Shetland Pilgrimage

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on Pilgrimage
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Who we are

The Glebe is the personal home of Graham and Ruth Booth. Both are members of the international, ecumenical Community of Aidan and Hilda. Ruth is a doctor (a General Practitioner) who practises part time and Graham is an ordained priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church.

We offer safe, sacred space and gentle hospitality to all who visit us. We do not make any fixed charge for your stay, but guests are invited to make a donation towards the upkeep, development and ministry of the house.

The house is set in its own grounds which include both mature and newly planted trees, and we are seeking to create a sanctuary for both people and wildlife. The house sits within a beautiful rural landscape only 400 metres from Tresta beach and the ancient kirk dedicated to St Bartholomew and the Holy Rood. There are many possibilities locally for quietness and solitude as well as for more adventurous walking and exploration.

Our Services

The Glebe quiet house of prayer and retreat offers:

  • 3 en-suite guest bedrooms (1 double bedded, 1 twin bedded, 1 with a double and a single bed)
  • A sitting and dining room, library and chapel

There are four services each day in the chapel:

  • 08.00 Morning Prayer
  • 12.30 Midday Prayer
  • 17.30 Evening Prayer
  • 21.30 Night Prayer

Guests are welcome join us for any or all of the above and to use the chapel at other times for personal reflection and prayer

We can also offer at agreed times:

  • teaching within a planned retreat programme
  • times of personal listening, prayer and spiritual accompaniment
  • guided walks and other visits

We can offer full-board for our guests (with adequate notice), including some special diets, and we also have facilities for self-catering. However, please note that we only have one small local shop and the supermarkets in Lerwick require a 6 hour round trip including 4 ferry crossings!

Fetlar is not the most accessible destination in the U.K. so careful planning is advisable if you visit us. We are happy to give guidance concerning modes of transport; whatever combination of air, ferry, train, bus or car you envisage. It is good if you can view your journey as part of your pilgrimage rather than just a trial to be endured!

We are a counter-cultural people

We hold a deep conviction that we are a community of faith always on a journey – a Provisional Community – unlike the world who want to give you the impression that they have ‘arrived’! ‘It is a beautiful thing that the Church should exalt in its conviction that we...

The Prophets

Jeremiah 6:16 ‘This is what the Lord says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’ Isaiah 30 vs.21 ‘Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will...

Two prayer poems

Becoming... Welcome to a place of possibility... a liminal place... on this island’s edge where spacious gentleness undermines the anxieties of that other world A place of wind and water, sun, cloud, rain and rainbow... where birds and animals share the solitude......

The Psalmist

Psalm 84:5-7 ‘Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

A prayer by Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe...

Lord I Journey On…

Lord I journey on... tenderised by the vulnerability, scoured by the pain, longing after you. Lord I journey on... groping and stumbling as I travel down the pathway of your calling. Lord I journey on... humbled by the privilege of life and love, choice and...

Columbanus

Columbanus, the 6th century Irish Celtic Missionary Monk said, ‘We are like pilgrims looking for the end of the road – our destination’. And... ‘What then are you, human life? You are the road to life, not life itself. You are a real road, but not a level one. Long...