Thank you for your continued support and prayers which means so much to us. Our Summerfests were wonderful. It was such a joy to welcome, over the three weeks, approximately 250 people of which half were under the age of 18. God is showing us the beauty of inter-generational worship, activities and, of course, fun.
Not wanting to sound like a stuck record, we still would value your prayers for more community members. As we enter a new month, we are losing three significant people in Jacob, Hannah and Isaac from the Kitchen, so we would very much value your prayers for Ruth as Team Leader. Until we get new community members we are having to re-imagine how we support the Kitchen Team during this time.
Please do let us know if there is anything we can pray for you by contacting us (at prayer@scargillmovement.org). It will be our joy and privilege to pray for you.
Please enjoy Di’s latest reflection inspired by our programme week with Roger Jones.
Diane writes:
Last week we had Roger Jones and his team working with their guests to produce Pharisee, one of his musicals. It is always absolutely amazing how with an unknown combination of musicians and singers they create a full evening’s entertainment. This year one of the opening songs was entitled ‘How I Love the Law’, by the end of the evening it had transformed to ‘How I love the Lord’. A subtle change but a very significant one.
‘How I Love the Law’ though reminded of a painting I used way back in 2016:’Hachanasat Sefer Torah’ by Chana Helen Rosenberg which depicts a ceremony for the installation of a new Torah scroll in the artist synagogue in Jerusalem. When a new scroll is complete it is carried to its new home where, if there are other Torah scrolls already housed, they are removed and carried outside to “welcome” the new scroll; then all the scrolls are carried inside together with singing, dancing, and musical accompaniment.
The artist Chana Helen Rosenberg wrote: I love the joyful dancing with the Word of God! Clinging to the Torah, the men dance. It is as if the Scrolls themselves have legs! I wanted to express, in as powerful a way as I was able, a Jew’s love of the Torah. I wanted the work to be rich, vibrant, and so full of joy that it couldn’t be contained on the canvas – I wanted to paint joy without bounds – joy leaping out of the canvas.’
Chana describes them as dancing not only with God but also with the word of God – a reminder of their ancestry, their history and our history. They are jubilant, triumphant, celebrating in the word of God. The word of God is central to their lives. The Torah and the people are one. The word of God is central to their lives. This made me consider how central I saw the word of God in my life? For me scriptures come alive when I write these reflections. I get very excited, moving around from one scripture to another – oh, the flexibility of the internet! searching for just the right quote and on the way encountering God ‘s great love and compassion as I read various blogs, opinions, thoughts, writings and ramblings etc.
As a child I remember every year in Sunday school there was a bible competition and we had to learn a passage word perfect. I can still recall the story of the healing at the Gate Beautiful. As I young adult it was also fashionable to have verse memory cards and posters in your room. Now all this seems very dated, but there is nothing dated about the word of God. How else can we begin to understand God, to have any idea of what he really wants of us, for us and with us.
In Psalm 119, the longest David wrote, all 176 verses are dedicated entirely to praising the law of God. Each verse references God’s word in some way, highlighting God’s wisdom and truth. Many verses are familiar to us:
1, 2 Happy are those who follow his commands, who obey him with all their heart. 33 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end 35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. 97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Today I was drawn to verses 18-20 ‘Open my eyes to see wonderful things in your Word. I am but a pilgrim here on earth: how I need a map – and your commands are my chart and guide’.
Maps, guides and charts lead us to where the treasure is, and Psalm 119 leads us to where X marks the spot – our treasure is stored in God’s word. Matthew 6:19: “There is no treasure on Earth as precious as the Word of God”.
That is why the ‘Hachanasat Sefer Torah’ painting is ‘full of joy,leaping out of the canvas.’ The Torah and the people are one, the word of God is central to their lives. And so it should be with us. Every single day, when we open up our Bibles, our phone apps, our word for the day, if we do so with expectant hearts and minds, we will find treasure: a pearl, a jewel, a phrase of encouragement, a piece of wisdom, a word of reassurance, a new understanding. They will encourages us to grasp and recognise what God really wants of us, for us and most of all with us.
We will be walking with our God – Oh, How I love the law / How I love the Lord. Amen
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
As I write this, we are just over half way through our Summerfest season and it has been wonderful. It has been a joy to have so many young people with their parents and grandparents enjoying Scargill.
We would very much value your prayers for Community as we will be soon saying goodbye to some members who have added much to our life over the last few years, and at this moment we are not sure who will be coming to join the adventure here at Scargill from the Autumn. So, please pray for us and if you know of anyone who you feel may be called to join Scargill Community then do encourage them to get in touch.
Below is Di’s reflection – ‘Sun on the hill’ – enjoy!
Diane writes: Let the name of the Lord be praised now and forever. From dawn until sunset the name of the Lord deserves to be praised.’ Psalm 113
It is so good to be back in Yorkshire which really is a beautiful part of the world. Summerfest has started with the rare occurrence of sunshine for more than a day! And this morning I took a photo of the sun rising down the hillside whilst holding the camera at a quite precarious angle, as the windows have limited opening powers! To be honest I have taken several over the past 14 years – in fact nearly every time I caught the shadow moving. And when I do, I always find myself standing in awe of ‘a transcendent God who cares enough for humankind to look down, reach down, and raise up the poor and needy of the earth’. Also, from Psalm 113.
As I look across the valley my thoughts ramble along in no particular order – how straight and neat the sunline is and remains, how we see the light of the sun rather than the sun itself, how the movement down is so slight it is almost imperceptible, how the shadow is slowly but firmly being pushed down, pushed away, that there is a period of time before we are able to actually see the sun, but we know it is there. And then I say to myself ‘SURELY there must be a reflection here!’ And would you believe it when working with the primary children later in the day we read in Matthew 5.14-16 :
‘You are the light of the world…… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’
So, at last, I am putting pen to paper!
For me, this photo shows me that God is always reaching down to us although as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13: ‘Now all we can see of God is like a cloudy picture in a mirror (or the sunlight on the hillside). Later we will see him face to face. … For now, there are faith, hope and love. But of these three the greatest is love’.
In John’s gospel. Jesus calls us to love one another, ‘You must love each other just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples. John also in his first letter writes, ‘My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows we have been given new life. We are now God’s children, and we know him. …. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts’.
This is where we need to be the light coming down the hill side, for others. We often talk about going that extra mile to help, of being generous with our time and resources, of seeing with God’s eyes and acting accordingly. I feel sure this is our calling, and not just here at Scargill. We are all to be people with big-hearts and open-hands; a ready smile, full of joy and laughter. To have the mind-set of “I care about you as a person”, just as you are; with all your shadows and gifts. This is contagious because, like the sun, it warms the hearts of those it touches and allows the love of Christ to be visible – in all we do, all we say and particularly through who we are.
But don’t forget the light in the photo was for all to see. As well as being light to others we need to spend time in God’s presence and to become more open to seeing the light, the glimpses of glory, all around us. Matt Whitney, an artist I have used for several Advent weekends, wrote ‘riding the bus forces me to wait. It’s in these waiting moments that I seem to have glimpses of glory – kind deeds done amongst strangers crammed into an overcrowded bus, catching a sunset over the Ballard Locks, or the seemingly random flourishes of inspiration that strike me when my mind wanders. Spaces between immanence and transcendence are revealed. I have a heightened sense of spiritual awareness when I ride the bus – such an unlikely place for this to happen!’ Or is it?
So next time you see the sun rise or just the light on the hill give thanks to a God who ’showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life’ and be expectant for the moments you can share that love to others.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Di and I have now been back a week from our sabbatical, and it feels very good to be back. The Leadership and Community have lived well during this time, and we are very grateful to them. We look forward to sharing about our sabbatical adventures.
Over the last week, Community has grown a bit. We are currently a wonderfully international community and have recently welcomed new members from Poland, India, Kenya, Hungary and Sweden. Looking ahead, we realise that challenging times are before us as we know that Community will be changing a great deal in the Autumn. Very soon we will be saying goodbye to Hilary and Ivan who have been wonderful members of Community over the last six years – journeying with us through the challenges of Covid. They have been a loving, fun and deeply caring presence. We will most certainly miss them. Please pray for them as they begin a new adventure.
If you have anyone in mind who you think would be good to join the Scargill Community adventure – do ask them, in the first instance, to fill out an inquiry form on the ‘Join Community’ page on the website here: https://old.scargillmovement.org/join-community/
We will be soon entering into our Summerfest programme which is a beautiful inter-generational experience. Please pray for those guests who will be coming and the Community as we welcome them.
Here is Di’s reflection on our time in Fetlar, (One of the Shetland islands). Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Genesis 28 – Jacob’s dream at Bethel – God says ‘Know that I am with you and will keep with you wherever you go’.
These reflections during our sabbatical have helped me focus on home. Initially where home was, where it currently is and where it is to be! As the days and weeks went by, I have become more and more aware of ‘home; and all that the word encompasses. And, whilst visiting Sweden, I found a book with the nifty title: ‘From The Age of Surveillance Capitalism’ by Shoshana Zuboff, and read ‘Home is where we know and where we are known, where we love and are beloved. Home is mastery, voice and sanctuary: part freedom, part flourishing… part refuge, part prospect.’ … ‘The sense of home slipping away provokes an unbearable yearning.’
Here was a far more eloquent way of articulating my restless thoughts, of verbalizing my wishes and yearnings with even an explanation of why:
‘It is in the nature of human attachment that every journey and expulsion sets into motion the search for home… finding home is one of our most profound needs…There is a universally shared ache to return to the place we left behind or to find a new home in which our hopes for the future can nest and grow. ‘
But now I find that home has become more as a constant presence rather than a place. You see our sabbatical slowly morphed into being a pilgrimage. We have sought God, sought refreshment, sought guidance. It has been a time to acknowledge the past, to accept the present, to hope and dream dreams for the future.
Why pilgrimage? Cintra Pemberton wrote in Soulfaring: ‘Pilgrim people are always on the move, on an interior or literal journey, always seeking that which will draw them closer to their God, seeking that which is Holy.’ And if Psalm 90 opens with these words – ‘Our Lord, in all the generations you have been our home!’ then home is where God is and God is here, with us, now and always.
If that is true, Phil Cousineau in ‘The Art of Pilgrimage’ writes ‘What matters most on your journey is how deeply you see, how attentively you hear, how richly the encounters are felt in your heart and soul’. A reminder that we can see God in the ordinary, in the here and now. That we can be ‘at home’ with God wherever we are. As Bridget Macauley wrote: the ‘presence of God is not simply encased in the past and in historical tradition, nor merely hoped for in a prophetic future. We follow God in the here and now with all that our lives are full of, with all that trips us up, with all that makes us laugh, with the mess, the muddle and even the mundane’ because this is where God is – the holy here and now!
We bought this painting, ‘Journey Prayer’ in Shetland Mainland, at the conclusion of our Sabbatical but not our pilgrimage! There is much symbolism to take in, including that of the Orca or Killer Whale, perhaps surprising to be there, but the Orca features strongly in the mythologies of indigenous cultures and interestingly the Native Orca Symbol symbolizes family, romance, longevity, harmony, travel, community and protection. He is said to protect those who travel away from home, and to lead them back when the time comes.
So, we have returned physically home but my pilgrimage continues. It will I am sure continue as I write these reflections with you all in mind. As I look around to see where God has been present, and perhaps where he hasn’t and notice what that means for me, for us today. Always, I have been gently drawn closer to my God.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Shaun Lambert writes:
It was Mary Oliver the poet who wrote ‘attention is the beginning of devotion’ in her collection of essays, Upstream: Selected Essays.[1] One of the things she does is say hello to individual trees, flowers, butterflies, because she knows them as friends. She has walked by them many times. She names them as well. This seems to echo St. Francis when he says hello to Sister Moon and Brother Sun. I think this recognizing and naming is the beginning of devotion, being attentive to the creation all around us.
