Let us open ourselves to one another,
Without fear of being hurt or turned away
For we need to confess our weaknesses,
To be covered by our brother’s love,
To be real, and learn our true identity.

Many shall be drawn to us and wonder
At the peace, and the love, and the joy that will never die,
They will drink from the stream of living water,
Flowing out from the fullness of our lives.

So help us to understand each other in the new and living way,
Not just accepting words that are spoken in themselves
But by speaking more clearly and listening more clearly,
We shall understand the spirit that’s within.

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God’s desire in creating us was that we should have full fellowship with Him. When Adam stretched out his hand to eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, his desire was to be like God. That was God’s intention for him- but the way He had planned, was that he should eat of the tree of Life, which had not been forbidden him. There was the need of structure and authority to bring about the growth of fellowship.

God is a living God, not a character on a throne. God wants to have living relationships with us. God, when He creates things, just creates things for the sake of it. When he made trees, He didn’t write “Jesus Saves” on the bark. If the tree couldn’t say it through its own life, a sticker couldn’t help. Our lives should express that God is alive. We’ve to be creative too because we’re made in his image. Who knows what creative powers we will have in the Age to come?

Adam rejected structure, grasped at equality, and lost hope of friendship, and fellowship with God. A father and son, when the son is mature, can have full fellowship together. Jesus came to draw us back into the structure and relationship that God intended. Phillipians 25 and following – God is love. “If you cut him in two, He’s love all the way through.” Equality should never be our aim. You have the right to remain unequal. You can only be fulfilled in what you were made to do.

God loves us equally, but other people have what we have not got, and we have got to learn and depend upon each other. Eph. 4 –The Ministers of the Church are to prepare the Body for the ministry. (We don’t go to bed with our ministry pips on!) You no longer should have to spank a 24 year old son – you should be able to have fellowship. If at any point in history, God chooses a few and invests authority in them, it is only to bless the many. (That was His purpose in choosing the Jews, -Through them, to bless all mankind.) He doesn’t sit on His throne, cheering, every time an Arab gets killed, or boo-ing when a Jew gets killed.

1) When we meet someone, our first duty is to bring Jesus to them or FIND Jesus in them

Not to hit the non Christian with a Gospel shot, but to bring the loving Jesus to them. If a person says he is a Christian, look for Jesus in him. Part of being hospitable, is to receive from your guest. Minister grace and truth to those we meet. When we have someone come and talk to us about another, behind their back, we should have the courage to say, “That doesn’t bless my Brother – you mustn’t talk like that.” If they receive that from you, they’ll come to trust you, you are ministering grace and truth.

2) We are called to develop friendship
Knowing how to lose at Scrabble, is as important as knowing how to prophecy. It’s no use coming into meetings or ministry, and not knowing how to love or have friends. Often Christian people with acclaimed ministries fall into sin- but we cannot judge them too quickly, it is often a result of their loneliness. Christians move off into immorality. Yes, it’s wrong, but why are they doing it? Because they’re lonely, so often. God wants to build us into such relationships of friendships, that single and married people alike, can feel fulfilled in every way, in the Body of Christ. Christ accepted us – we must accept other as they are. Develop relationships by serving. Pursue friendship by serving.

3) Enter into covenant with one another
God has written a law in our hearts by His Spirit. John 13 (34) There is nothing wrong with soul or body under the ruling of the Spirit. When David and Jonathan came together, they lay down their armor. Ruth made a covenant with Naomi, with no vested interest. Ruth means friendship. Covenant transcends denominational or non- denominational labels. We will leap over the walls. The barriers become superfluous.

4) We need to defer gifts
We submit to a mechanic’s ministry when our car is broken, our wives when they cook something we can’t. Submission only comes after recognition. It’s not filling vacancies. A man’s gift makes way for itself. When you see what I am in the body of Christ, when I see what you are in the Body of Christ, then we can submit one to another. Not just verbal submission only, but submission one to another in the Holy Spirit. Not blind obedience- can even question direction, when filled with the Spirit. Sometimes, even submit joyfully in the Spirit, when the decision is a mistake – as long as it’s not immoral anyway! Submit to one another gifts. (Three types)
a) Supernatural gifts are manifestations of the Holy Spirit to minister to someone else. (E.g. a gift of healing or of wisdom) Nothing you can do to get these, but covet them. They come, when He, the Holy Spirit wills. Submit to these gifts, manifested in the Body of Christ. (E.g. Let God use someone’s laying on of hands to heal you.)
b) Natural gifts abilities or aptitudes, with or without training which become useful. (E.g. Musical talents or easy grasp of mechanical things.)

c) Ministry gifts Apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher. We can desire these gifts but can’t decide to be them. Only Christ appoints these. Pyramid structure is not the work of God. You find pyramids in Egypt, not Israel! But there is the structure of the gifts, distributed in the Body, the elders amongst you. God’s authority must be a vital part of your life. But on the throne is the humble Lamb, on the throne is our Friend, and there’s room for us to come and sit up there with Him. The King came in peace on an ass into Jerusalem. We’re looking for that day, when we have manifested the love of Christ, through our relationships, to a dying world.
We look for a day of multitudes being in the valley of decision, and multitudes being converted unto Christ, a harvest of souls that will rise up to meet Him in the air, that will come back with Him to rule, and reign, and spread this across the face of the earth for the glory of God.

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.