Below you will find:
- the latest messages and news for Quiet Garden Hosts,
- information about your Quiet Garden details and membership of the Quiet Garden Movement,
- and important guidance information and resources.
News and Messages for Hosts
December 2018
We are pleased to announce that Sarah Godson will be taking up the new Charity Administrator and Supporter Relations post on 7 January, and will be a key person in representing the Movement and being in touch with you all. Sarah lives in Herefordshire in the UK, so the Quiet Garden office will be moving during the week of 7 January. The new address is below^, but the general office phone number and email will remain the same. Sarah also has her own email address:
Mary-Anne will retire on 11 January – and we are hugely grateful for her work and contribution to the Movement since 2009.
Number of people spending time in your Quiet Garden
As we come to the end of the year, we’d be grateful for your estimates of the number of visits to your Quiet Garden, where possible. We appreciate that the estimate may be very approximate or not possible for all Quiet Gardens, such as those with 24 hour open access. By asking for these numbers we are not, of course, implying that more is better! Each Quiet Garden is unique and offers different types of quiet space which is valued by individuals or groups. Your estimate of numbers provides a rough indication of the use of Quiet Gardens which is helpful in reporting to the Charity Commission and possible funders.
If you can please do let Mary-Anne know how many people came to your Quiet Garden each time it was open in 2018? Simply email or for further details and help visit the Hosts Admin Hub at www.quietgarden.org/hosts-admin/visitor-numbers/.
Annual Gathering – 28 April 2019
We are pleased to announce that the next Quiet Garden Annual Gathering will take place at St Mark’s Quiet Garden, Haydock, Merseyside in the UK. This will be a day exploring, amongst other things, the practice of mindfulness with Tim Stead, author of ‘See, Love, Be: Mindfulness and the spiritual life’ and ‘Mindfulness and Christian Spirituality: Making space for God’.
We hope you will be able to join us, and share details of the day with your friends and networks. Early booking really helps with our planning for the day, so please do book to join us. For details and booking at www.quietgarden.org/event/annual-gathering-2019/ or call 01494 578909.
Join the new Quiet Garden Hosts group on Facebook simply visit: www.facebook.com/groups/QGHosts/ and click on the ‘Join Group’ button.
We realise that not all of you will want to participate in this way, and for some Facebook will not be your preferred platform, but we hope this is a welcome first step in building a more collaborative Host community. In time, and depending on further feedback and how this group evolves, we may explore other options too, such as a forum for hosts on the website.
Developing a Quiet Garden Strategy for the future
The Trustees and Staff of the Quiet Garden Trust have been working hard over the past few months planning for the future. Working with Caplor Horizons, an organisation that, “helps other organisations strengthen their leadership, renew their strategy and improve their influence,” we have been developing a new strategy and working on funding ideas to sustain us for the future.
A summary of our new strategy is now available to read on our website.
Other news and resources you may have missed if you aren’t subscribed to our Email News List include: Tree Prayers, Local School Nature Grants, and the renaming of Amersham Quiet Garden to the Roderick Quiet Garden at St Michaels.
Your Quiet Garden Details and Membership
Find your Quiet Garden page
Each Quiet Garden has its own page on our website, with details of your garden, photos, a map and contact details. Any events you register with us will also appear on the page. When we contact you we’ll provide a link to the page – and you can find your Quiet Garden page by using the location or name / keyword search facilities.
Go to Find Gardens
Amending details on your Quiet Garden page
Once a year we ask you to check the details on your Quiet Garden page – you can notify us of changes you want to be made at any time.
Go to Amend Details
Numbers of people using Quiet Gardens
Towards the end of each year we contact Quiet Garden Hosts for an indication of the number of people that have spent time in their Quiet Garden that year. This can be an estimate and helps us in reporting the wider impact of the Movement and Charity.
Submit an event
If you hold regular or one-off events in your Quiet Garden you can add them to the Events Calendar on this website.
Go to Submit Event
Annual Quiet Garden Donation
Every year we ask Quiet Garden Hosts for an annual donation towards the costs of running the Affiliate and Associate Quiet Garden schemes. Find out more about this request and how and when to make a donation.
Resources and Guidance for Hosts
Information and Guidance for Quiet Garden Hosts
Each Quiet Garden is unique and responds to local needs and circumstances, and the different types of garden open in different ways, however, when it comes to safety, insurance, safeguarding and data privacy there are some important issues to be aware of and consider.
Go to Information and Guidance
Welcome Pack for Quiet Garden Hosts
Links to the latest versions of all the contents of the Welcome Pack which is sent to every Quiet Garden Host when they first join.
Go to Welcome Pack
Quiet Garden logo
Versions of the Quiet Garden logo that you may find helpful to use in any publicity about your Quiet Garden.
Go to Quiet Garden Logo
Further Resources
Further resources for Hosts are also available from the general Resources Section of the website.
Go to Resources Section
Quiet25 Leader’s Guide and Course on Silence
Designed to help hosts run a course, or as the basis for a one-day course, or individual workshops. Copy included in the Welcome Pack.
Quiet Garden Leaflet
Copies of the general Quiet Garden Leaflet, which you can add your own details to, can be ordered from us at anytime.
Go to Quiet Garden Leaflet
Questions and Comments
If you have any questions or comments not covered above please contact us.
Go to Contact Us
“Thank you for being a host. This role, as you will know, calls for an expression of warm hospitality, a quiet prayerfulness, a love of God and a love of neighbour. It is a fruit-bearing ministry in so many ways.
Peoples’ lives and faith journeys are often touched, deepened and restored by the welcome and resourcing provided by you, and by members of your co-ordinating or planning group. Your home and garden are precious to you and offer a sanctuary space to others who, regularly or occasionally, join you in your Quiet Garden. Thank you…”
Philip Roderick – Founder – Quiet Garden Movement