Written by Our friends at CCS are involved in a number of events over the coming months that may be of interest to members:
Pluscarden Abbey
Sr Scholastica’s Retreat
16th – 21st April
The Prior and Monks of Pluscarden invite young people (aged 18-35) to celebrate the Liturgy with them from Wednesday of Holy Week until Easter.
St Scholastica’s retreat will be set aside for our younger guests: both male and female. Those taking part will be able to celebrate these, the most holy days of the year, with full immersion in the monastic liturgy. There will be plenty of time also for silent prayer and reading, or for local walks in this beautiful area, or for speaking, as desired, with a monk.
St Scholastica’s retreat will be set aside for our younger guests: both male and female. This is a self-catering house. Essentials are supplied by the monastery, but otherwise people need to bring their own food supplies.
Contributions by donation are gratefully received: though it is assumed that students would stay without any charge.
If you are interested in joining the Pluscarden Community for this celebration of Easter, please contact Br Benedict Joseph Miller OSB by email at guestmaster@pluscardenabbey.org or through our online form: www.pluscardenabbey.org
Monastic Experience Weekend
22nd – 25th August
The Prior and Community of Pluscarden Abbey will be hosting a Monastic Experience Weekend this summer. This is a special opportunity to see at first-hand what monastic life is about. The invitation is extended to single young men, aged 18-40, Catholics who practise their faith, and are at least open to the possibility of a monastic vocation.
There will be no charge for the weekend.
The weekend should prove to be interesting, spiritually fruitful and also enjoyable. Anyone interested should contact us via the web site:
https://www.pluscardenabbey.org/monastic-experience-weekend, or email directly the novice master, Fr Benedict Hardy novicemaster@pluscardenabbey.org.
DePaul University – Chicago
Signs of Hope: Finding Jubilee in a Fractured World
1st – 2nd May
In-person (Chicago) and online.
In this conference, speakers from varied disciplines look for signs of hope amid mounting global challenges that drive many to anxiety, cynicism and despair.
It’s free to register and will be livestreamed, as well as recorded. The keynote speaker is Dylan Corbett, founder/executive director of the Hope Border Institute in El Paso, Texas.
For more details, visit our website: Signs of Hope: Finding Jubilee in a Fractured World
William Leech Research Fund applications
The latest William Leech Research Fund application round has now been released on the William Leech Research Fund website. For updated details about this application round, what is eligible for funding and the latest version of the application form (incorporating changes since last round), please see: What we fund – The William Leech Research Fund and How to apply – The William Leech Research Fund.
The deadline for applications in this round is noon on Thursday 22nd May 2025.
For more details, or to discuss an application, please contact Andrew Orton at a.j.orton@durham.ac.uk.