For many years ‘the Community for Reconciliation’ at Barnes Close was a vibrant community and network for peace-making. They offered a welcoming space for groups of all ages to get a much needed break, transformative personal retreats, support to peace-making work abroad and an ongoing exploration into expressions of peace in their times and places.
Now, under our new name, ‘The Greenhouse at Barnes Close’, we have a vision for continuing this inspiring work for our time. Building on the peace-making lessons of our forebears, we recognise the power of bringing together activism with contemplation, prayer practices with justice acts, loving God with loving neighbour.
Plants illustrate for us the powerful relationship between rootedness and flourishing and we want to be a place where individuals and groups can experience both deepening rootedness in faith and practical equipping for the flourishing of their communities. We’re going to do this in three ways…
Retreats. We’re gradually bringing our large Cadbury family home back to life, our indoor and outdoor spaces and accommodation are now available for you to hire for your own retreats, training and events. To stay with us, check out our Facilities and Bookings page. We’re currently developing a rhythm of prayer, quiet days, activities and retreats, for more information see our Events page.
Training. In partnership with Seedbeds and the Moorlands and Nazarene Theological Colleges we host a number of fantastic learning opportunities throughout the year. These range from Change Makers – a youth and adult emerging leaders’ program, to Seedbeds’ Certificate in Pioneering, to post-graduate modules like Eco-theology, Building Communities of Shalom and Social Entrepreneurship. To train with us, see our Events page for more information.
Community. As well as providing retreat space and training to support you as you love your local community, we’re delving into our rich history with the people and place of Rubery and exploring our own locality. We love where we live and are excited to develop new friendships and partnerships as we discover how we can get involved and support our area once more. Check out our Events page and follow us on Facebook as this develops.
At the beginning of this new season we’re more aware than ever that we can’t do this alone! We’re incredibly grateful to those who have already supported the work of The Greenhouse and we welcome any and all who are interested in journeying with us further. For more information on how to do this, see our Friends page.