What's it all about?
Della Shenton set up 5th Gospel Retreats in 2006 as a not-for-profit company in solidarity with Palestinian Christians and with all who are working for justice and peace in the Holy Land.
5GR manifests solidarity in three principal ways:
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Going out...
By taking Christians to the Holy Land to experience the 5th Gospel in an unhurried, contemplative and reflective fashion, allowing pilgrims to ask the questions and to decide for themselves the relevance of Christ's message to the world. At the same time giving witness by their presence and their prayers that the Christians of the Holy Land have not been abandoned.
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Bringing back...
By importing Cremisan wines, olive oil, olive wood and embroidery from Bethlehem helping to protect the livelihoods of farmers, craftsmen and women.
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Speaking up...
By running “Bethlehem Evenings” for parishes and groups all over the UK. These informal evenings with a PowerPoint presentation of life in Bethlehem today, accompanied by Cremisan wines and Palestinian food also provide an opportunity to buy the wines and other products from Bethlehem.
All donations and any profits from sales are taken back to Bethlehem for needy families (please ask us for the names of the charities we support).
Della Shenton is a Council member and Trustee of the Lay Community of St Benedict and lives and works in Cornwall where she is an active member of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth. Della studied Spirituality and Theology at Cambridge University, at Heythrop College, London and at St Mary's, Strawberry Hill and has a Master's Degree in Pastoral Theology. Della is the company accountant for a unique shipyard in Cornwall, home to three tall ships.
In 2005, after a gap of ten years, Della returned to Bethlehem to see for herself the current situation and to learn from Palestinian Christians what message they most wanted the world to hear. "Please do not abandon us, we feel terribly alone" was the unanimous answer, whether from senior church leaders, teachers or parishioners of all ages. See Della's article Go now to Bethlehem published in The Tablet.
Following further research, Della responded by setting up 5th Gospel Retreats. To support 5GR she draws upon the unstintingly generous help, wisdom and insights of her network of friends and experienced contacts in the Holy Land, the UK and the USA which is growing all the time. In 2008 she was awarded a symbolic Bethlehem Passport by Open Bethlehem. Follow the links for a piece about 5th Gospel Retreats published by Bethlehem University and an article by Austen Ivereigh for America Magazine.