Two years ago I asked on this website for guinea pigs – volunteers to try out ideas Meredith and I had for a course called Listening and Gathering: Holding Space with Spirit.

Eleven of us spent a Saturday in Bath discussing what holding space means for us; reconnecting by taking space for ourselves; and listening attentively to what was growing in ourselves and others. The day felt spacious and conversations deep.

That initial pilot day grow into weekend course at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre last summer, where, as one participant said, we ‘listened to God, listened to others, and listened to [ourselves]’. Now we’re delighted to have the opportunity to offer the course at Ammerdown, an ecumenical retreat centre near Radstock, this October.

Two years on I’m even more enthusiastic about the transformative potential of listening and being listened to, and as curious as ever about ways to gather together that enable this. So thank you guinea pigs! And do come and join us at Ammerdown, Thu 17 – Fri 18 Oct.