Our Story

How did we begin?

Della Shenton set up 5th Gospel Retreats after a visit to Bethlehem in 2005 following a gap of ten years. She had returned on a research visit, and to learn from Palestinian Christians what they most wanted the world to hear, prompted by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor’s concerned interest in the town of Christ’s birth. “Please do not abandon us, we feel terribly alone” was the unanimous answer. Cardinal Cormac made Bethlehem the focus of his Christmas homily in 2005 from Westminster Cathedral and issued a plea to Christians, published in his press release, “Cardinal issues Midnight SOS for Bethlehem”. Della published an article in the Tablet “Go now to Bethlehem”, which subsequently became the manifesto for 5th Gospel Retreats.

From the outset, the mission and ministry of 5th Gospel Retreats was to bring Christians to the Holy Land to share with them the joy of encounter; to seek and find Jesus by walking the Land of the 5th Gospel, reading the scriptures relating to the holy sites and engaging directly with God’s people. Also to pray and work for Peace in the Holy Land with all people of Faith.

All 5th Gospel pilgrimages are spiritually underpinned by the Benedictines of Ampleforth and Worth principally through prayer, lectio divina and hospitality. We call on an extensive network of experienced friends and colleagues in the Holy Land to enhance every pilgrimage, and a network of support has also grown from the pilgrimages to support the hard-pressed Christian community. This includes the Jordanian Christians and the Iraqi Christian refugees now in Jordan.

In 2019 a legally separate UK charity, 5th Gospel Christians, was formed to help with this endeavour.

What we believe

We believe that the real hope for peace in the Holy Land lies with people of Faith acting together, transcending the theological divisions humanity has made of the one God of the three Abrahamic Faiths.
We believe that the Palestinian Christians, in spite of their diminished number, have a critical role to play in the peace process in the Holy Land, as they form the cultural and theological bridge between Muslims and Jews. For this reason our focus is on the Christians of Palestine, Jordan and Israel and in solidarity with their lives of enduring witness to peace.
We also believe that the Christian Church must speak up and act for justice. Christians must continually make known the persecution and suffering of Christians and others in the Middle East and world wide, and act to end it.

Meet Our Team

5th Gospel Retreats is a not-for-profit company owned by Della Shenton, a member of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth. Della studied Social Anthropology at SOAS London; Spirituality and Theology at Cambridge, Heythrop College London and St Mary's Strawberry Hill, and has a Master's Degree in Theology. Della is a Dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.