Better Together 2026 – Flourishing: Living Life to the Full
A gathering at Boarbank Hall exploring how religious communities caring for the sick can flourish through shared learning, reflection and support.
A two-day gathering of Religious Communities Caring for the Sick (RCCS) will take place at Boarbank Hall, Cumbria, bringing together those involved in care within religious communities to share learning, reflection and support.
The RCCS network began following a meeting of Religious Communities Caring for the Sick held at Boarbank Hall at the turn of 2018/19. At the end of that meeting there was a desire to continue meeting, sharing ideas and offering mutual support.
To support this, an ECHO (Extended Community Health Outcomes) Network, hosted by Queenscourt Hospice, Southport, was established. Since April 2019, the RCCS ECHO Network has met for one hour at 8.00am roughly each month. The network continued to support one another throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and has now met more than 60 times.
Over time the sessions have explored a wide range of topics connected with care in religious communities. These have included caring for the dying, future care planning, the spirituality of ageing, collaborative working, funding, healthy eating, grief and bereavement, happiness and wellbeing, sensory impairment, meaningful activity, regulatory frameworks, and sleep, rest and recreation.
Guest speakers have included Kathryn Mannix, Dr David Unwin, and Baroness Hollins, whose contributions have enriched the conversations and shared learning within the network.
The Better Together Conference grew from the group’s desire to meet face-to-face, get to know one another better, and share both physical and spiritual nourishment. This gathering will be the fourth Better Together Conference, focusing on the theme “Flourishing: Living Life to the Full.”
The conference will take place from Tuesday 28 to Thursday 30 April at Boarbank Hall, Allithwaite, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria (LA11 7NH). The programme will include reflection, discussion sessions, shared prayer, and opportunities for informal conversation and community building as participants explore together what it means to flourish in later life and in communities caring for others.
The organisers are grateful to Douai Abbey and Boarbank Hall, who have kindly agreed to host the conference on alternate years.
Bookings can be made by contacting Sr Marian at bookings@boarbankhall.org.uk or by telephone on 015395 32288.