As well as looking out for quiet days others are running, why not run your own?

Bringing in a leader

One way to run a quiet day is to bring someone to lead it. Much of the variety in quiet days comes from different retreat-leaders bringing their own gifts. Part of the skill of running a quiet day is about enabling thing to go deeper: this can be easier with someone from outside the local context, and allows their experience to be drawn on.

Running a church day differently

God is always available to be encountered. One way of slightly-altering a different church day to have something of the character of a quiet day is to chose to give it more space, and chose to be open to the encounter with God in the day. This can be gentle as well as profound. It might mean a Bible study or a meeting being given more space than usual. It’s to trust that God meets us in our desire to meet God.

Leading a quiet day

Many spiritual direction courses include things to help develop people’s skills at leading quiet days, but it is rare for there to be courses specifically-geared to this. The key skill that’s needed comes from pastoral care, which is very much in the experience of ministers and elders. If you are wanting to run a quiet day, it’s worth looking at the resources section of this site, but the a key idea is the sense of hospitality — creating a space where people feel sufficiently comfortable to be deeply at home. Typically that doesn’t mean bringing in something new and a little unfamiliar, but it is often better to start with the question of where you are encountering God at the moment: is that a space where you could welcome others to draw their own nourishment?