Many of us are devoted to Scargill, something here has caught and retained our attention. Perhaps, we have had an epiphany, a moment of meeting with God, an experience of wonder. Wonder is a form of attention, sometimes something captures our attention, occasionally we train ourselves to wonder at even the most ordinary of things.
Next time you visit us say hello to your favourite bench, or view or tree. Find out its name or give it a name with the same sense of wonder creatures must have been named in the Garden of Eden. The estate bears repeated considerations of its beauty.
Devotion is an interesting word, and although it is used less and less in literature it is an important word. We should reclaim it. It implies loyalty, selflessness and an act of consistent attention toward something. Originally it had the strength of making a vow or promise. I have seen devotion in the community, devotion amongst working friends, devotion from guests. One thing I have noticed is that this devotion is freely given, not begrudged. It doesn’t seem to come out of a sense of duty, but because somehow the place, the people have caught the attention of our heart.
[1] Mary Oliver, Upstream: Selected Essays (New York: Penguin, 2016), loc. 166 of 1669, Kindle.
Dear Friends
We hope you are enjoying our latest Momentum magazine/Programme, covering events September 2024 to February 2025, and are making plans for when you can next connect with us either online or in-house. Here is the Momentum/Programme as a PDF.
Forthcoming online events with spaces available for you to join us:
Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd June The Bass Note led by Adrian and Bridget Plass Wednesday 10th July Online Quiet Day (Free and Donation tickets available) Wednesday livestream services (4:30-5pm) – (on our Youtube channel) same link to catch up later
As a community, we recently enjoyed welcoming our guests of all ages for our Paddington themed May Half Term, and are looking forward to welcoming guests for all sorts of events and groups over the Summer.
Joining the Scargill adventure as a residential community member As Summer approaches, the community will be welcoming some short-term summer workers amongst us. There are also a number of community member departures scheduled before September, as folk come to the end of their time with us and move on to new things.
We would welcome applications from folk for a shorter or longer stay, and there are gaps opening up across a number of teams – is God calling you or someone you know to be a part of the Scargill Community?
Please pray for God to send us the right people to join us for the Autumn, and join the adventure of living and serving on this Christian community. You may know someone who you think would both benefit from and contribute to the residential Scargill community. Do ask them to be in touch with us to enquire about joining – see here.
Phil and Di sabbatical Phil and Di are now two-thirds of the way through their sabbatical. Di shares here some reflections on their recent trip to Italy and the life of St Francis of Assisi. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
During this mid-section of our sabbatical, we travelled to Italy with Jo P to visit two linked religious communities – Bose, the main house in North Italy, where we been many times and one of their three small houses which happens to be in Assisi!
Our journey started by car then plane, coach, bus, train and taxi!! It felt very much like being on a pilgrimage – as indeed it turned out to be with a few days later and another day’s travelling we arrived in Assisi. Along the way we were also reading Chasing Francis – a pilgrim’s tale by Ian Morgan Cron. It is in the genre of WISDOM literature with a delicate balance of fiction and nonfiction, pilgrimage and teaching, focusing on the life of St Francis.
The story opens with these words:
“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to my senses in a dark forest, For I had lost the straight path. Oh, how hard it is to tell what a dense, wild and tangled wood this was the thought of which renews my fears!” From – Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy – Canto1 lines 1-6
Now I have never read The Divine Comedy and probably never will but these words spoke to me. I felt very much like the main character, floundering in the unknown, the where, when and why-for not yet clear, a new way of being community – will we be able to stay the course?
Thankfully we were in a beautiful place, full of peace and quiet and as I began reading there was this quote from Anne Frank.
‘The best remedy for those who are afraid or unhappy is to go outside some where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens and nature and God, because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty in nature’
Not only were we encircled by the beauty of the surrounding countryside, there was also the incredible artwork in Bose, the frescos of Assisi filling many of the churches we visited as well as the beauty in the simplicity of the few unadorned churches, water fountains and fields. I also discovered that every confessional has a cross impregnated in the screen separating the priest and the individual. You’ll be pleased to know I checked in every church we visited! And I became truly excited about the idea that Christ is there in the centre of their conversation reminding me that he is also ever present with me and all the conversations and interaction I have each day.
Ian Morgan Cron also reminds us Francis loved God, the world and all that is in it, passionately. He was convinced that how we live together is what attracts people to faith. His way of evangelising people was through the example of his own life….” It is no good walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching” in other words we need to ‘walk the talk!’ That Christ is present when we offer radical generosity and open hospitality – eating together, praying together, embracing all – doing life together which has always excited and energised me and I know it will continue to. It seems to be in my DNA! Chasing Francis concludes with these lines from Dante’s Divine Comedy:
By that hidden way My guide and I did enter to return To the fair world: and heedless of repose We climbed, he first, I following his steps, Till on our view the beautiful lights of heaven Dawn’d through a circular opening in the cave: Thus issuing we again beheld the stars.
Our journeys are full of new chapters and mine now continues with the hope of Dante’s stars and the assurance that where ever we go our home will be a house of peace, a house of welcome, a house of laughter and a house of prayer, for all.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
The Scargill Community are continuing to welcome guests through our doors, who are enjoying the refurbished Marsh Lounge, seeing all the other fruit of the building work labours of the past year, and continue to receive from God via the experience of meeting here, walking in the beautiful grounds, listening to inspired speakers, and sharing conversation over meals.
Swifts and Swallows, our Summer bird visitors, have returned and it is a joy to see them soaring in flight over the site, and watch the change into Summer revealed by the plants, trees and creatures that call Scargill their home.
Phil and Di have enjoyed the first month of their sabbatical, and are to be away for another two months of sabbatical time. Di has taken time to write a reflection on knitting – see below.
We are preparing for the release of our latest combined Momentum magazine and Programme covering new events running from September 2024 to February 2025, and is due out on Monday 13th May in the morning (during office hours).
Our website events pages will be made live to coincide with printed copies of our publication starting to reach your doorstep. When the programme is released, do put in your booking requests via the website (rather than by ‘phone) to help our lovely Admin Team deal with your booking requests in the order that they are made, and we thank you in advance for your patience as we work through each booking in turn.
In the meantime, do look at our website for online and in-house events (May to August 2024) that still have space – we would love to see you!
We would like to highlight the following on-line events for you to join from the comfort of your own home:
So our sabbatical has started and I have given myself the task of learning how to use a circular needle to knit a jumper. Not a very challenging or inspiring task you may say, but one that has already led me to reflect and learn.
The last jumper I attempted to knit was several years ago and it came out square!!!!!!!!!! I had bought a pattern, the correct wool and as far as I know followed the instructions to the tee – often, as you can imagine, drinking a cuppa as well. It was all very disappointing.
But here I am loving the challenge and the circular needles; so easy to hold and at last I have reached a section where all I do is go round and round in circles knitting away, which may I quickly say is not the profound part. No, enlightenment came when all was not as it should be, when all was not plain sailing, by any means. You see it took me several attempts to cast on using a Swedish method and then I found ‘making a stitch’ quite demanding, my fingers failing to be either dexterous or nimble and to top it all I keep losing my markers. But on I go, why? because I have a lovely supportive friend who is always there on the end of an email offering advice and encouragement.
Now the book of Proverbs gives us much sound advice about friends: Friends give pleasant, sincere advice, seeking our highest good (Proverbs 27:9; Proverbs 12:26); Friends challenge each other to meet the highest good (Proverbs 27:17). They also command us to, “… not forsake your friend” (Proverbs 27:10). Mine certainly hasn’t.
But what really came to mind were the lyrics from a great old hymn – “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” written by Joseph Scriven, a native of Dublin, Ireland (1820-1886).
What a friend we have in Jesus All our sins and griefs to bear What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit O what needless pain we bear All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged Take it to the Lord in prayer Can we find a friend so faithful Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness Take it to the Lord in prayer
Here is the reminder that God is our refuge and strength, an ever–present help in trouble (Psalm 46v1). We can take all our concerns and needs to Jesus in prayer. Jesus who also calls us friend. In John 15 we read: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”
So, my friends, much to reflect and be grateful for. Not only in the richness of true friendships here on earth but also in the knowledge that we have a heavenly friend and saviour who cares and loves each one of us.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We would like to wish you a very joyful Easter.
We have just finished our Holy Week and Easter Weekend event, which was a moving and joy-filled experience. You can hear my talk from Easter Sunday here.
Di and I have just begun our three-month sabbatical, but be encouraged to know that Di wants to carry on with her monthly reflections.
Please pray for the Community during this time as they continue to welcome guests.
Below is Di’s reflection. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Happy Easter all. We have travelled through Holy Week, waited through Holy Saturday and celebrated our risen lord on Easter Sunday. Chocolate eggs, or rabbits have been eaten and we can now look forward to Spring, to new life in Christ.
But just before we do, can we have a look at this most beautiful of paintings: ‘Mary and the mother of Judas embrace’ by Nicholas Mynheer, from ‘The Life of Mary’ series 2014, and then read the poem.
Two Mothers
Long time ago, so I have been told, Two angels once met on streets paved with gold. “By the stars in your crown,” said the one to the other “I see that on earth, you too, were a mother.
And by, the blue-tinted halo you wear “You, too, have known sorrow and deepest despair…” “Ah yes,” she replied, “I once had a son, A sweet little lad, full of laughter and fun.”
“But tell of your child.” “Oh, I knew I was blessed From the moment I first held him close to my breast, And my heart almost burst with the joy of that day.” “Ah, yes,” said the other, “I felt the same way.”
The former continued: “The first steps he took- So eager and breathless; the sweet startled look Which came over his face – he trusted me so.” “Ah, yes,” said the other, “How well do I know”
“But soon he had grown to a tall handsome boy, So stalwart and kind – and it gave me so much joy To have him just walk down the street by my side” “Ah yes, “said the other mother, “I felt the same pride.”
“How often I shielded and spared him from pain And when he for others was so cruelly slain. When they crucified him – and they spat in his face How gladly would I have hung there in his place!”
A moment of silence – “Oh then you are she – The mother of Christ”; and she fell on one knee. But the Blessed one raised her up, drawing her near, And kissed from the cheek of the woman, a tear.
“Tell me the name of the son you love so, That I may share with your grief and your woe.” She lifted her eyes, looking straight at the other, “He was Judas Iscariot: I am his mother.”
[Author Unknown]
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
This week Jo Penn has been writing Morning worship reflections for Sanctuary First (Sun 17 to Sat 23 March 2024). These are based around Mary Magdalene and the women who followed Jesus, and the commandment to love God, love neighbour and love self. Here are three monologues from the perspective of Mary Magdalene: around the cross, the burial and Easter morning (see Sanctuary First for the other reflections):
Thank you so much for your prayers and support – we really do appreciate your love.
We are delighted that the building work of Phase 7 is all but finished. The Marsh Lounge is truly transformed and is a beautiful space. On Friday we welcomed Archbishop Stephen. We had a wonderful time with Stephen and part of the day was a celebration service re-dedicating the Marsh Lounge to our loving God and the ongoing ministry of Scargill.
Below are a couple of photos, one just showing how spacious and beautiful the Lounge now looks, without the pillars, and the glorious art installation (created by Michelle Gillam-Hull), and the other with Stephen and Felicity Lawson, Chair of our Council.
The refurbished Marsh Lounge – Phil StoneArchbishop Stephen, Phil Stone and Felicity Lawson
We often talk about Scargill being an adventure and the day felt like reaching a glorious point on that journey. We are very grateful to Dave Lucas for holding the project over the last nine months, working closely with the contractors. Dave’s care and attention to detail, and fostering good relationships with the contractors, has been key.
We are so thankful for God’s faithfulness and love which is often expressed through our Friends. Thank you!
