Peak District, England • Fall 2027
The Gathering Place
We will be staying in beautiful Peaks District National Park in Wildboarclough.
A former printworks, meticulously restored with a contemporary extension, the house offers us a 12-metre indoor heated pool, wood-fired hot tub, dedicated studio space, and outdoor dining for forty. Manchester Airport is fifty minutes away.
The landscape does the theological work before the programme begins. Shutlingsloe, the conical peak above the village, is a two-hour return walk from the front door. Forest Chapel, a Grade II listed Anglican church built in 1673 for the people of this remote valley, is less than fifteen minutes on foot. John Wesley preached across this landscape because the churches wouldn't have him, and the conviction he carried of the outdoors as the original sanctuary is still legible here. This time of year is the driest month on the moorland with the heather turning and the river running clear.
The Itinerary
Not everything at Makom is scheduled. Not everything scheduled is mandatory. Here is how this gathering moves and how the space between the moments makes it work. This is the core schedule, but we build in a number of surprises and leave room for the Holy Spirit.
We have 3 categories of programming:
Expected
The communal heartbeat of the gathering. This is shared meals, the Sunday worship service, the worship night, the farewell banquet, the blessing jar reading. Not mandatory, but the gathering is shaped around them and you will want to be there.
Encouraged
The core programme to have the full experience. This is morning teaching, guided movement, small group discussion, vespers, the chef's demo evenings. Most guests attend most of these. They are where the depth of the week is built.
Optional
Everything else. Enjoy the spa, spiritual direction, fishing, horse riding, excursions, the letter writing station, the dawn prayer walk, the conservatory, the puzzle table, the courtyard fire, and several surprises along the way. Available always, required never.
Our Theological Frame: The Practice of Wonder
Saturday
Welcoming Day
12:00 PM -- Private transfers from nearby stations or parking onsite for those by car.
12PM-5PM -- Arrival, check-in, and explore the grounds. (Expected)
5:00 PM -- Settling walk to the River Dane with introduction to the week. (Expected)
7:00PM -- Opening Braai dinner. (Expected)
9:00 PM -- Compline, courtyard fire, and hot tub. Get acquainted. (Encouraged)
Sunday
The Lord's Day
7:00 AM -- River Dane cold plunge with morning Psalms. (Optional)
7:30 AM -- Morning movement session in the studio. (Optional)
8:30 AM -- Family-style breakfast. (Expected)
10:00 AM -- Worship and Session One -- The Original Sanctuary. (Expected)
12:00 PM -- Lunch in the courtyard. (Expected)
1:30 PM -- Small group discussion, free time, and 1:1 spiritual direction is available. (Encouraged)
7:30 PM -- Guest chef dinner -- Communion, local game, dairy, and vegetables. (Expected)
Evening -- Courtyard worship and compline. (Encouraged)
Monday
The Ascent
7:00 AM -- Sunrise lectio divina by the river. (Encouraged)
8:30 AM -- Family-style breakfast. (Expected)
9:30 AM -- Shutlingshoe ascent as a group. Paced and achievable. (Encouraged)
1:00 PM -- Lunch at the Crag Inn, our neighboring English pub. (Expected)
3:00 PM -- Session Two -- Views From the Ascent. (Expected)
4:00 PM -- Small group discussion, free time, and 1:1 spiritual direction is available. (Encouraged)
7:30 PM -- Family-style dinner. (Expected)
Evening -- Courtyard worship and compline. (Encouraged)
Tuesday
The Wonder
7:30 AM -- Morning movement session in the studio. (Optional)
8:30 AM -- Family-style breakfast. (Expected)
10:00 AM -- Walk to Forest Chapel for worship set. (Expected)
11:00 AM -- Session Three -- The Practice of Wonder. (Expected)
12:30 PM -- Long-table lunch in the courtyard. (Expected)
2:30 PM -- Free time -- Hot tubs and 1:1 spiritual direction available. (Encouraged)
7:30 PM -- Dinner with a Cacao Experience. (Expected)
Evening -- Compline, fire pit, and community. (Encouraged)
Wednesday
The Fog
7:00 AM -- Sunrise lectio divina by the river. (Encouraged)
7:30 AM -- Morning movement session in the studio. (Optional)
8:30 AM -- Family-style breakfast. (Expected)
10:00 AM -- Session Four -- Seeing Further in Faith. (Expected)
12:30 PM -- Packed lunch with journaling workshops around the property. (Expected)
2:00 PM -- Afternoon worship set in the courtyard. (Expected)
3:00 PM -- Free time -- Foraging and 1:1 spiritual direction available. (Encouraged)
7:00 PM -- Guest chef dinner -- Foragin. (Expected)
Evening -- Fire pit and evening benediction. (Encouraged)
Thursday
The Ordinary
7:00 AM -- Sunrise lectio divina by the river. (Encouraged)
7:30 AM -- Morning movement session in the studio. (Optional)
8:30 AM -- Family-style breakfast. (Expected)
10:00 AM -- Session Five -- Going Back to Ordinary Ground. (Expected)
12:30 PM -- Communal Lunch. (Expected)
2:00 PM -- Three Shrine Heads walk where the counties meet. (Encouraged)
5:00 PM -- Free time -- 1:1 spiritual direction available. (Encouraged)
7:00 PM -- Celebration dinner -- Reading of the Blessing Jar. (Expected)
Evening -- Fire pit, slow goodbyes, and an evening benediction. (Encouraged)
Friday
Sending Day
8:00 AM -- Final breakfast enjoyed at your leisure. (Encouraged)
9:00 AM -- Sending Ceremony -- Our leaders will pray over each person upon departure.
