The Caister Retreat Conference was a residential Christian revival event held in East Anglia

East Anglia

East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, shortly after Easter on an almost annual basis from 1996 to 2008. The tag line of the event was "An initiative of Anglican Bishops to encourage Christians in evangelism and spiritual renewal".

Origins and background

Caister is a generic title for the event, although each year's retreat conference had its own sub-titular name, reflecting the theme of the year.

Although the event was organised by members of the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

, participants came from Anglican churches throughout the world, and also from Christian churches of other denominations. The event was of a strongly catholic character, but also attracted members of other Anglican traditions, including a strong charismatic element.

The first Caister event was held in 1996, and took the name "The Word is Near". It was held at the Haven Holiday Camp in the village of Caister-on-Sea

Caister-on-Sea

Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a settlement in Norfolk in the United Kingdom, close to the large town of Great Yarmouth. It is a seaside resort and busy holiday destination on the "Golden Mile", with its main attraction being its sandy "Georgian Beach". It is home to Great...

 in Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

. Participation was restricted to those who qualified as an ordained bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

, priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

, or deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

; or to those who were in training for ordination; or to members of religious communities (monks and nuns). However, from the second year (1997) the event was opened up to lay people as well. Attendance varied from year to year, but the retreat conference typically attracted between 500 and 1,000 participants annually.

List of Caister conferences by year

• 1996 - "The Word is Near"
• 1997 - "Stir up the Gift"
• 1998 - "Sing the Lord's Song"
• 1999 - "Glory to Glory"
• 2001 - "The Word's Alive"
• 2002 - "Speak the Word Only"
• 2004 - "Love on the Move"
• 2005 - "Stand Up for Jesus"
• 2007 - "Continuing Wonder"
• 2008 - "Resounding Joy"

There was no Caister retreat conference in 2000, 2003, or 2006, owing to the lack of availability of accommodation during the week after Easter in these years, the main holiday season having begun.

Content of the event

Each Caister retreat conference lasted for one working week, Monday to Friday, usually during 'Low Week' (the week following Easter Week). The daily timetable was always constructed around the same key events: early morning group Bible study, mid-morning keynote addresses from a different guest speaker each day, a 'holy hour' at midday (of corporate silence in the presence of the blessed sacrament, concluding with benediction

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional ceremony celebrated within the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in some Anglican and Lutheran Churches, Liberal Catholic churches, Western Rite Orthodox churches, and Latinised Eastern Catholic Churches.Benediction of the...

), a series of afternoon optional seminars (with four or five different seminars offered each afternoon), an evening sung mass with a sermon from one of the bishops in attendance, and a late evening special service, whose format varied from day to day throughout the event, but including services of reflection, of reconciliation, of healing, and of praise.

The Bishop of Horsham, Bishop Lindsay Urwin

Lindsay Urwin

Lindsay Goodall Urwin OGS is an Australian-born bishop of the Church of England . Urwin was the suffragan Bishop of Horsham in the Diocese of Chichester, in southern England, from 1993 to 2009 and was also the principal organiser of the annual Caister Conferences...

 OGS

Oratory of the Good Shepherd

The Oratory of the Good Shepherd is a dispersed international community of Anglicans, ordained and lay, bound by a common rule of celibate chastity, responsible spending, and direction of life.The OGS Rule calls members of the Oratory to daily Communion, Private Prayer, and the Office...

, led at least one of the key teaching elements in every Caister event; he was the original proponent of Caister, and remained one of the principal organisers throughout the whole series of events.

Caister Taster Days

From 2000 onwards a series of 'Caister Taster Days' was organised each year. Led by volunteers from the Caister organisational and liturgical teams, these were one-day conferences in regional centres, designed to reflect the style and spirit of the main Caister event. They had a two-fold function in both acting as a local reunion for regular Caister pilgrims, and also allowing new participants to experience something of the Caister routine with a view to possibly joining the following Easter's main Caister event.

Event relocation

Following redevelopment of the Caister site by Haven Holidays, the 2007 Caister event had to find a new home. For 2007 and 2008 it was held at Pontins Holiday Camp at Pakefield

Pakefield

Pakefield is a suburb of the town of Lowestoft in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. Pakefield is located around 2 miles south of the centre of the town. Although today it forms a suburb of the urban area of Lowestoft, it was until 1934 a village and parish in its own right....

, in north Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

. Despite the change of venue, the event continued to make use of the "Caister" generic title, coupled with an event title for the year. That of 2007 was "Continuing Wonder". Caister 2008 took place from 31 March - 4 April on the theme of 'Resounding Joy', and keynote speakers included Bishop Gordon Mursell (Bishop of Stafford

Stafford

Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...

), and Mother Winsome CSMV, amongst others. A dozen active Church of England bishops were present for all or part of the event. The participation of a large number of bishops (never fewer than a dozen in any one year) was always a feature of each Caister conference.

The Caister event benefited each year from the generous sponsorship of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament

Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament

The Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional society in the Anglican Communion dedicated to venerating the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist...

, many of whose members were also participants.

Future events

Details of future Caister events have not yet been announced. Following the 2008 conference Bishop Lindsay Urwin moved from his post as Bishop of Horsham to take up new duties as Administrator of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

Our Lady of Walsingham

Our Lady of Walsingham is a title used for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The title derives from the belief that Mary appeared in a vision to Richeldis de Faverches, a devout Saxon noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England...

, in Norfolk. Having been the principal organiser, the future of the annual conference was first stated to be unclear; it was subsequently announced that there would be no Caister event in 2009. Although no formal announcement has been made that the series of events has ended, there has been no further activity, and the Caister Taster Days have also ceased.