There are still online tickets available to join us ‘virtually’ for journey through Holy Week and Easter weekend – it would be good to see you online.
Here is Di’s latest reflection on the wonder of the Curlew. It’s a joy to welcome their ‘call’ back….
Diane writes:
The Curlews have returned, they have been heard, they have been seen. Phil and I bought this painting by Liz Toole from a little art shop on the Isle of Arron. To be honest it was all we could afford but what a treasure we found. A daily reminder of the joy of hearing that first cry of the Curlew heralding Spring.
Our love for the Curlew also led us to a delightful exhibition in Hawes: ‘The Cry of the Curlew’. On entering the exhibition there stood this poem.
EXTINCTION Have you heard the call of The Curlew? I tell you I would rather we lost the entire contents of every art gallery In the world than lose The cry of the Curlew.
Alistair Mcintosh
A passionate, ardent poem drawing a range of strong feelings. One minute I liked it, another I was angered by it. It seemed a bit OTT to me, abandoning everything for the Curlew! But as Phil said being Over The Top was probably intended, the poet wanted to ignite our feelings. Which he certainly did! My thoughts went to Deuteronomy 6, a passionate, OTT passage, perhaps!
‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God! So, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. Memorize his laws and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you’re at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning… Worship Only the Lord’. Here is a passionate call from Moses to listen to God, obey Him, and love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength.’
I don’t really do passionate but I did ask myself ‘Do I love God in that way – with ALL my heart, soul and strength. Do I listen, obey and love Him? Am I all consumed by God?’ Perhaps, at times, but I’m not so sure. Is this not just Old Testament and the Law of Moses?
Well, NO it isn’t! in Mark 12 (CEV) Jesus tells us ““The most important (commandment) says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.”
Well, that’s clear – there is only ONE God who calls us to be fully immersed in His love, to love God above ourselves, being willing to lay down our life for our God. There is an understanding that loving God is a natural response to having been loved first. ‘We love because he first loved us’ 1 John 4:19. Love made the first move; our love for God is simply a response to His love for us as is loving our brother and sister. In fact, loving our brother is not only an expectation; it is a must.
And when we love God with all that we are, everything else falls into place, God’s place, God’s perspective, God’s balance. We find ourselves spending time with God, telling others about Jesus, serving others, and building others up.
Loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength takes our everyday loving of family, friends and neighbours to a different level. Maybe even a passionate level!
So how well do I, do you, really love God today? Do we just love God or do we really LOVE God, passionately love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength?
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Thank you so much for your love and prayers – it does mean so much to us.
There is good news regarding Phase 7: We are glad to say that we will be able to use the Marsh Lounge again in the very near future. This is how it is looking at the moment:
There are a few finishing bits still to be done but all the work on the lights down the drive, the new car park, new windows, sewage system, renewing of the Old House and of course the Marsh Lounge is looking splendid. The damage to the Walled Garden wall has been fixed. So, as we look forward to Spring we come to it with hopefulness and thankfulness.
Although the project has cost more than we budgeted (due to us adding elements and some unexpected costs) we have managed to pay for the whole work without borrowing, and we still have some money in the bank! We have much for which to be thankful.
Scargill is not really about the buildings – it is about the Community that live together here – and we are in good heart preparing to receive a good number of young people over these next two weeks of half term. We would value your prayers for these inter-generational weeks.
Here is Di’s reflection all about snowdrops. Enjoy:.
Diane writes:
Both Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 declare that God is the same always and never ever changes. He is always good, always loving, always all-powerful. No matter how this world changes around us, we can trust God is consistent. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
On our journey back from our last visit to St Oswald’s House, having shared a beautiful, if sad, weekend, these words from Hebrews ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever’ kept coming to mind. They were a reminder that Jesus Christ is in all, has always been and always will be – what a lot of, always, – sorry.
Anyway, off I went in search of a painting and found “Tenderness” by Marina Mera on the statchiart.com website. I had been looking for an expression of God’s constant love plus the assurance that although circumstances may change from the darkest hours to the brightest days our Jesus does not. I found this in the bond of ‘tenderness’ from one generation to another as well as a hint of protection from the tiny hand being gently enfolded by the aged hands, in prayer!
Tenderness – Marina Mera
Can we believe that God can draw a greater good even from circumstances where we fail to see His presence, as Julian of Norwich wrote: “Here I was taught by the grace of God that I should steadfastly hold me in the Faith … and that … I should take my stand on and earnestly believe in … that ‘all manner of thing shall be well”’ (The Revelations of Divine Love, Chapter 32). Of course, I often find myself questioning ‘why?’ but perhaps we should not put a question mark where God put a period! ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever’ – period.
On our journey home I also remembered, as we prayed, a comment made about God’s spirit brooding over the waters as well as being ever present now. Another prompt to an omnipresent God, an ever-present God who is here in the dark times as well as the light. And on returning to Scargill we saw the first snowdrops, the first sign of Spring, a reminder that although besieged by gale force winds, snow and storms I knew that soon the coming of the crocus will herald the arrival of daffodils who will once again dance along our highways and byways.
Yes, the God of past seasons is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” The final message that Julian of Norwich’s left with us was, “And all will be well”, “all manner of things shall be well”. Surely as relevant today as it was yesterday. And if that is so, let us pray:
Spirit of peace, quiet our hearts, Heal our anxious thoughts, And free us from our fretful ways. Breath on us your holy calm, So that in the stillness of your presence We may open ourselves to trust, And be transformed. Amen
(Morning prayers – Watch, Wait)
With much love from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
On behalf of the Scargill Community we would like to wish you a peaceful and joy filled Christmas.
Please remember the St Oswald’s Community, Whitby in your prayers as the house closes and the Community are dispersed by the end of January.
Listening In by Charles Spencelayh (1865–1958), exhibited 1933, from the Tate Gallery. The description speaks of an ‘old man listening attentively to a startlingly modern wireless through a pair of head phones.’
Yesterday, as we entered the Harry Potter Experience with two of our grandchildren, we read these words from JK Rowling ‘No story lives unless someone wants to listen.’ I wanted to add – no story lives unless it is told.
A week ago, sitting at the back of Chapel, for once allowing myself to listen to one of our guest speakers, I found myself looking at people’s ears! (possibly because we were being encouraged to listen!) At first, I was struck by how funny ears are, two rather oddly wing shaped appendages, then of course I remembered that they serve us very well allowing us to hear all the sounds around, sweet as well as harsh.
I then began to think about my listening skills, well, they’re often not great! There are times I find myself mainly out of anxiety, butting-in whilst others are speaking, full of my thoughts and solutions, rather than hearing what is really being said. Unlike our first painting where we have an ‘old man listening attentively and in amazement’.
As did Joseph. Joseph a man of no words, a man of action: he plans, he resolves, he dreams, he hears an angel of the Lord, changes his mind, and obeys.
As did the shepherds. Who listened to the angels with utter astonishment and amazement and then left immediately, ‘with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.’
As did Mary. Who ‘treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.’
Now I am fairly sure most of us won’t have a heavenly visitation, perhaps we may have a dream or two, perhaps not. Remember though ‘No story lives unless someone wants to listen’ – no story lives unless it is told.
This Christmas we can all hear God’s voice afresh, if we listen with renewed hearts to the words we read, hear and see, pondering them like Mary. Can we like Joseph treasure God’s words, savour them, try to understand little by little what God is asking of each of us. Can we like the Shepherds eagerly share the Christmas story of hope to a world that desperately needs it.
Georges de la Tour, The Newborn Christ, 1640s, Museum of Fine Art, Rennes, (Daily Art magazine ISLA PHILLIPS-EWEN 1 DECEMBER 2020
With much love and prayers
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We are glad to announce that the new Scargill Programme (covering new events both in-house and online from March to August 2024), combined with our latest Momentum magazine, will be available to book online from Wednesday 8th November (from after morning coffee) – please place booking requests via the website if possible, as our ‘phone lines will be busy.
Our lovely Admin Team will be working their way through your requests in order, and will respond to specific requests as soon as they are able. We hope that you enjoy our new publication as you read, browse and start to make plans to come to visit us. We look forward to welcoming you through our doors or seeing you online at one of these programme events.
Momentum is packed full of articles for you to enjoy and includes updates on our Phase 7 Building project which has been progressing well since April.
We are still looking for new members of the Community who can be a lead on worship and youth – Job Descriptions are here. Please do pray with us for the right people to join the Scargill adventure.
This month, Di has been reflecting on ‘faith’. Enjoy!
Diane writes: Evening Prayer liturgy: Opening prayer God the fulfiller of enduring promises, God the sharer of abundant love, and giver of eternal life We remember Your faithfulness God, who calls all life into being – the earth, sea and sky are Yours Your Spirit enlivens all who walk on earth We remember Your faithfulness We praise and thank you this day We remember Your faithfulness Our prayer is one and simple May God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, God’s righteousness and beauty echo through the universe
A while back in morning prayers I heard a quote from David Pawson ’It is not the faith we start with but the faithfulness we finish with that is important.’ I was intrigued and challenged by these words, placing them on my desk and mulling over them. Then recently we had cause to have been given a courtesy car and I was horrified to find no brake handle to firmly hold onto when wanting to release or apply my brakes. NO! All I had to do was apparently rely on a button that shone, presumably to reassure me, and another that said AUTO HOLD. Hence the most uninspiring photo to look at.
But it does highlight my apparent complete lack of faith in technology. I found it really hard to believe that those two buttons were going to keep me safe, I honestly felt scared avoiding at one point to drive it. But that was silly, so, yes, I did embrace the technology and even began to rest and relax when stopping or parking. Alas, just as I began to ‘enjoy’ driving the car, in fact only yesterday, we had to return it – I had survived, Phew!! And it was such a joy to use a handbrake again.
So why was it so difficult to have faith in the light and the button – perhaps because it was trust I was lacking rather than faith. Which did get me thinking once again about faith. Merriam-Webster defines faith as “belief and trust in and loyalty to God.” So, there is a link between the two words but recent research has prompted some to argue that New Testament faith and belief in Jesus should be understood in terms of faithfulness, loyalty, and commitment to him and his teachings, rather than in terms of belief, trust and reliance.
Faith is important because faith frames who we are, our existence, our values, our hopes, and our dreams. Faith is the quiet calm before a storm as well as the anchor within it. You see Faith is a gift from God, an absolutely gratuitous gift. It is the establishment of God’s relationship to his people. A relationship our evening prayer reminds us of with the refrain ‘we remember His faithfulness’.
The Old Testament is full of examples of God’s faithfulness. We are all very familiar with Noah’s rainbow and whilst writing I saw the most beautiful double rainbow. A visual reminder that God’s promise to Noah is not simply part of an ancient story or merely a symbol of hope, it is a living example of God’s faithfulness. It is an assurance that God has not forgotten us and that he continues to work in this world. Also, I read an article (https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/2… Posted by Christine on November 11, 2022) about faithfulness’ through the eyes of Caleb. Christine talked about Caleb, one of the twelve spies, along with Joshua who were sent to ‘suss out’ Canaan. They were the only two who brought back a good report [because they trusted God!!] Joshua and Caleb ‘through Eyes of Faith’ saw no reason to delay but to immediately go and take the land. Caleb was a man who remembered the God who was faithful, and on that basis, plus God’s promise, he trusted him. And that trust readied him for action. We too have the choice to either see with eyes of faith what may seem impossible for us to accomplish or see with expectant eyes of faith what is possible for us, us only to accomplish – an interesting thought!
This reflection has strengthened my resolve to seeing faith in the terms of faithfulness, of moving beyond being something I think to including an attitude of action. James’ letter is all about the works of faith, in fact faith is the centrepiece of his argument. In 2v14 James writes “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?” And a few verses later he firmly answers his own question by stating, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead”. Well, that’s quite clear!
