Community
Los Olivos Founders
Daniel Muñoz, an Anglican/Episcopal priest and theologian, was ordained in England (Oxford Diocese) in 2001, where he served as a parish priest until 2010. He is the chaplain and programme director of Los Olivos Retreats, as well as visiting lecturer on Ecumenism at the Pontifical University of Salamanca (Spain) and Resident Historian for Viking Ocean Cruises. His passions include poetry, art and spirituality, and he has been leading retreats and courses internationally since 2010.
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Daniel is the author of Transformed by the Beloved: a guide to spiritual formation with St. John of the Cross (BRF, 2014), and of academic articles on a wide range of topics, including poetry, ecumenism, postcolonial history and Anglicanism. He holds a PhD from the University of Madrid.
Guy Wynter has extensive experience in the business world, particularly in the healthcare field, where he worked for fifteen years at GlaxoSmithKline and GE Healthcare as a market analyst and director. Since 2010, he has been the commercial director of Los Olivos, and has worked as a consultant for start-ups in Europe and North America. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management Studies from the University of Wales (United Kingdom).
Guy is also an accomplished musician and photographer, as well as a keen tennis and padel tennis player. He has a special interest in Celtic Christianity and the intersections between ecology and spirituality, and has been hosting retreats and pilgrimages in Spain and the United Kingdom since 2010.
Los Olivos Teaching Community
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The 'Teaching Community' is an international network of retreat leaders, theologians and artists, who have been involved in leading retreats/courses for Los Olivos since 2010.
Carmen Álvarez is a professional flamenco dancer and choreographer with international experience (Europe, South America and Japan). Formed in the Malaga City Music and Dance Conservatory, Carmen has danced with well known Spanish flamenco companies, including Israel Galvan's. She taught flamenco at Los Olivos in 2011 and 2012.
Andrew Bain is a priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church, now licensed by the Bishop of Edinburgh as Chaplain to Emmaus House, and has served for twenty years in local churches and in selection and training roles for candidates for ministry. Has led retreats in 2016 and 2018.
Angela Ashwin is a writer and speaker on prayer and discipleship. After lecturing in Old Testament Studies, she and her husband worked for seven years with the church in Swaziland. In the 1980's, with three small children, she began writing books about prayer in everyday life, beginning with Heaven in Ordinary. Angela is also the author of Faith in the Fool (2009), and Not by Bread Alone (2005), among many other books.
John Bell, member of the Iona Community, ordained minister, hymnwriter, preacher and occasional broadcaster. He travels worldwide and has worked with faith-based communities around the globe conducting seminars and retreats on music, Christian spirituality and ecology. John taught at Los Olivos yearly between 2011 and 2021, and led the closing service of the centre in the Sierra Nevada (Granada).
Philip Bevan is an Anglican Priest of the Diocese of Southwark. He has a life long interest in Orthodoxy, and has made it a special study, at the Orthodox Institute in Cambridge, and at various Conferences of The Fellowship of St John Baptist, and St Alban and St Sergius. Pip led a retreat on “The Jesus Prayer” at Los Olivos in 2012.
Mark Burrows is the Poetry editor of “Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality” and professor at the Ev. Fachhochschule Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe, University of Applied Sciences, in Bochum (Germany). Mark is a world expert in the writings of Rainer Maria Rilke and led retreats for Los Olivos between 2015 and 2021.
Jonathan Clark, bishop of Croydon, theologian, former Chair of Affirming Catholicism (UK). Jonathan's interests include adult and theological education, walking, reading and writing. Has led retreats at Los Olivos 2013-14 and 2016.
Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, theologian, prolific Christian author, art critic and inspirational retreat leader. Stephen has a particular interest in Church and mission. Has led retreats at Los Olivos 2012&14.
Irma Fast Dueck is associate professor of Practical Theology at the Canadian Mennonite University at Winnipeg (MB). Irma has a particular interest in issues of peace and social justice and the connections between spirituality and the environment. In 2015, Irma led a retreat at Los Olivos on symbol and ritual from a Mennonite perspective.
Karen Gorham is Bishop of Sherbourne (Diocese of Salisbury). Karen is committed to encouraging people in their spiritual journey in many and varied creative ways. Her interests include the arts, Celtic spirituality and exploring new places. She has wide experience leading retreats, quiet days and adult formation events.
