Trustees & Patrons
We are supported by an amazing group of trustees and patrons. Their contribution is invaluable.
Our Trustees
-
David Sutton
Chairman Of Trustees
I am an Anglican priest who retired from Mental Health Chaplaincy in 2017. I live in Eccles, part of the City of Salford in Lancashire. I first came to the Coach House in 2014 as a representative of the Society of Retreat Conductors, who are now partners in our properties, and was struck both by the ambiance of the house and the surrounding countryside, and believe it to be a valuable resource for spiritual refreshment and formation. Since 2016 I have been Chairman of the Coach House Trustees.
-
Ruth Flockhart
Trustee
I have worked with this charity for just over 20 years, having been invited to join the team here by Joyce Ferne in 2001. Having recently retired as the Co-Ordinator of this centre, I am very pleased that my association continues through working as a trustee. I live nearby in our own cottage opposite the Coach House with my husband Mike.
I hope my practical knowledge and experience will be of benefit to the charity at board level, as I feel a strong commitment to help support the work and growth of this charity. As well as being a wife, mother and grandmother, I am a retired Anglican priest, (SEC) with an ongoing ministry of spiritual accompaniment.
I have seen many, many individuals benefit enormously from having time here. Time to reflect, rest, pray, be quiet, to be renewed in their own sense of worth, well being and purpose. The Coach House and the small team who work here provide an oasis away from the noisy and frenetic world, so individuals can ‘step aside’ and find their deep centre.
“The soul speaks its truth only under quiet, inviting, and trustworthy conditions.” ― Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
-
Revd. Peter Dewey
Trustee
-
Derek McLean
Trustee
My association with the Coach House goes back 25 years. It has become my spiritual reference point and the place I return to for nourishing solitude, to deepen the experience of the spirit in my life, and to join with a prayer community. This has transformed my life. I am passionate about the ethos which welcomes everyone, offering oppportunites for sanctuary and growth in a beautiful setting. I am excited that as a trustee I am able to contribute to the continuing development of the project.
-
Nick Helm
Trustee
I've long been supportive and involved in retreat houses, retreats and spiritual direction. I live in Ludlow with my wife, exercising a ministry in Spiritual Direction, and supporting and developing the ministry of Spiritual Direction. I'm ordained and the Advisor in Spirituality in the Hereford Diocese, though no longer in paid or stipendiary ministry. I am one of the Society of Retreat Conductors appointed trustees of the Coach House and delighted to support and contribute to its life.
-
Philippa McCowen
Trustee
I have been involved in the Coach House since its embryonic stage, that is to say, since my mother, Ursula, looked at the derelict building across the road from her cottage and decided that was where her vision of an open retreat centre should materialise. I am trained in spiritual accompaniment/direction and over two decades ran courses teaching listening skills. I live in a rural location in the Scottish Borders, alone since my partner died five years ago. I have two sons and two small grandchildren in Edinburgh.
-
Ken Webb
Trustee
I am a retired priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church with a background in medicine and a trained spiritual director. Philippa McCowan, another trustee, introduced me to the Coach House some years ago. And having spent a couple of five day retreats here and having visited on a couple of other occasions, I felt that the open and inclusive ethos of the place accorded with my own sense of values. And I found the warm friendly welcome and peaceful atmosphere attractive. So, wanting to contribute to this and to encourage people to make use this rare jewel of a retreat house, when I was approached about becoming a trustee I was happy to agree and was appointed in March 2020.
-
Alison Wylie
Trustee
I first heard of the Coach House in the late 1990s when I was a trustee of The Salisbury Centre in Edinburgh and my work was a mixture of complementary therapies, community education and administration/organisation, but my first visit wasn’t until 2016. Since then, my affection has deepened and I’ve returned as both retreatant and trustee. Here is my place of safety and serenity, to explore inner and outer landscapes.
It’s especially important to me that the Coach House is inclusive of all (people and spiritual traditions), partly as my own path is multi-strand, anchored in Quakers, deepened by wisdom from earth-based, Christian and Buddhist practices. Here I find it easy to harness these elements and more – landscape, soothing surroundings, creativity, peaceful joyful exploration, delicious food, labyrinth and garden.
Here, rest and reflection come easily.
Here, you are welcome
-
Our Patrons
-
Janice Dolley
-
Dr. Iain McGilchrist
-
Charlie Miller, O.B.E
-
Margaret Silf
-
Neill Walker