What makes faith a living and a saving faith is what you do about it. We must not stop at a faith that involves mere mental consent. Our faith is meaningless unless it produces the confidence in God that would cause us to act … to take on giants in the land.
So let me finish as I started with our Evening Prayer liturgy:
Closing prayer May Your kingdom come O Lord, on earth as it is in heaven, May our words proclaim it, our actions reveal it May Your kingdom come through us, this day and every day May we feel its heartbeat of love
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Autumn is coming to the Dales. The trees on the estate are beginning to change colour with beautiful bronze and golden colours, and we are also getting our fair share of rain!
The building work is going well with the work currently focusing on the Marsh Lounge roof. The other parts of Phase 7 (front of the old house, woodland car park, new sewage plant and widening of the entrance ) are making progress and work has started on the Walled Garden walls. Lots going on! Please continue to pray for all those who come on site that they may experience the love of God, and our ongoing good relationships with them.
This Autumn Community has changed shape. We are delighted to welcome Sarah who joins the Admin team, Annie, Chaplain, who will be on the Pastoral and House teams, and John who is on the Kitchen and Estate teams.
We are still looking for new members of the Community who can be a lead on worship and youth – Job Descriptions are here. We are also looking urgently for a new Community member to join the Personnel team. Please do pray with us for the right people to join the Scargill adventure.
We would also value your prayers for St Oswald’s Community (many of you will remember Jackie, Paul and Michyla).This Community was founded in partnership between Scargill and the Sisters of the Order of the Holy Paraclete Whitby (OHP). This was to continue and develop the ministry of the sisters at St Oswald’s Pastoral Centre which they own. OHP, due to their own financial difficulties, have decided to sell St Oswald’s – this has not been an easy decision for them. This obviously puts in jeopardy the life of this fledgling Community and a beautiful ministry of hospitality that has been so well received by those who stay. Please pray for the Community and their Trustees (Phil is Chair of Trustees) as they discern a life giving and creative way forward in a future that is uncertain – here is a link to their website
Here is Di’s latest reflection on the gift of colour – enjoy!
A Bit of Colour (by Anonymous)
Grey was the morn, all things were grey,
‘Twas winter more than spring;
A bleak east wind swept o’er the land,
And sobered everything.
Grey was the sky, the fields were grey,
The hills, the woods, the trees –
Distance and foreground – all the scene
Was grey in the grey breeze.
Grey cushions, and a grey skin rug,
A dark grey wicker trap,
Grey were the ladies’ hats and cloaks,
And grey my coat and cap.
A narrow, lonely, grey old lane;
And lo, on a grey gate,
Just by the side of a grey wood,
A sooty sweep there sat!
With grimy chin ‘twixt grimy hands
He sat and whistled shrill;
And in his sooty cap he wore
A yellow daffodil.
And often when the days are dull,
I seem to see him still –
The jaunty air, the sooty face –
And the yellow daffodil.
Recently Margi and I led an Enneagram course away from Scargill and we were given an Airbnb for our stay. It was a small 2 up / 2 down very clean, neat and tidy. What struck me the most was the grey sofa, grey blinds, grey curtains, grey carpets. The grey kitchen, grey bed, grey bed linen, even a grey garden path leading to grey wicker chairs. BUT there was a vase with white silk flowers and, yes you’ve guessed it – green leaves. HOORAY a touch of colour!
Without colour life has been described as ’a dull canvas’ – without vibrancy – monotonous – dull. And to be honest I found the house oppressive, hanging my red pinafore dress not in the wardrobe but on the back of the door to give me a splash of colour. A splash of colour that I believe many of us need in these disturbing and difficult times. Colour reminds me of God. Look around you. The world, both the rural and city are full of colour. Life itself is full of colour – in the characters we meet along the way, the places we visit, the conversations we have. God’s world is not black and white and ours shouldn’t be either.
Bringing colour in to our lives is bringing God into our life. God has given us, his children, a precious gift of vivid colours for us to enjoy. And enjoying life is central to all that happens here at Scargill; whilst our official colour is blue I am convinced we radiate yellow which is the perfect colour for laughter and is associated with joy, happiness, and humour or perhaps orange which is the colour of comfort and warmth, playfulness and social interaction. Maybe red which represents love or green which is all around us bringing springtime, freshness, and hope. Perhaps the colours of Scargill should be the colours of the rainbow a symbol of God’s promise to all.
We know there are times when the colours we encounter are grey or black or red or purple . . . the hard things of life. But then by faith we know that like ‘the jaunty air and the yellow daffodil’ God’s presence is still here, all the time, within all and all around, whether we see Him or not. Perhaps this is the time to remember that often a stormy grey sky holds a rainbow high for us all to see.
We have a choice, we can choose the positive and see all the colours set out before us, or we can choose negative and live in a perpetual storm of grey. We can choose friends who bring us down or friends who help us see an orange sunset when colour eludes us. Allen Klein wrote ‘Your attitude is like a box of crayons that colour your world. Constantly colour your picture grey, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colours to the picture by including humour, and your picture begins to lighten up.’ And this can be a beacon to others – the way we get through challenges and live out our lives in the love of Christ, can make a significant and lasting impact as they too begin to look for the colour in their lives.
Historically, I would have instinctively seen things in black or white, in shades of grey, in the negative rather than the positive, in the half-empty rather than half-full glass. I have learnt to work at choosing to have fun, to unlock my stuffy personality and stop being as reserved and self-conscious as I naturally am. To let the bold and funny side of me out and wear my purple dress! In fact to be more alive, more fully the person God intended me to be.
Why not today join me in bringing the colours of the rainbow alive however we are, wherever we are.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Summerfest was amazing, and over the three weeks we were able to welcome many guests including over one hundred young people. Please pray for the Community as we gradually return to our usual rhythm, welcome new Community and say goodbye to much-loved members.
Thank you for your prayers for another Chaplain to join us, and I am delighted to say that Rev. Annie Naish will be arriving in early October. Annie will be known to some of you through Lee Abbey, and she comes to us after being Chaplain on the Mercy Ships over the last couple of years. It is great news that Annie is joining us.
We are also pleased to announce that Sarah Collett, who has been a working friend over a number of years, will also be joining the Admin Team – this is also very good news.
Ailsa, who has been leading House wonderfully over the last few years, is moving on this Autumn. We are very grateful for the way that she has kept the House looking so beautiful and homely, and coping with the challenge of two changeovers most weeks. We have very much valued her contribution to the life of Community. She is going on to Thornleigh Christian Hotel in Grange-Over-Sands in Cumbria to be Resident Duty Manager.
We are working on our new Programme and Momentum, which should be with you this Autumn, covering dates up to August 2024.
In the current programme for September we have two online events – we would love to see you on Zoom for these:
There is also an opportunity to come to Scargill for a refreshing residential retreat (different from what is on the programme) – ‘Walk with me and work with me’ – Wed 11th (lunch) to Fri 13th October (after breakfast) – We are opening it up to anyone who would like a break away (no longer just for couples), and we are delighted to have Tony and Lucille Porter with us for those couple of days, who will be doing some of the teaching.
Thank you for your continued love and support, it means so much to us.
Here is Di’s reflection on hairdressing. Enjoy!
I was sitting in the hairdresser last week, I always enjoy going because there is a warm welcome: “Hello Diane, would you like a cup of tea”, and a sense of being cared for as my hair is washed, cut and dried; often with a brief scalp massage thrown in for good measure! Over the years, 13 in fact!, a relationship has developed and there are times we speak a lot, other times hardly at all, but we have always journeyed and shared a little of our stories which in many ways is much like my journey with God /Jesus.
Looking for a suitable painting, I found ‘Art UK’, which is an online home for every public art collection in the United Kingdom. They have a section on ‘The Art of Hairdressing’ where I found – ‘Combing the Hair (‘La Coiffure’)’ by Edgar Degas. The blurb for which says: ‘Hairdressing has been at the heart of communities since time began. An intimate ritual, it’s at once private and very public; there aren’t many jobs which allow you to get as close as a hairdresser …. caring for the hair, allows an unparalleled closeness… which this painting captures, a very private act feels incredibly intimate – even when the hair brushing looks painful!’
‘La Coiffure’ by Edgar Degas
For some reason, this painting brought Martha, of Mary and Martha fame, to mind. We seem to get caught up on Martha being “distracted by all the preparations” but the fact of the matter is, she’s the one that opened her home to Jesus in the first place, showing a generous heart of hospitality and servitude. And we know she found it stressful. In return Jesus teaches her that the most important thing in life is to seek His presence. Something we too should emulate. It is important for all of us to seek God’s presence, to develop a close and intimate relationship with Him even if at times it feels painful, like having your hair brushed.
Going to the hairdressers we set aside time and, in many ways, surrender ourselves into their care, which can be quite daunting! As we settle into the chair we trust in their experience and creativity to work, for me at least, a miracle!
Can we too sit before God, surrender ourselves, for even the briefest of moments, into God’s care? Can we too invite and receive a miracle?
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community.
Dear Friends
We are just coming to the end of SummerFest 2 with Fest 3 beginning on Saturday. Fest is exuberant, fun and wonderfully inter-generational, including having great grandparents with their great grandchildren enjoying all the activities.
This week we have 39 young people on site! Our theme this year has been ‘Chosen – called by name’. Please pray for the Community who have been wonderful, and the large number of Working Friends, they have been wonderful too! But please pray for energy, endurance and open hearts as we move to the end of SummerFest.
While Fest has been going on, so has Phase 7 and particularly the substantial refurbishment of the Marsh Lounge. Below are some photos of the latest developments. The first shows the underfloor heating pipes and the second shows them being covered with a special type of concrete. You have one guess to notice what is missing from the Lounge!
Marsh Lounge heatingMarsh Lounge concrete layer
Please pray for the ongoing relationships with the Contractors, which are really good, and that the works will keep to schedule. Our hope is that Phase 7 will be finished by mid November.
You will be aware that Helen (music and worship co-ordinator) and Wendy (youth co-ordinator) are leaving very soon. The job description for these important roles are on our website. Please pass them on to anyone you think has a calling to Community and could fulfil one of these positions. Prayers for this please!
And here is Di’s latest reflection on the subject of shared lives – enjoy!
[A Shared Meal – Felix Schlesinger]
A grace from the Book of Common Prayer: Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, for you give us food to sustain our lives and make our hearts glad; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This, I believe, is especially true when we eat with others. Barry D.Jones in an article for VOICE (Dallas Theological Seminary 20515) talks about the dinner table as a place of connection, of brokenness and of blessing. Unlike our painting, the article goes on to talk about the table as a ‘place to remember the blessing of God’ and that ‘we need to recover the importance of gathering with people around our tables for the purpose of enjoying a meal as both a gift and means of grace’. Simple, humble or lavish ‘meals where we gather with family or friends both old and new, perhaps even, ‘to be!’ are the meals where we can receive a glimpse of the banquet of the kingdom to come… a little foretaste of the shalom of God’.
These meals are what the Celts called “thin places”—where the veil that separates heaven and earth seems exceedingly thin. Which is exactly what Phil and I discovered not only here at Scargill but in Kensal Rise, Hackney, Cambridge, Lee Abbey Youth Camp and Kenward House. Lee Abbey Camp was where I first encountered a generous hospitality where all were welcome. Even after the two weeks we spent together on the field camp team members would invite me round for a meal or to stay, something my mother never really understood. And 13 years on from having moved to Yorkshire, whenever I walk up to the main house there is the same distinct feeling that stirs within me as I had every time I walked onto the camp field. It feels like an acknowledgement that here is a sacred place, and I have, for some reason, the privilege to be here, to live, work and share my life with a myriad of people.
One reason I believe this is a safe haven for people is because from the very start of this adventure we knew that eating together, sharing meals, was to play a vital role in the life of Scargill. By default really, we quickly got into the routine of morning prayers followed by breakfast – well there was no one else to get breakfast! And we have never looked back, there is something very precious about coming down from prayers and starting the day with whoever is here over breakfast.
