are some of the most lovely 'spiritual practising' people I have had the pleasure to meet. They have a way of explaining God which is so inclusive, that I and many members of our group are able to open the
This is the third time I've attended this retreat and I have had the most amazing experience. It is so tranquil here, and Tim and Liz are some of the most lovely 'spiritual practising' people I have had the pleasure to meet. They have a way of explaining God which is so inclusive, that I and many members of our group are able to open the door and allow God to enter. The Sycamores is such an amazing place! This my third time here, and I have experienced a sense of community and togetherness which I can sometimes find difficult to experience elsewhere.
I LOVE this place. It is the epitome of tranquility... I always feel at peace here.
Justin
Chrissie
Justin
Sycamore retreat is located in a beautiful valley, perfect for contemplating and reflecting with Gods beautiful countryside literally on your doorstep (bring your walking boots).
The house is fantastic and very comfortable with enough space to be with others or find some solitude.
Tim and Liz were perfect hosts and made me feel very welcom
Sycamore retreat is located in a beautiful valley, perfect for contemplating and reflecting with Gods beautiful countryside literally on your doorstep (bring your walking boots).
The house is fantastic and very comfortable with enough space to be with others or find some solitude.
Tim and Liz were perfect hosts and made me feel very welcome and at ease straight away. Food was fab too!
As facilitators of the retreat I attended, Tim and Liz were excellent. We had a clear agenda for the weekend, which was flexible and tailor made to my individual needs as the weekend progressed. I took a lot away with me from the weekend and feel that bit closer to God as a result. I would definitely recommend and will be back!
Chrissie
Chrissie
Chrissie
It was such a blessing to be able to take some time out on a retreat at Sycamores at a transition period in my life. The house and Liz and Tim were so warm and welcoming, it made it easy to feel relaxed and focus on listening to God. It is situated in such a beautiful area, being immersed in amazing natural beauty with great views and
It was such a blessing to be able to take some time out on a retreat at Sycamores at a transition period in my life. The house and Liz and Tim were so warm and welcoming, it made it easy to feel relaxed and focus on listening to God. It is situated in such a beautiful area, being immersed in amazing natural beauty with great views and walks from the door, just enhanced the whole experience. Liz and Tim were really helpful in supporting the retreat and provided delicious meals too. The time at Sycamores provided a special time, an oasis in a busy world, which helped give me some precious time of close connection with God. I highly recommend Sycamores Christian retreat to others thinking about taking a retreat.
Safeguarding Statement
We are committed to ensuring that Sycamores Christian Retreat is a safe, caring and respectful environment for everyone who stays. We make the assumption that all those applying for and attending a Sycamores Christian Retreat has Mental Capacity (The Mental Capacity Bill 2025) is consenting to participating and would not be described as 'vulnerable'. However, both Tim and Liz recognise best practice is to be aware of potential temporary vulnerabilities that may emerge when in community or when sharing at a deep and personal level. We are therefore sensitive to the need to be reflective, to work together, to be alert to any unhealthy or potentially abusive situations and to be respectful of privacy.
We both have current DBS checks and both receive regular safeguarding training as a requirement of our roles in the Diocese of Hereford as well as both being bound by professional codes of conduct.