10:00 AM -- Private transfers to nearby stations.
11:00 AM -- The estate closes.
A note on unscheduled hours:
The most significant moments of the gathering often happen in the gaps. A conversation after dinner that nobody planned, an afternoon in the conservatory that turned into something else, a dawn walk where the silence said more than anything the speaker offered. While we provide many ways to use your free time, we want to honor the gaps, not simply fill them.
A note on our table and expressions:
We set a generous table. All of our food is prepared by a renowned local chef who will share history, story, and flavor that can only be experienced in this way from whole ingredients sourced as locally, organically, and regeneratively as possible. Often the food is grown on the land where we stay. We never allow seed oils or artificial ingredients of any kind, and will gather dietary restrictions from each guest prior to arrival and accommodate those needs as fully as possible.
Wine & alcohol is offered at dinner on selected evenings as part of our hospitality, in the tradition of Christian fellowship around a meal. It is never the focus, it accompanies the food and the conversation. Non-alcoholic options are given the same care and intention as the wine. Nobody is forgotten at the Makom table.
We celebrate that the Lord is risen. Joy is theology. The people of God are the most free, most alive people in any room. We intend to act like it... Which sometimes includes dancing, singing, and celebration. We are Easter people.
A Place at the Table
Everything at Makom is all-inclusive. One price covers everything.
Six nights accommodation in your chosen room type with carefully selected gifts. All meals including breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day prepared by a local chef, plus morning coffee and afternoon refreshments. All teaching sessions, worship services, one-on-one counseling, and advisors. Morning movement sessions with specialized trainers. Guided lessons and classes by local artisans. All supplies for our unique experiences. Curated wine, local beer, and zero-proof crafted options on designated evenings. The local excursions with the staff and transportation to off-site locations. Exclusive access to the entire estate grounds and its amenities. Private transfers from nearby stations on arrival and departure. And much more that is hidden until you arrive and experience it first-hand.
Everything means everything, there are no unwanted surprises.
Private Suite
$5000
for primary guest
$1500 for a companion.
A king bed with ensuite bathroom. Full access to every part of the Makom program including the food, the worship, the excursions, and the community. Nothing is withheld. Bed can be divided to two singles if needed.
Happening:
Sept. 25 - Oct. 1
Bunk Room
$2,200
for primary guest
A communal room on the top floor with a twin bed in a private nook with a privacy curtain. Bathroom is shared. Full access to every part of the Makom program including the food, worship, teaching, excursions, and community. Nothing is withheld.
Happening:
Sept. 25 - Oct. 1
Ministry Scholarship
$1500
for each recipient
A small number of scholarship places are available at each gathering for those in pastoral ministry who could not otherwise attend. We offer this openly and without condition. If this is you, please apply by the link below. It is first-come. We are also working with a few sponsors to bring the cost to $0 and cover airfare, but cannot promise this yet. We will notify you if this happens.
A note about pricing:
We have priced Makom honestly, not cheaply, and not for excessive margin. The cost reflects what it actually takes to gather 20 to 40 people in a sacred space with a world-class chef, exceptional teachers, staff to run everything, quality goods, thoughtful touches, and the care this experience deserves. We believe beauty, quality, and care are tenants of our faith and want to express them fully to our very best ability. We recognize this will create a barrier for some, and we do our best to create scholarships and sponsorships to help all we can.
Why don't you name your guest lineup?
Makom doesn't publish the names of its teachers, musicians, or chefs before you arrive. We do this on purpose. In short, we want you to come for the presence of God, not the people guiding you there.
The tradition we draw from does not seek platform or reputation. We have found that names create expectations, and expectations get in the way of presence. What we are after is something older and quieter than that. We hope for encounter, shared tables, the moment when someone says something true and you feel it land. That doesn't require a name you already know.
Our chefs are renowned, our speakers are extraordinary, our instructors are gifted, and our musicians have played large stages, but you are the focus, they just make room.
The people we invite to lead may choose to announce their involvement on their own. And that is ok.
Join the community to stay in touch about upcoming gatherings.
Common Inquiries
If we haven't answered what you're asking, please write to us at gather@makom.house. We read every message and will reply.
If you have any questions at all, please get in touch.
Contact us
"Surely the Lord is in this place — and I did not know it." — Genesis 28:16
The Pillars
Rest is Not a Reward
It is a design principle. The world was made with a pause written into it. We are not inventing the sabbath, we are recovering it.
Makom (מָקוֹם) means "place" in Hebrew. Shortened from HaMakom, which refers to "The Place," another name for God. It notes that the space we occupy is not where God is, but what God is.
We are rooted in the Reformed tradition and in the conviction that scripture is the word of God, that Jesus Christ is Lord, that the Spirit is present and active, and that the resurrection is a historical event with present consequences. We take the resurrection seriously enough to believe that joy is not incidental to faith but central to it.
Tables Are Thin Places
Some of the most important moments happen around a shared meal, in an unscripted conversation between strangers who become less strange.
Excellence is Worship
We believe that excellence, whether in food, hospitality, or art, is itself an act of worship. You are worth a generous table and beautiful things.
Joy is Theology
The resurrection means the people of God are the most free, most alive people in any room. We intend to act like it.