Interestingly I am writing this sitting at our kitchen table alone, having eaten alone. Phil is away. For me a solitary meal is quite a novelty. The meal I partook of was fine, I cooked it, but it was very short lived. It did though lead me to start writing this reflection and suddenly I felt inspired and no longer alone. We can’t always share our meals with others but we can share our lives. So with glad hearts, whether we eat alone or with others, let us remember that lives shared, with Christ at the centre, are lives transformed.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Thank you for love and support which we so very much appreciate. Thank you to those who joined the online prayer and praise meeting last week – it was a great encouragement to have many ‘screens’ joining us!
We have much for which to be thankful here at Scargill. The building work is going well with the extensive refurbishment of the Marsh Lounge. The Old House bedroom windows have now been replaced and are looking wonderful and the roof tiles have been re-laid. Please continue to pray for the building work and our ongoing good relationship with the Contractors and all that come on site, and pray that they may know the love and peace of Jesus while with us.
The Community continues to change. We had a wave of new Community join us within a fortnight! The Community is just over 30 and I will say more about that in the next newsletter. This week though we say goodbye to Fernanda who has been an amazing Community member. She returns back to Brazil this coming week and we will miss her loving joyful presence.
The other big news with Community is that Helen Cook will be leaving us in September. Helen has been with us for 4 1/2 years leading and co-ordinating our worship and music which many of you have really appreciated. Helen will be begin training to become a Methodist Deacon at Queen’s College Birmingham. We will miss her and we have very much valued her contribution to Community life.
With Wendy (see previous newsletter) and Helen leaving, we have two significant roles that need filling in coordinating youth and music, as well as their valuable contributions to the Admin and Personnel Teams. Please pray for us about this – the adverts are here and please pass them onto those you think would be interested.
Shaun has written a wonderful article, ‘The upwelling of the Holy Spirit’ you can find here.
And here is Di’s latest reflection on a beautiful painting, ‘Grace before Meal’ – enjoy!
‘Grace Before Meal’ painted in 1875 by Franz Defregger (1835-1921) can be seen in the Museum der Blilenden Kunstw Austria. I think it is a most beautiful painting of a mother or perhaps even a grandmother encouraging her grandchildren/children to say grace with their mother standing by. You can’t see much of her face but there is the sense of an older person smiling as they gently hold the child’s hands in prayer. There is pride as each child, hands clasped together, show their youngest sibling how to pray. A busy yet peaceful painting with the dog joining in and the chickens already feasting.
In Matthew 19:13-15 we read: ‘People brought little children to Jesus, for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.’
Last weekend Phil and I were ‘down south’ visiting family, the main reason to go was sharing in the dedication of two of our grandchildren on the Sunday. It was a real joy to be there and feel very much part of the promises the parents, god-parents, us and the church family made. There was a deep conviction that the responsibility for nurturing these two boys was a collective task. We had all been commissioned to care for, nurture and pray for them. What a responsibility and one not to be taken lightly.
Then this week in my search for a painting I came across an article by Loren Marks and David C. Dollahite and Laura Mckeighen which first appeared in Public Square Magazine in 2022 and was entitled, ‘Will My Kids Keep the Faith? Parents’ Hopes and Children’s Choices’.
Early in the article they write, ‘Among all the many things parents aspire for in a child, one of the strongest desires and greatest dreams of many parents is that their faith will be passed down.’
As a parent with a deep faith it was really important to me that my children grew up with an understanding of what I believe in. Not because I wanted to control them or dictate how they should live their lives but because I wanted them to know the freedom, acceptance and love that comes from being a Christian and following Jesus. As a parent and now a grandparent I have wanted to equip all our children and grandchildren to be resilient, to stand up for what they believe and to be bold enough to be different at times. This means they may walk away from faith and, if so, we must let them be. Our task now is to keep on praying for them, keep on loving them with the hope that after exploring for themselves they will come back to the faith in which they grew up in.
As Anne Frank wrote in The Diary of a Young Girl,“Parents can only give good advice or put their children on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” How wise and from such a young person.
Soon after a lovely lunch we started the journey home leaving our grandchildren confident in the knowledge that they would be well nurtured and loved, not only by their parents but also by all those who had stood with us that morning.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Shaun Lambert has been writing for the Baptist Times on ‘the upwelling of the Holy Spirit’ – you can see his article here:
Dear Scargillians
We have just had a very lovely week with Roy Searle reflecting on ‘Sabbath’ and this weekend John Pritchard helping us around the discipline of ‘Thankfulness’. It has been a rich few days, so thank you for your prayers and loving support.
In May we said goodbye to Helen B, Xavier and Anna B.
Anna B came to us from Hungary for three months and she was a ray of sunshine, a taste of spring, a truly beautiful member of community.
We are very grateful to Xavier for his valuable contribution to community life, and he speaks of Scargill very much as being his home in this country. Please do pray for him as he settles into a new job and for his family back in Pakistan.
Helen B would have been known to many of you and has done a number of stints on community over the last ten years. We are very grateful for all the many ways she has enriched guests and community, and during her last time here being such a support to Hilary in the Kitchen. We wish her every blessing in her new adventure.
As we have said goodbye to three members of community, over the last two weeks we have now welcomed five members of community (I will mention this again in the next update). So, please pray for community as we say goodbye and welcome new community into our rhythm of life.
On Monday 26th June there is an Online Quiet Day. You can book through the website.
And 8-9pm on Tuesday 27th June we would like to welcome you to a Community Praise and Prayer in the Chapel which you will be able to Zoom into, tickets are free – book here. It would be lovely to welcome as many of you as possible to join us for this.
Here below is Di’s latest reflection, which should be read with a cup of tea! Enjoy!
Henri Fantin-Latour: White Cup and Saucer (1864)
Do you remember the Tea advert that took many of us back to 1937: I like a nice cup of tea in the morning, For to start the day, you see! And at half past eleven, Well my idea of heaven Is a nice cup of tea!
Well, as soon as I saw this painting I knew it was to be my inspiration. Here is a cup and saucer with teaspoon. Just a cup and saucer with teaspoon? Perhaps not! You see I was immediately struck by the beauty of such a simple painting. The light and shade with shining teaspoon is a delight, whilst the slightly off-centre of the cup in the saucer as well as the saucer in the composition was intriguing; as was the absence of a table, or even any tea! Did this give life to the composition? Possibly, I have read it does, but what gave me life were the myriad of thoughts, images, memories filling by head and my heart.
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge ask these questions about the painting:
What can you imagine drinking from this cup, and what would you eat with it?
Would you share it with someone?
What conversations can you imagine (whilst) you eat and drink?
I don’t know what your answers will be but for me there is of course tea – good old Yorkshire Tea with the occasional Earl Grey, Jasmine or Peppermint (hopefully using loose tea). As to what you might eat with it, well, when at Scargill there is always cake! And always someone to share it with. Offering tea and cake is so simple yet it is the pivot around which we gather to meet old friends, welcome new friends, share highs and lows or just sit in peaceful company.
Tom Lubbock writing for The Independent’s Great Art Series says ‘This achievement of the still life has a moral dimension. It expresses a religious or democratic belief in the value of humble, everyday things. It says that the ordinary, and perhaps especially the ordinary, is glorious…’
How wonderful to read the words ordinary and glorious in the same sentence. I have often said, and know I have read, that one of the great themes that run through the Bible is how a great God takes ordinary people and does extraordinary things with them to accomplish his miraculous purpose. And here at Scargill I feel we ‘do’ ordinary well, ordinary with the love of God at the centre, that reveals God’s glory. And community is not defined by walls, geography or community membership, we are bound by a common belief that where-ever we are ‘lives shared, lives transformed with Jesus at the centre’ is there for everyone. The longer I am here the more I realise it is the little act of kindness, the passing smile or remark that has a profound effect upon both guests and community. As well as being the face, the hands, the feet of Jesus we are also His ‘cups of tea’, we are God’s welcome inviting others to belong.
So next time you sit down to a cup of tea, remember it is no ordinary cup of tea but an invitation to become part of God’s great plan. How exciting is that!
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Shaun Lambert has written this article for the Baptist Times as part of Mental Health Awareness week (15-21 May) whose focus this year is ‘anxiety’. Shaun shares how his understanding of mindfulness helped to change his perspective and find agency in his anxiety. See here: https://baptisttimes.co.uk/Articles/663616/Finding_agency_in.aspx
One of our resident community (Jo Penn) is guest writer for Sanctuary First this week (Sun 14 to Sat 20 May 2023). Here are the links to the first three of the series – catch the rest on Sanctuary First website.
Thank you for all your continued love, support and prayers.
The building work seems to be going very well, and we have a really good relationship with all the contractors and workers that are coming on site.
Thank you for your prayers regarding the Chaplain interviews, we had four lovely candidates and we will hopefully be able to let you know the outcome in the near future.
On Community we have welcomed and said goodbye to a few people, which I will go into more detail on within a future update. The big news is that Wendy, who manages group bookings and is our Youth Co-Ordinator, will be leaving at the end of August to become a Methodist Primary Schools’ Chaplain within the Methodist North Yorkshire Dales Circuit. This is a wonderful opportunity for Wendy and brings together many of the gifts that have been developed over the years, as well as her heart for young people. Please pray for her.
So, we will be looking for a new member of Community who would like to join us as Youth Co-ordinator (half time) as well as someone to be part of the Admin Team. There will be an official advert going out, but if you know somebody now then please pass on this information.
As a child dandelions were considered a weed, an unwanted pest preventing the perfect lawn, although as children we enjoyed playing clock with them, blowing the ‘puffball’ very, very carefully, very, very gently hoping to reach 12 o’clock!
So is a dandelion a weed or a beautiful flower? Answer: A dandelion may well be considered a weed in a garden but I have discovered it is a beautiful flower along the hedgerow and in the fields.
Whether you love them or hate them, dandelions are among the most familiar plants in the world, most of us can identify them at a glance. Before the invention of lawns, people acclaimed golden flowers and lion-toothed leaves as a versatile food, medicine and magic; gardeners would often weed out the grass to make room for the dandelion! But somewhere in the twentieth century, it was decided that the dandelion was a weed.
Now the R H S consider Dandelions ‘worth tolerating where possible’ because ‘they have many herbal uses and are a good early source of nectar and pollen for insects’. ‘Worth tolerating where possible’ is quite a dismissive sentence really. But it got me thinking that God doesn’t just tolerate us or dismiss any of us. Each one of us is worth more than many sparrows, more than all the flowers of the field, more than the Dandelions along the road, more than we dare to hope. God’s love is absolute and unconditional.
I was also intrigued to read that Dandelions have wide-spreading roots, which sink into the soil going deeper and deeper up to 15 feet!!! – which is perhaps why they are so difficult to eradicate from our gardens! We too are called to put down roots. Jeremiah in Chapter 29 instructs the exiles to ‘Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry, have sons and daughters…’ In other words, set down roots even in their exile. Matthew 13 / Luke 8 tell the story of the farmer that who scattered seeds, some of which fell on good ground, were able to put down roots and produced a hundred times as many seeds. A challenge for each of us.
One of the challenges of community life is constantly saying hello and goodbye, both of which we are doing this week. As they leave or arrive perhaps the Dandelion will lighten their steps, whichever way they are travelling, and that like the Dandelion they too will be able to lay down roots and settle into their new communities.
Anyway, here in North Yorkshire there are masses of Dandelions; there is not only an abundance along all the verges but the fields are full of them, as Phil might say, ‘lavished’ by their bright yellow flowers. William Wordsworth writes about the sheer joy that can be found in the beauty of God’s creation in his poem ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’. Try reading it replacing daffodils with dandelions – they are most certainly not a weed here.