Anne Hollinghurst has been a Church of England bishop since 2015, as a suffragan in the Diocese of Birmingham. From 2010 to 2015, she was Vicar of St Peter's Church, St Albans. She led a retreat at Los Olivos in 2015
Steve Hollinghurst is Researcher in Evangelism to Post-Christendom Culture at the Church Army Sheffield Centre. He has a background in youth evangelism and more recently mission amongst those attracted to New Age and Paganism. He led a retreat at Los Olivos in 2015.
Erica Longfellow is Dean of Divinity, Chaplain and Fellow of New College, Oxford. She lectured on Shakespeare and Renaissance literature before joining New College in 2011. She has written about how English women writers found a voice after the Reformation, and is currently working on the sermons John Donne preached for his women patrons at marriages, churchings and Christenings. Erica's led a retreat at Los Olivos in 2017.
Ernesto Lozada is an Anglican priest, artist and author, currently serving as vicar in Milton Keynes (Diocese of Oxford). He trained in Peru and the UK. Ernesto was a founding member of the ARK-T Centre in Oxford and offers a unique, fresh and holistic approach to Christian spirituality. He led “The Ancient Gift of Intimacy” at Los Olivos in the Summer of 2011.
Sarah Meyrick is a writer and journalist. She is Director of Communications for the Diocese of Oxford. Alongside her day job, she runs the Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature. She regularly writes features for the Church Times. Her debut novel Knowing Anna was published in 2016 by Marylebone House, London. Los Olivos 2017.
Basia Mindewicz founder of Edinburgh School of Icon Painting. She is an experienced icon painter and tutor. She has been teaching egg tempera for over 7 years in Poland and Scotland. She has curated exhibitions in Edinburgh. Led a retreat at Los Olivos in 2016.
Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian and retreat leader. He leads the Corrymeela Community, a witness to peace and reconciliation on the north coast of Ireland. His poetry and prose explores story, language and religion. His works include: In the Shelter (2015) & Sorry for your Troubles (2013). Pádraig's first retreat at Los Olivos was in 2017.
The Revd Dr Emma Percy is the Chaplain and Welfare Dean at Trinity College in Oxford. She was amongst the first group of women to be ordained priest in the Church of England. She has experience of both parish and chaplaincy ministry, and is author of What Clergy do especially when it looks like nothing (2014). She will be joining us at Los Olivos in 2018.
Ann Persson, author and inspirational retreat leader, Ann has a particular passion for nature and the connection between creation and spirituality. She is author of “The Circle of Love” (BRF). Has led retreats at Los Olivos 2013-14.
Spencer Reece is an American Episcopalian priest and poet currently based in Madrid. He is the author of The Clerk's Tales (2004), and an award winning writer (Witter Bynner Prize administered by the Library of Congress, and Pushcart Prize, among others). Spencer led a poetry retreat at Los Olivos in 2015.
Vincenzo Scarafile, professional singer and choir conductor. Vincenzo was Alto Lay Clerk at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, between 2007-2011. He is currently based in Italy where he teaches music and leads sacred music summer schools in Puglia. Vincenzo led music retreats at Los Olivos between 2012-14.
Daphne Tengbergen, sculptor and art historian and creator of the St John of the Cross sculpture in the courtyard of Los Olivos. Led a retreat called "Poetry in Stone" exploring the key themes in the poetry of St John through stone carving at Los Olivos in 2011.
Colin Thompson, author and expert on the poetry and spirituality of John of the Cross, has spent the last 20 years of his life as lecturer in the Spanish Golden Age at Oxford University. Colin has led numerous retreats at Los Olivos, since 2011, on the Spanish mystics, religious art and hymns and the Bible.
Abdullah Trevathan, Sufi scholar and retreat leader in the BBC series, "The Retreat". Abdullah was head of RE at Roehampton University until 2013. He is an expert in Sufi spirituality of medieval Al’Andalus, with a particular interest in Ibn Arabi. Abdullah is currently based in Morocco and led retreats at Los Olivos 2013-14.
Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, Diocese of Worcester and author of Places of Enchantment, meeting God in lanscapes (SPCK, 2012). His interests include ecology, theology & spirituality of landscape. Has led a retreat at Los Olivos in 2016.
Liz West has been involved in leadership development with young adults and in church planting. Her special interest is in what the Enneagram has to offer those who want to build a closer relationship with God. Liz is a trustee of Crossroads Retreats and a qualified Enneagram Worldwide coach.
Mark Winter is a keen birdwatcher and retreat leader. He originally set up Birdwatch Northumbria as a local guided birdwatching service. In 2004 he founded Even Sparrows, a ministry that takes its name from the teachings of Jesus. Mark has been running weekend retreats in Northumberland, developing many of the ideas that form the basis for his new organisation.