As I said at the end of the last blog it has taken 25 years for a new type of monasticism and the Church, specifically but not limited to the UK  to start  getting  up ‘ close and comfy’

A friend of mine recently commented that new monasticism and the Northumbria Community are now an accepted part of the vocabulary of the College where she is training to be a Priest in the Anglican Communion. That said, getting up ‘close and comfy’ has not been limited to the Anglican Communion.

Roy Searle, the current leader and one of the founding members of the Northumbria Community has built bridges and made partnerships between new monasticism and the offspring of both the Reformation and the Radical Reformation Churches.  The ongoing acceptance of new monasticism in those churches is reflected in the appointment of Roy as the President of the Baptist Union in 2004/5.

His colleague and my successor in the Community, Trevor Miller, faithfully continues building on the legacy of the ‘Gift of Community’ and Northumbria remains  an eclectic mix of folk from every type of Christian background or not.

Ant Grimley, my student and colleague for over 10 years has built a solid relationship between a new type of monasticism and traditional monasticism. Check his work out at www.monos.org.uk This is a realization of a shared vision that a new type of monasticism has to be inextricably connected to traditional monasticism. (Sorry Dietrich…but we know you were a closet traditional monastic!!)

How did a new type of monasticism manage to get up ‘close and comfy’ with the Church?

Have we really developed the kind if relationship that we both need to face the challenges of these uncertain times?

The first real dialog between a new type of monasticism and the church in the UK took place in 1985. I was a relatively young man then, and truly believed that when I presented Bishop David Jenkins with a vision for a ‘secular monasticism’ supported in the Church he would jump at the possibility. The concept was simple. Our small community would live and worship alongside the Churches in the Parish in which we lived , and at the same time be immersed in the local community. We would slowly cultivate the soil to enable us to grow in a new monastic vocation, sharing the fruit of that growth with others who feel that they may share our vocation. Our small community was shocked when the Bishop suggested the ‘desert‘was a better location for this to grow rather than the Church. As a Priest, I could not see how this vocation could grow if it was not fully connected to the Church? To follow the new monastic way meant I would have to leave my ministry in the Church.

Linda and I did move to the ‘desert’ a somewhat secluded rural area in Northumbria. Only one other family was able to join us.

The Archdeacon asked me not to attend the local Anglican Churches, in case people were confused about my status? Fortunately two of my friends were local Vicars, so an unofficial relationship was maintained. Through our regular Easter Workshops our ‘community’ began to grow, even at a distance, and so did our conflict with various Churches. Our Easter Workshops, which were normally a seven day event, were located in Northumbria with the final day taking place on Holy Island. We always tried to work and gain the support of local churches for the workshop.

In one town, we arrived at the Church who had agreed to host us, to be told by the Vicar that the Bishop had cancelled our meeting. Looking at the 60 or so people standing behind me, I informed the Vicar a booking had been made and paid for and walked passed him into the Church.

At another workshop, one of our communities had set up a meeting with all the Church leaders in a particular town. Terry, had worked hard to do this, she had spent time meeting with people privately or talking to folk on the phone. I was asked to speak at the meeting, and I shared some new monasticism themes. One of the Independent Church leaders stood up and declared me ‘psychologically unstable’ and off he went. Most of the other leaders joined him with the exception of two catholic Priests. They said we could use their Parish to host our workshop and said they could handle the occasional nutter!  It became our most creative workshop, whose themes would prepare us to embody new monasticism into a much wider community. Throughout these years of conflict with various Churches we were supported by communities from traditional monasticism: The Society of St. Francis at Alnmouth and the Community of the Transfiguration. Br Jonathan, Br Colin Wilfred, Br Ramon and Br Roland taught us the meaning of ‘constructive subversion’ in the Church.

When the Northumbria Community was founded in 1992, and we moved to our first Mother House, we had already won the trust of the local Churches. Bishop Alec of Newcastle visited Linda and I and apologized for our mistreatment by the Anglican Church. We were deeply moved by his humility and sincerity, and we accepted his invitation to have my Licence restored so I could minister as a Priest in our Community and in his Diocese. He also gave permission for the Eucharist to be celebrated in our Community Chapel by Anglican Clergy. This permission was given officially and unofficially by nearly every other expression of the One Holy Catholic Church.

The Mother House gave many more people an exposure to a new type of monasticism. They in turn, shared their experiences in their Church Communities, and the whole thing snowballed. The number of individuals and communities who have been influenced by Émigré: a new type of monasticism are too numerous to count nor is it possible to evaluate their very own distinctive contribution to Church and Society.