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden dandelions; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed – and gazed – but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the dandelions. [WIlliam Wordsworth]
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We pray that you had a wonderful Easter Day.
We are glad to announce that the new Scargill Programme (covering new events both in-house and online from September 2023 to February 2024), combined with our latest Momentum magazine, will be available to book online from Monday 17th April (from after morning coffee) – please place booking requests via the website if possible, as our ‘phone lines will be busy.
Our lovely Admin Team will be working their way through your requests in order, and will respond to specific requests as soon as they are able. We hope that you enjoy our new publication as you read, browse and start to make plans to come to visit us.
We very much value your prayers as also on Monday 17th April Phase 7 of our building work begins, the main focus being the Marsh Lounge.
In the Programme, there is one weekend that we would love to highlight – that is the Coronation Renew Refresh Restore weekend (Friday 5th to Sunday 7th May). We had a group booked for this weekend, that subsequently cancelled, so that gives us an opportunity to open our doors to anyone who would like to come for a relaxing weekend – to watch the coronation, enjoy the Dales and share in the life of the Community. We would love to see you.
Here is a prayer that I wrote for a church weekend, which I have now adapted for us all:
Risen Lord Jesus,We bless you that you have come to bring us transforming life,Brimming over, generous, a life that cannot be contained.Come Holy Spirit and fill us afresh with this lifeSo that together we can live the love and compassion of the Father.We ask this in your glorious name. AmenWe look forward to welcoming you through our doors or seeing you online.
With much love and prayers
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We will be praying that you have a blessed Holy Week, and a wonderful joyful Easter Day. Our livestream service during Holy Week will be at 12 noon on Good Friday – and you would be very welcome to join us live, or catch it later on.
Thank you so much for your love and support, which means so much to us, as on Monday 17th April we begin Phase 7 of our building work which at the heart is the renovation of the Marsh Lounge. The whole Phase will take seven months. It won’t be a huge disruption to guest experience as we have made plans!
Also on Monday 17th April, our new Programme (combined with our latest Momentum) should be coming through your letterbox, and will be live on our website during the morning. The new Programme takes us up to end February 2024.
The advert for a Chaplain is on our website. If you know of anyone for whom this might be the next step – please do pass on the information. The closing date is Monday 24th April.
Community is in good heart, on the whole, but we would still very much value your prayers for the community and for new members to join the adventure.
Di and I happened to be in Durham and we visited St Brandon’s church, a most beautiful space. So here is Di’s reflection on our experience. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Recently we visited St Brandon’s – Brancepeth Parish Church near Durham. There we found the most exquisite, amazing altar window. The church has Saxon roots although most of the present building dates from 1075. After a major fire in 1998 the exterior of the building was preserved and the church was reordered, combining the ancient with ‘an elegant modern reordering’ which includes the Paradise Window. There was such peace in the church that at first I just stood before the window for quite a while, looking at, looking through and beyond the flowers, then moved away, only returning later to take these photographs.
The information, ‘very elegantly displayed’ next to the window, says, ‘Jesus spoke of ‘paradise’ as a place to which we may travel at the end of our journey through this life, to be at peace with God.’ It goes on to explain that the ‘paradise flowers also… refer to the story of St Brandon … who travelled far and wide.. and may well have visited the Canary Islands’ !!. It concludes with ‘The flowers in the window both reflect Brandon’s story and speak about Christian hope.’
Tomorrow will be Palm Sunday with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the start of our journey through Holy Week, to the cross, where all seems lost. Perhaps. because we have the knowledge of Easter Sunday, we skim over the words Jesus says to the criminal hanging, dying beside him:
“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” / “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43
I trust these words and this window offer you the hope, joy and peace of Easter Sunday that they offered to me.
Let us be thankful that we know the joy of the risen Christ which speaks of hope and healing.
Let us remember, this Easter, to prayer for those who seek to know God’s love and peace; for those who need the hope that comes with the joy of the risen Lord.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
At the recent Scargill Movement weekend where Phil Stone was addressing the trustees and other friends of Scargill he spoke about the importance of continuity and change at a time of transition and exciting advance.
That working out of continuity and change happens within a unique space here at Scargill. Psalm 18:19 says ‘He brought me out into a spacious place.’ And psalm 31:8 ‘You have not handed me over to my enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.’ That is also the testimony of many of our guests that when they come to Scargill, it is like being placed in a spacious place by God, a space full of generous hospitality.
But in that spacious place here at Scargill people are enabled to find the spacious place within their own head, a cathedral of spaciousness if you like. They are also helped to move from the small fear screen in their heads where our culture often bounces us. Scott Symington who is a Christian clinical psychologist calls this his ‘Two Screen Model.’ He says ‘imagine your internal world as a media room with two screens. On the wall you see facing forward is the front screen, which represents the present moment and life-giving internal activity…Off to the right, still inside your mind, is a side screen – the place where the fears, worries, unhealthy urges, and destructive moods show up.’[1] It is helpful to know that we can move from our small fear-based screen to our more spacious awareness within.
[1] Scott Symington, Freedom from Anxious Thoughts & Feelings: A Two-Step Mindfulness Approach for moving Beyond Fear and Worry (New Harbinger Publications Inc, 2019, Kindle location 116.
View from Stone’s rest on Scargill estate
One of the tasks of community, working friends and trustees of Scargill, according to Jo, who helps articulate the wisdom of community, is to hold this space for our guest and friends. It’s not all on the community to make things happen, a lot of it is ensuring the space is held for others. It is a bit like being a musician or singer where you extend your own personal space through singing and invite others in. One singer puts it like this:
Something happens and that is I feel the attention comes to me and step into it. I step into a sort of position or place where I feel now my personal space opens up to invite everyone. It’s like you’re welcome to come into my house.[2]
In that sense, part of being on community is to learn to extend our own personal space to hospitably and generously to include others. This is very counter-cultural and takes a while to learn. It is not just that community holds the space of Scargill for others, Scargill itself is what psychologist Donald Winnicott called a holding space or holding environment. He argued that mothers create a holding environment/space for children, but also that therapists can do that, and of course the idea can be extended to the environment of Scargill. Friends and guests come to Scargill feeling fragile, and perhaps about to fall apart but feel held in the space of the house, grounds and the communitas of Scargill. Communitas or the spirit of community is something many people sense here and feel is lacking in their own environment.
Another way Scargill is counter cultural is something Rebecca Solnit reflects on in an article in the London Review of Books. In the article she laments the losses and drastic changes to our lives that the communication and media technologies have wrought since their rise to dominate every waking moment. In particular she laments the loss of open spaces:
The fine art of doing nothing in particular, also known as thinking, or musing, or introspection, or simply moments of being, was part of what happened when you walked from here to there alone, or stared out of the train window, or contemplated the road, but the new technologies have flooded these open spaces. Space for thought is routinely regarded as a void, and filled up with sounds and distractions.[3]
One of the rhythms of Scargill is to allow open spaces during the day and to not try and fill every moment of the day with activity for our guests. This is an important act of cultural resistance. In our own lives it is essential to notice whether we fill every moment and struggle with the open space of free time and nothing to do.
So today may you find the cathedral within, and move out of the small fear-based screen in your mind. In your everyday may you be placed in a spacious place by God. When you come to Scargill may it be a holding space, and may you in turn be a spacious hospital space for others.
[3] Rebecca Solnit, “Diary,” London Review of Books 2013, (my italics) quoted in Andrew Epstein’s Attention Equals Life: The Pursuit of the Everyday in Contemporary Poetry and Culture (Oxford University Press, 2016) Kindle, location 1014-1015.
[2] Freinkel, P. D. (2015). Freinkel, P. D. (2015). Singing and participatory spirituality. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 34(1-2), 160, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 34 (1). https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2015.34.1-2.152
Dear Friends
As I write this, the snow is beginning to fall at Scargill, as it has done, I’m sure, for many of you. It is a strong possibility that we could wake up to a foot of snow tomorrow morning.
We have been glad to welcome Ben (UK), Iris (UK) and Anna (Hungary) to community. We have sadly said goodbye to Remiel, Jairo and Eva. We are so grateful for their valuable contribution to the life and work of this place.
As I write this, we are advertising for a Chaplain to join the team. If you know anybody, please put them in touch with us. The closing date is 24th April, and the interviews will be in the week beginning 8th May. We very much value your prayers for the right person to come to join the Scargill adventure.
Here is Di’s reflection – Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Have you read any of Max Lucado books?
Max Lucado is interested in helping children understand their value – not from the world’s perspective but from God’s, and so he invented Wemmicksville, a land created by Eli, the “God” figure of the story. He creates each Wemmick in Wemmicksville uniquely, each with its own look and personality. Each story has its own new adventure centred around Punchinello and his friends Lucia, Splint, and Chip.
Recently, I was given a copy of ‘You are mine’. In this story Punchinello yet again strays from Eli forgetting what Eli has taught him and, of cause, this leads to troubles, difficulties and disappointments which eventually draw Punchinello back to Eli, where we find him at the knee of his creator, knowing he has been forgiven and hearing the words he needs the most: “You are special, not because of the things you have, but because you are mine.”
For some reason the word MINE disturbed me. For a while I wasn’t sure I liked it. Were there not connotations to power, ownership, of master and servant relationships. I could almost hear someone shouting ‘That’s mine!’
But I could also hear the words from Isaiah 43:1 “But now, this is what the LORD says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.””
Thankfully, reason returned and of course I began to recognise that Eli saying ‘you are mine’ is amazing because deep down all that Punchinello wanted was to belong, to be loved.
So, yes, to be ‘mine’ could be a power thing but it could also be a statement of love. A statement of love so full of grace, so mind-blowing that it is beyond our understanding.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
This, as ever, comes with much love and prayers from the Community here at Scargill.
The Community continues to grow slowly and steadily. Hope is rising with Community numbers but we would still very much appreciate your prayers with this. Community is like a kaleidoscope – dynamic, changing shape as new community members bring themselves and their gifts, and others sadly move on. Community life is never static – it can be exciting, exhausting, life giving and challenging!
We are glad to say that after Easter we are hoping to start Phase 7 of our building project the main focus being the major refurbishment of the Marsh Lounge. Please read the article from +Chris and John Fell in the last Momentum (link here) which outlines our financial challenge.
The next online Quiet Day is on Saturday 25th February. It would be great to see you! (book here)
Here is Di’s latest reflection – enjoy!
‘A pair of shoes’ – Vincent Van Gogh,1886
In 2019, The EY Exhibition ‘Van Gough and Britain’ took place at Tate Britain. A Pair of Shoes 1886 by Vincent Van Gough was among the paintings. Will Gompertz, for the BBC, reviewing the exhibition wrote ‘Two battered black boots, laces asunder and soles heavy with mud, are left forlornly in the middle of the canvas with no evidence of their exhausted owner. They remind me of late Rembrandt, Vincent’s fellow countryman and guiding star, who had the same knack for showing the effects of hard labour with unsentimental honesty.’
This morning’s reading was Deuteronomy 15:1-11. Verses 7-11 from ‘The Message’ say this:
‘When you happen on someone who’s in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that GOD, your God, is giving you, don’t look the other way pretending you don’t see him. Don’t keep a tight grip on your purse. No. Look at him, open your purse, lend whatever and as much as he needs. Don’t count the cost. Don’t listen to that selfish voice saying, “It’s almost the seventh year, the year of All-Debts-Are-Cancelled,” and turn aside and leave your needy neighbour in the lurch, refusing to help him. He’ll call GOD’s attention to you and your blatant sin.
Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers GOD, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbours in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbours.’
Well, this really spoke to me – I am so thankful that I married Phil. He is many things! But his generosity of spirit, in all its forms is top of the list. As you all know (well I hope you do!) we have a heart for the poor, for community, for welcome, for enjoying the company of others. Phil has also encouraged me to more generous with money than my cautious spirit would naturally allow.
