About Us

Our vision and purpose is centred around providing the people in our community with a place of peace, spirituality and sanctuary.

We offer a place where people can make connections - with others, with the natural world, or follow a spiritual path

Our beautiful garden, is freely available and accessible to all, is restorative for many people needing peace and sanctuary in stressful times

St Ethelwold’s is cared for by a fellowship of volunteers who tend the garden, welcome those who visit and nourish its vibrant spiritual heart with love.

It offers a non judgemental and inclusive place where people from different faiths and cultures meet, engage and celebrate.

We are a home for community groups such as Carbon Cutters, One Planet Abingdon, Host Abingdon Refugee Support, Abingdon Peace Group, Dementia Friendly Abingdon as well as a quiet safe space for counsellors, Yoga teachers, artists and other group leaders who work in life enhancing and wholesome ways. Our Spirituality Group explores issues to do with society, social justice and faith.

 

In a polarised and challenging world we offer a place of refuge and replenishment for all.

 

Our core unchanging purposes are to:

  • Celebrate and reflect on the spiriitual tradition at the heart of St Ethelwold’s House while welcoming, learning from and sharing nourishment with those from other faiths and spiritual paths;

  • Provide a place of peace and tranquility, centred in the practice of meditation and stillness;

  • Be open in heart and mind to exploration rather than dogma;

  • Reach out to our local community.

Our vision and purpose is expressed by:

  • Offering regular meditation;

  • Offering spaces for group courses and personal retreats;

  • Offering spiritual companionship;

  • Encouraging interfaith encounter and action;

  • Carefully tending the House and Garden, and ensuring that all we do is informed by a deep commitment to the environment;

  • Welcoming individuals and groups from our local community who want to offer life-enhancing social, community and artistic activities;

  • Welcoming activities of faith groups and others seeking to work for social justice and peace;

  • Welcoming use of the house by individuals and groups for hospitality and celebration.

  • Offering sanctuary and refugee support.

 
Hospitality and Sanctuary – Host Abingdon Refugee Support

Trustees and supporters of St Ethelwold’s have worked with others to offer a welcome to refugees and destitute asylum seekers locally. We helped set up Host Abingdon, which now thrives as an independent organisation and which we continue to support.

We connected with Sanctuary Hosting, who match destitute asylum seekers and refugees with people who have a spare room and an open heart and who can make their spare room available rent-free for an agreed period of time. Some amazing people in the area got together to fund the use of a room at St Ethelwold’s for this purpose.

Host Abingdon became involved in supporting the eight Syrian families who came to the South and Vale area on the Home Office resettlement scheme. This was a major project over four years, involving over forty volunteers who taught ESOL and offered general support to help families, most of whom arrived with no English at all and often traumatised.

Currently Host Abingdon is involved in supporting Afghan and other refugees as well as female asylum seekers in our area, see hostabingdon.org for more information

There will always be the need for many kind action to help refugees – direct work including ESOL teaching, offering accommodation, campaigning and fund raising.

Do contact hello@hostabingdon.org if you would like to get involved.

 
Pilgrimage - St Frideswide’s Way

The concept of pilgrimage is gaining popularity. There is increasing understanding of the physical, psychological and spiritual benefits of walking, either alone or with like-minded companions. The pilgrimage experience fosters meaningful conversation and reflection. It features in many religions but also appeals to those who count themselves “spiritual” but who do not embrace any specific faith. The idea of pilgrimage sits very harmoniously with the core purposes of the Fellowship of St Ethelwold.

St Ethelwold’s House in Abingdon is conveniently situated just a few minutes walk away from the St Frideswide’s Way pilgrimage route, which runs along the Thames from Christchurch Cathedral in Oxford to Reading Abbey. The route was formally established in 2023, and named after the patron saint of Oxford. Frideswide was an Anglo-Saxon princess, who fled to escape a royal suitor and who subsequently devoted her life to God and to helping and healing the poor and sick.

It is possible to link with other ancient pilgrimage routes, journeying even as far as Santiago de Compostela in Spain. We welcome pilgrims to visit us on their journey to experience the calm beauty of the garden; perhaps to sit and reflect in the River Room overlooking the rippling river; perhaps to stay overnight in our simple bedrooms before proceeding on the next the stage of their quest.

We hope soon to commission a pilgrim stamp so that pilgrims can have a reminder of St Ethelwold’s House to look back on.