So, without doubt, new monasticism has got up ‘close and comfy’ with the Church in the UK…but are we in a beneficial relationship?  We can get round to that next time when we check out  ’constructive monastic subversion.’

I certainly would not have agreed to come back to Northumbria  if I thought it was just going to be a walk down memory lane. John and I had managed  to rebuild our lives and moved on in the purposes of God after our traumatic departure and ongoing exile from the community. We had made the inward journey through our bitterness, desolation and despair, and had woken on another shore ! Thanks to the love and faithfulness of God we had arrived in Ephesus, as the Lord had promised, with our ongoing vision still within our hearts, the Celtic Arc!

However, I knew it was important for Andy, John and I to record the hidden years on which the Northumbria Community was founded and established. All I was thinking: get the job done and head back to our adopted home!

I hadn’t been on the Island very long when I sensed God may have another purpose for bringing us all together here again. We all seemed to be looking out on the same horizons, and even when we were looking backwards and telling the story we were very much on the same page.

The first video with myself, John and Andy took place at the very same spot, opposite Cuthbert’s Island where some  ten years earlier I had  stood alone, saying goodbye. The video was unscripted, and we just said what was on our hearts. Afterwards it felt right, God was up to something and I wanted to go with it.

Most of our visit to Northumberland was spent on Holy Island. If we were not talking with or enjoying Anna and Andy’s hospitality then one or both of us were out and about on the Island. John spent many hours talking with Andy and recording video’s while Anna and I would go off walking or visiting people and places.

We had received a warm welcome from Andy, Anna, Joel and Martha and after many hours talking it was easy to see that God had been working in a similar way with Anna as He was with me and her vision was not only local but international. I could identify with the isolation and hardships that were part of her daily circumstances, and admired her ability to press on when times were  hard,  as well as the joy of hearing of the new opportunities  God had opened up for her in ministry.

Talking with Anna I recognised a similar calling to the desert, the aloneness, the call to pray and the hardships and joys that go with the territory.

Walking the Island, it was impossible not to be overcome with lots of memories. The most prominent in my mind  were the photographs of the first  Easter workshops  with the Alnwick folk all gathered round the village green,  sitting on the benches, waiting for the rest of the Easter folk to arrive: Keith and Nicola, Rob and Geraldine, Ronnie, Ebbs,  Kirsten , Sheila and Alan, Chris and Sandra, Brenda and the list goes on……!  These were very special times for all of us, especially the kids (there were lots of them!) who just loved Holy Island and Easter Workshops,

Being close to Cuthbert’s island reminded me of the Easter baptisms that took place, including two of my own kids Sadie and Ben, boy those were cold waters!  I think Sarah and Robert Haggerstone were baptised at the same time, and whisky was on hand for John and Andy afterwards to overcome the icy cold water and chilling winds.

Images of Kev and his coracles came flooding back, as he launched these tiny vulnerable boats into the waters encouraging folk to take a turn getting in them!  There were a  few rescue moments as the current decided to take several people further than they had wanted to go…….a prophetic moment in the making!

Another memory was of Ken and Norma , Pat , Brenda , Alan , Andy , Jayne , Sara , Sadie and Ben, John and I and others on Cuthbert’s island freezing to death dancing at the foot of the cross yet loving every minute of it!  And more serious times, as we prayed and danced in the Priory pushing back the darkness for another year.

As the years passed by, more faces were added to the memories, and people from all over the country made it there business to be with us at Easter.

One painful memory was standing on the edge of the rock close by Cuthbert’s island where we had committed Chris Coulter’s ashes into the sea and into the hands of His Father! It’s hard to believe even now that we lost Chris so young, and yet he had grasped so much internally and represented so much of what we were about.  He was actually on his way to an Easter Workshop when he had his fatal accident. Easter passed very solemnly for those of us who knew and loved Chris.

We visited St. Mary’s Church, and it was fantastic to see the sculpture of Cuthbert’s Coffin being carried by his monks: what an amazing piece of art. I felt the oneness again between the communities past and present, a sense of peace and continuity.

We were able to say a quick hello to Mark and Mary who have an amazing place and partnership expressing a way for living and much more in Mary’s art work. Again it evoked memories of Easter workshop when Mark and Neil would do combat with sticks and swords, and flirt with the young ladies, Mary included!!

It was captivating walking into Andy’s Hut at the back of the house where all the walls are covered in pictures and posters of memories, so many of them we recognised or shared, so many good and cherished times.

Our coracle took us down another more ancient path, to Ephesus and the community of the Beloved John and Mother Mary. Yet our beginnings are here, Uppersprings and Nethersprings, and it became clear in the days ahead that God had brought us home and back with Andy for a specific purpose, one which we just never anticipated or expected.