And it is a mixed generosity to which we are called, commanded even. Jesus echoes Moses, and in the Gospels, we read about being generous to neighbours and moving toward a society in which there is “no one in need”. Perhaps stating the impossible, perhaps not, but surely this should be our overarching goal. And along the way, ‘there are milestones when special acts of generosity, moments of extravagance-in-love, are beautiful and fitting’. (SALT blog March 2022)
Generosity reminded me that our Wednesday Midday Prayers uses these words ‘God has generously entrusted us with a very beautiful part of creation, so we have promised to be involved in carefully looking after this gift’. Well, we may not feel we have been ‘generously entrusted with a very beautiful part of creation’! But ,where ever we are, God’s beauty will be present. We just need to look a harder, to look beyond the immediate, to look to relationships. Within our communities there are the poor in: spirit, friendship, housing, freedom, opportunities…. And we are called to honour them in love and grace, to open our hands to each personally, and at the same time to be active in supporting those who are fighting against poverty in all its forms. We are called to bring the light of Christ to shine in the darkness, and reveal God’s beauty.
‘Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers GOD, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbours in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbours.’ Deuteronomy 15:7-11
What a beautiful world that would be. Diane
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
We pray that your new year has started well and this comes with much love and prayers from the Community.
We have just finished a closed period, with our own retreat, fun and training together, which was very enriching.
Although we have had a couple of Community leaving at the end of their contract, we are glad to say that we have some new Community joining, as well as some people on sabbatical. Please continue to pray for new Community to join us.
We open our doors today to the first of our two Friends’ and Companions’ weekends. Next weekend’s event is open for folk to join us online, and if you wanted to join us online you would be very welcome – check it out on our website here.
Shaun Lambert has written an article for the Baptist Times reflecting on the year that has passed: 2022 – A Year of Symbolic Loss and Fatalism…- see it here.
Here is Di’s reflection – Enjoy!
Diane writes:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8).
Last week in mornings prayers Dave mentioned God’s holiness and, although we may sing about it, holiness is not often forefront in our conversations, well mine anyway!
This reminded me that for quite a while now I have been using these opening lines of The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven, May your name be kept holy
Road to Grassington – Diane Stone
I also recalled that, recently driving to Grassington I was so struck by the beauty of the sun rising that I stopped and took this photo. To be honest I’m not sure why it had such an impact on me, the world was cold and still, it was early, I was alone. But it was a wow factor, an awe and wonder moment when I felt very close to God and that God felt immense. This greatness being along the lines of God perceiving all things (Omniscient), being present everywhere (Omnipresent) and possessing infinite power (Omnipotent). I had to look these up! Here was God’s holiness.
Of course we love the idea that God is with us, here amongst His people but we also need to remember that God is beyond our everyday experience, he is beyond our ordinary – back to Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent. God’s holiness means that he is sinless, He is absolutely and purely good. Only God is perfectly holy. God is love. “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This should fill us with reverence and awe, I do hope so!
So should the fact that God’s also requires His people to be holy. We are called to be like him. We too have been set apart. Jesus’ call to follow him is much more than an invitation to simply pray with him or to him. It is a call to follow him with our whole lives, meaning we have to lose the lives we think we want to have and find new life within him. Our being made holy by God takes place in love. Every day we can re- experience God’s love for us, and we can express our love for Him in return. Every day we can participate in, contribute to, the holiness of God. Which I believe is summed up and hopefully lived out, in the greatest command Jesus gave us – ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other greater commandment.’ Mark 12:30-31
Perhaps it was through the Holy Spirit that I recognised God’s holiness that morning, perhaps it was the Holy Spirit that drew me to the line ‘May your name be kept holy’. Perhaps it is the Holy Spirit encouraging me to encourage us all to keep God’s name holy. There is a greatness to God beyond my comprehension with the implication that somehow we are called to keep His name holy.
As the sun has risen on a new year – it is January 1st 2023. What a wonderful way to start the year recognising God holiness, His greatness and His love. His love for you and for me and for all those we walk alongside.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
The Community wish you all a peaceful and joyful Christmas – that we all may know the love and light of the Christ-child in our hearts.
Thank you to those of you who joined us for the Prayer Day, and for those of you who joined us in the evening. We were very encouraged by the Prayer Day and I am working through the many responses that we received. Needless to say, we would continue to value your prayers for the Community and for new members to join us.
The Community will having a holiday from Monday 20th December and, if all goes to plan, will be back to welcome guests for the New Year House Party starting on Wednesday 29th December.
If you wish to join us online on New Year’s Day we are having livestreamed worship at 11:45am on Saturday 1st January 2022. It would be wonderful if you could join us.
On Saturday 8th January 2022 there will be an Epiphany-themed online Quiet Day that Phil Stone and Felicity Lawson will be leading, collaborating with ReSource.
Here is Di’s reflection which is all about the wonder of light. Enjoy!
Diane writes: ‘We are like moths, drawn to the light’ well not quite the quote I was expecting, but it did make me chuckle – have a think why?!
Two weeks ago, Advent Sunday, Phil and I were walking up to the main house when I took this photo. I was first attracted to the light on the smoke from the wood-chip boiler and then the light from the dining room. But when I looked at the photo I also saw the light from the star, and the row of lights along the path.
Advent photo of Phil
Have you ever given much thought to light? What does it mean? On both the natural and spiritual levels of life, it dispels darkness. Do you remember when the clocks went back, suddenly the world felt darker, the nights began to draw in and soon the mornings followed. It is winter, there is a cold, dark and damp feeling to life. Often people feel low in the winter. Perhaps darkness perhaps suggests ignorance.
Children are afraid of the dark because of ignorance, we learn that knowledge can dispel our fears and bring peace to our hearts. Maybe it also suggests uncertainty. Today we have uncertainty, often the news stirs up – fear of the future, fear of the present. The world is in a state of fear because of uncertainty. We want security and for me there is only one security and that is in God himself.
For whom has Christ come? For whom has God given the precious gift of His Son? Christ has come for all, for the entire world.
Luke tells us Jesus was born during the night watch, at midnight, when it was pitch black outside, the time when the darkness was the deepest and most intense. On that first Christmas night, the light shined in the darkness (John), the glory of the Lord shone (Luke), the darkness has not overcome it (John), and it enlightens everyone (John).
The light of Christ can dispel fears of many kinds.
Was Phil being drawn to the light, like a moth, or was the light revealing the path he was to travel? Either way, let us in this season of Advent, look about to find the signs of light and let us be signs of light for others. Drawing them to the Good News of Christmas Day.
With love and prayers to you all this Christmas time
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
This comes with love and prayers this Advent and thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement.
It is has been a fulfilling Autumn at Scargill and a joy to welcome back old friends and make new friends as people visit for the first time. Please do check out our new programme that takes us up to August 2023, as you plan for your next visit or online event.
One event to highlight in the early new year is the opportunity to join us online for the Friends and Companions (2) weekend on Fri 20th – Sun 22nd January. We would like to make this a hybrid event so please sign up as usual on our website if you would like to join us. We do need though a minimum of six online guests to make this viable as it involves an extra two Community to make it happen.
Livestream 4:30pm Evening prayers over the Christmas season will be on Wednesday 7thDecember and then we take a break until Saturday 31st December. Then we are back to the usual weekly rhythm on Wednesday 11th January 2023.
Here, Di writes about the Advent theme of joy. Enjoy!
Diane writes: A few months ago I had a strong feeling that my Advent weekend should be about joy. Whilst preparing my talks I was reminded about Mary visiting Elizabeth – such an important time for them both. For Mary, on meeting Elizabeth, the impact of what God had done must have suddenly become a reality. As soon as she steps into the house, the child in Elizabeth’s womb starts to dance for joy so much so that it causes Elizabeth to say:
‘The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, The babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!’
Elizabeth and Mary – Dinah Roe Kendall
Jane Williams, in ‘Approaching Christmas’, writes: ‘it is the simple joy of the child in the womb, dancing to celebrate the presence of Jesus that is so touching’ – an aspect of the nativity story we hardly ever dwell on.
Throughout the Old Testament, God calls his people to joyfulness. In the years and centuries before Christ’s birth, God’s people waited in joyful expectation, for a Saviour promised, but One who had not yet come. Their joy was not based on the knowledge of what God had already done through his Son, Jesus Christ, but their joy was an outpouring of their faith in what God WOULD do.
There doesn’t seem to be much real joy around at the moment, and perhaps there hasn’t been for quite a while. Why? To be honest I’m not sure.
Do we feel overwhelmed with the demands of everyday life? So much so that our joy has been buried and Christ’s light has been greatly dimmed. Is this because our focus has strayed and we find ourselves centring on all the ‘stuff’ around us rather than God’s Kingdom. Perhaps we have forgotten that joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) given to us by God himself and no one can take it away. Perhaps we have forgotten that, ’The joy of the lord is our strength’.
Many things can bring us joy – a day of rest, entering an empty swimming pool (for me anyway), time with friends, a good book, a sunset, a glass of wine. There are plenty of Greek and Hebrew words for joy but what is important is not necessarily what joy means but rather where it comes from. Biblical joy comes from God. Like the joy of the ancient Israelites, our joy is a response to what God has already done and continues to do. It is an eager anticipation about wonderful things to come. It is the joy that flooded the hearts of the shepherds, the angels, the wise men, the hosts of heaven, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph. It was there that first Christmas and still has the power to overwhelm our hearts with rejoicing.
This Advent can we rekindle the flame of love, revive our hope, restore our faith and unwrap the gift of joy, the ‘simple joy of the child in the womb, dancing to celebrate the presence of Jesus’, cherish and nurture it because today, our joy, fuelled by the Holy Spirit, is what God uses to spread his joy throughout the world. Mother Teresa once said “Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.”
We wish you all a blessed and joyful Christmas.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Shaun Lambert is a community member currently living in West Hampstead, London. He writes for the Baptist Times about ‘Finding guidance in today’s uncertain world’. See here.
Shaun Lambert writes about the gift of ‘free play’ and its link to creativity
I have been reading a book called Wayfinding by Michael Bond. It is about ‘the art and science of how we find and lose our way.’ Being good at finding your way is something that develops in childhood. Exploring is something we do naturally as a child. As Robert McFarlane puts it in his book Landmarks, when we are children ‘nature is full of doors…and they swing open at every step.’ In the world of imagination ‘A hollow in a tree is a gateway to a castle.’[1]
As we know, however, Michael Bond reminds us ‘the opportunities for children to wander have greatly diminished.’ What he calls a child’s ‘home range,’ how far they are allowed to roam from their home by their parents is drastically reduced right now.[2] This is largely due to traffic and the perception of ‘stranger danger.’[3]The rise of technology, smartphones and the virtual world have also contributed to this ‘living in our head’ rather than exploring our neighbourhood.
If you are reading this and from an older generation, you might have fond memories of going out on your bike all day or wandering around with your friends as a child, playing football in the streets. Clare, my wife, talks about a spinney and a stream they used to play in as children in Coventry. They would jump on their bikes to get there.
This wandering around without any particular purpose or structure is called ‘free play.’[4] Being able to wander about a larger space and work out how to navigate that space is very good for our children’s development. I am struck by how much children love Scargill. The house is a maze in which they can run around, and play hide and seek. They can get lost and find themselves again. They have the joy of discovering what feels like a secret room, or a magical wardrobe.
Then there is the space outside, the 90 acres of land. They can enjoy the playground, run through the meadow, look for butterflies, see a deer eating from the compost heap. They can meet a dog, cats, chickens – see swifts, swallows, house martins – hear the pheasants and curlews. They can look for water beetles, and newts in the pond (safely supervised of course)! They can paddle in the river Wharfe on a sunny day followed by an ice cream in Kettlewell village.
