KHANKAH OF THE HEART
THE WINGED HEART

A residential retreat at Wistaston Hall Oblate Retreat Centre, Crewe

22th – 25th January 2026 From supper on Thursday to after lunch on Sunday.

“Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birdwings” – Rumi

Jilani and Shamsia have a vision of a Sufi community, a Khankah, based not in a building of bricks and mortar, but in the relationships between the deep and loving hearts of its members. All fervent seekers are welcome to join, whether you are new to this or have been walking the path for many years.

In this retreat we are inspired by the Sufi winged heart: the symbol of spiritual liberty, expressing that the heart reaches upward towards heaven. In those paired wings we see the balance of known and unknown, impermanence and what survives, dancing on the threshold, the edge between the worlds, where we fly free, with the breath of God beneath our wings.

Shamsia Sandra Sunfire lives, Dances and Walks in Wales and has done for nearly 30 years. She follows the Path of the Heart, the Path of Love. Shamsia is a leader and mentor of Dances of Universal Peace. She loves the retreat process that draws on the rich tapestry of wisdom teachings and practices, the rhythms of nature which empower us to be more of who we truly are. She both leads and attends retreats. Shamsia is a conductor in the Dervish Healing Order and is dedicated to service on the healing path.

Jilani Cordelia Prescott is a guide in the Sufi Ruhaniat International, Cherag, SoulWork practitioner and leader of the Dances of Universal Peace as well as a mentor of other dance leaders. She has over thirty years’ professional experience as a teacher and musician. Her relaxed and patient teaching style means people easily learn the practices, and can be free to enter the powerful and healing depths of the experience. Jilani lives in the misty Pennine hills of northern England, and brings her love for the Earth to everything she does.

Cost: £520 – £475 – £435 including all meals (generous/standard/cost prices: self selecting sliding scale based on need). £80 deposit (non-refundable) reserves your place. Please get in touch with us if these prices are beyond your means. We want to be inclusive and we hope to have bursaries. Single/shared accommodation available.

Shamsia and Jilani will have musical support from Halim Geoff Carter and Robert Salik Orange

We are very grateful to have received a grant from the Oneness Project to support an ongoing bursary fund to enable us in turn to support those encountering financial difficulties so that they can join us.  We have previously been supported by Dances of Universal Peace International. This bursary fund will be available to all including those who will in future serve and support our communities, the young people.  We recognise that these are challenging times and that financial challenges are becoming more widespread and that a bursary fund will help our community to be more supportive and inclusive. If you are experiencing abundance and feel inspired to support our bursary fund, please contact us.

We are committed to exploring sustainable ways to continue to gather as a Sufi Community, financially and based on caring for the Earth’s limited resources.  This venture has been unfolding in our hearts and our lives each and every time we meet, we nurture and pray for its past, present and future.

Please don’t be shy about approaching us to discuss bursaries or paying by instalments, which can make it very affordable.

Contact us now for more information or to book: email  Jilani on jilanicordelia@gmail.com, or Shamsia on sandrasunfire@gmail.com.