This year, at our three Summer Fests, children have been on our amazing waterslide, learnt archery, done treasure hunts, been introduced to singer-songwriters, actors, and magicians. At Scargill the community has learnt to trust the space around us, it begins to weave its spell of healing and freedom when allowed to do so.
Psychologist Peter Gray argues that ‘free play is the means by which children learn to make friends, overcome their fears, solve their own problems, and generally take control of their own lives…Nothing that we do, no amount of toys we buy or ‘quality time’ or special training we give our children, can compensate for the freedom we take away.’[5]
‘Play’ is of course a core value at Scargill and reflected implicitly in the community Pathway promises. I have seen it in action many times! Play leads to the release of creativity. Creativity is the antidote to our world of fear and uncertainty and the narratives that offer us no hope.
[1] Quoted in Michael Bond, Wayfinding (Picador, 2020), 23.
[2] Bond, 24.
[3] Bond, 25-26.
[4] Bond, 29.
[5] Peter Gray, Free to Learn: Why unleashing the instinct to play will make our children happier, more self-reliant, and better students for life (Basic Books, 2013, 5, quoted in Bond, 29.
Dear Scargill Friends
Thank you for your continued support and the love shown to us. In this mailing we have news of our latest magazine and programme release, and a reflection from Di about ‘sacred walking’.
We are glad to announce the publication of our new Programme combined with Momentum (covering new events from January to August 2023). We do hope that you find much to encourage you to continue to journey with us and to plan to book a visit to stay here, amongst the wide variety of events on offer both in-house and online. Please complete your booking forms via the website if at all possible.
We are all aware of the financial instability and struggles that many people are facing, please be aware of our bursary fund. You can access our bursary fund application form on each of our programme event booking web pages.
We mentioned in our last MailChimp that Hilary, our Kitchen Team lead who has done a wonderful job, is needing to step aside for family commitments, in the New Year. If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining Community with a particular gifting and passion to join the Kitchen Team please look on our website for the job description, or contact di@scargillmovement.org
Here is Di’s latest reflection. Enjoy!
Diane writes: In a recent application I read the words ‘……spending time and learning about each other was so sacred, walking on the holy grounds of other people’s experiences.’
Wow, this line jumped out at me and I underscored it twice! It speaks of spending time and learning about each other as being sacred because it involves ‘walking on the holy grounds of other people’s experience’. Quite a profound statement that made me acknowledge what a huge privilege it is to be able to walk alongside another.
Holy Ground, hmmm, I wonder what they meant by that! I wonder what ‘Holy Ground’ means for you?
Emmaus – Janet Brooks Gerloff
Betsy Jean writing for A Rocha says ‘When Moses was out in the desert looking after the flocks of his father-in-law, he saw the burning bush, he stopped, and turned aside to look and then to listen. Very quickly he found himself on holy ground. What made it holy, of course, was the presence of God, manifested in flaming shrubbery.’
She goes on to say, ‘What if, God, being everywhere (as Christian doctrine teaches us), makes every place holy? What if, every bush dances with the flames of God’s presence, but our eyes are just not calibrated to see it?’
Well, that’s a thought. If that is the case, and I certainly believe it is, we can also say – What if every bush, every street, every kitchen table, every time we spend with others, every conversation dances with the flames of God’s presence but our senses are just not calibrated to see it? What if indeed! Perhaps walking alongside one-another should not be taken so lightly.
The two travellers in our painting by Janet Brooks Gerloff (1947- 2008), are walking along the Emmaus Road completely unaware of Jesus’ presence. He was just another traveller who spent time with them, walking alongside, gently explaining the scriptures, accepting their hospitality, until they were able to recognise who he was and begin to comprehend the full significance of the journey they had just walked.
Like Moses, we need to be prepared to stop and turn aside, to look and to listen to where God is calling and like Jesus with his two companions we need to be willing to walk alongside, to tread gently on holy ground, with as Jacob said this morning, ‘Your (God’s) spirit in our steps and your (God’s) joy in our hearts.
To conclude, in our kitchen we have the most beautiful calligraphy of several blessings by John O’Donohue. One which I am constantly drawn to includes the words
‘Endeavour to remain aware Of the quiet world That lives behind each face.’
And another:
‘Be fair in your expectations Compassionate in your criticism. May you have the grace of encouragement, To awaken the gift in the other’s heart, Building in them the confidence To follow the call of the gift.’
Perhaps this is how we walk on the sacred, holy ground of other people’s experiences. Perhaps this is the call we are being asked to follow!
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Thank you for your continued love and prayers.
The shape of Community keeps changing and a good friend of ours has described community as always being in a liminal space, on a threshold to new horizons. This can be both exhausting as well as a place of growth and new life. Richard Rohr writes about that liminal space as:
“That graced time when we are not certain or in control, when something genuinely new can happen. We are empty, receptive, an erased tablet waiting for new words.”
So, this week we were glad to welcome Eva from Ghana. Please pray for her as she continues to settle not just into community life, but adjusting to the UK climate!
We are all very grateful to the leadership of the Kitchen Team during these challenging times and we would continue to value your prayers for this Team. Our current Kitchen Team Leader is moving aside due to family commitments in the New Year, and we are also looking for a deputy Kitchen Team Leader. If you know anyone then please ask them to contact di@scargillmovement.org
Two weeks ago we were visiting Bose, an ecumenical monastic community in northern Italy. Our first visit there was in 2010, after arriving at Scargill and being encouraged to go on a ‘fact finding’ expedition to visit 3 communities. We have regularly returned to Bose, a beautiful place, where we experience the warmth of the sun but also the warmth of the hospitality they share. They have a rhythm of prayer, beginning each morning at 5.30am, yes I will repeat that! Beginning at 5.30am with a rather loud, wake-up call heralding our short, silent, chill walk to the Chapel for 6am prayers, the sun just rising on the horizon. It really was my favourite time of the day, as was the breakfast of homemade bread and homemade jam with a return to bed for an hour’s nap!
This reminded me of a painting by Jean-Baptiste Greuze called ‘Young Knitter Asleep’, painted in 1759.
Young Knitter asleep Jean Baptiste-Greuze
The young girl has fallen asleep while knitting. Her hands loosely hold the four fine needles required to create the enclosed shape of a stocking, whose toe curls in her lap. She has fallen asleep on duty. Oh no, surely not!
Now I have never knitted a sock, let alone a stocking, in my life! It feels like quite a momentous task for such a young girl, no wonder she has fallen asleep! But let’s take another look at the painting, notice the young girl has been quite industrious and productive; the stocking is well on the way to being completed. Very soon, I picture, this young girl’s mother will appear, gently wake her, come alongside with encouragement and the stocking will soon be finished. I do hope so. Although another thought comes to mind, a second stocking may be required before the task is fully completed!
Perhaps the best example of sleeping at the wrong time is found in the gospels just before Jesus’ death when he and the disciples are in the garden of Gethsemane.
Paula Gooder mentions that Jesus does not condemn them for sleeping too much but for sleeping at the wrong time. This was not the time to sleep. This was the time to watch and pray in preparation for the trials ahead. You see there is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8) and a season for every activity under the heavens, including knitting stockings!
If we move on to verse 12 the author of Ecclesiastes writes, ‘I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.’
I hope we too, though for many I am sure life at the moment feels particularly stark and demanding, can recognise this gift in our lives as we find time to not only work, rest and play but to also hear the gentle reassurance from our God, encouraging us through the Holy Spirit who is our Comforter, Counsellor, Helper, Advocate – the one who comes alongside to help and comfort and strengthen.
To finish, this morning at 8am! prayers Hilary sang these words:
‘I came to Jesus as I was, weary, and worn, and sad; I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.’
[Words by Horatius Bonar from the hymn, ‘I heard the voice of Jesus say’]
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We would like to begin by thanking you for your continued support and prayers. We have had a rich and enjoyable summer but it has not been without its challenges. At the beginning of July we had a Covid outbreak amongst us which put us under quite a lot of pressure, but we are all OK and we had a wonderful Summerfest, which felt much more like a festival than the previous year.
Community is gradually growing and it has been a joy to welcome some new members over the summer. We would very much appreciate your prayers for Community and for new members to join the adventure at Scargill.
We are delighted to welcome on to Community Phil and Liz Goodacre with Miriam and Phoebe. Phil will be an additional Chaplain working with the Pastoral Team and we are still looking for a female Chaplain. We very much value your prayers in this area. You won’t be surprised that all our Chaplains are working hard on other teams at this time. We are delighted that Liz will be joining the House Team when she is not looking after the children.
Di and I had an enjoyable weekend at Greenbelt, it was a nurturing and enriching time catching up with old friends. Di reflects on one of our experiences there. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
It feels like a long time since my last reflection. I have missed writing them and have therefore made a pact with myself to write a reflection each month and by hook or by crook I will send it out!
Anyway, Bank Holiday weekend found Phil and I going to Greenbelt, Phil full of excitement, me hesitant – I fear I have become a ‘fair weather’ Greenbelter! Thankfully the weather was fair, very fair, in fact possibly too fair, reminding me of the ever present climate emergency which, along with migration, UK poverty and gender equality, was topping the main issues talked about this year. In their programme the welcome to Greenbelt included a call to ‘wake-up,’ to ‘wake up to our lives, to our world, to the work there is for us to do, to the party there is waiting for us.’
Perhaps like me ’to the party there is waiting for us’ came as a bit of a surprise, although it really shouldn’t have. In revelation 21 we read, ‘I saw a new heaven and a new earth……. And I heard a voice shout from the throne: “God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.” ‘
Creation at Greenbelt
Here is a photo taken by my friend Tricia; Phil, Andrew and I standing under the earth! looking up to our world! and for a brief moment or two I wondered if we have already given up on saving our planet, perhaps its time has come, it can certainly feel like it. But soon that small kernel of hope reawakened and despite all not being well I felt that all could be well.
Julian of Norwich wrote ‘Sin is Behovely, but All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.’ Now, I don’t remember reading ‘Sin is Behovely’ before and had to look it up – ‘necessary, required, unable to be avoided, inevitable’ which gives the much quoted sentence more depth and great clarity, for me anyway! Darkness is all around us but even so, ‘all manner of things shall be well’. All we have to do is ‘wake up to our lives, to our world, to the work there is for us to do’.
Waking up though leads to choices being made with the endless list of do’s and don’ts we hear almost daily. At Greenbelt I heard this question – ‘Do the dos we do, out do the dos we don’t do? Yes! Yes! Yes! I certainly hope so. Read it through a few times – it took me awhile to get my head round what it means. But I like it! I find it encouraging, encouraging us to do what we can, as much as we can, however small and seemingly trivial, to save the world, to live in hope for the Earth God created and loves, the planet he has given us the task of overseeing and looking after.
Perhaps we have forgotten and have become very poor stewards, but we can redeem ourselves if we ‘wake up to our lives, to our world, to the work there is for us to do’, if we re-evaluate and find the courage to do what we can, to save the world and to have hope of a party waiting for us.
I am sure deep inside we already know what to do and are probably well on the way, we just need that little nudge to do that little bit more, to keep going, to, like Phil, Andrew and I, begin to look at our world with renewed hope.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
It has been some time since we have been in touch so here is a quick update.
We have been beavering away here welcoming guests through our doors, which has been really joyful. The feedback is really encouraging as guests encounter the love of Jesus through Scargill. The Community still remains small and this limits the number of guests we can welcome, which is frustrating. Sometimes, we have as many on the waiting list as we have guests in the house for a programmed event.
Encouragingly the Community is slowly growing, and we have just recently welcomed new Community members from Brazil and Pakistan and there is a trickle of new applications coming in. It is wonderful to have that International flavour as it enriches our lives so much. So we have much to be thankful to God for his ongoing provision and in particular our working friends without whom we would be in great difficulty. Please continue to hold us in your prayers and if there is anything you would like prayer for please email in at prayer@scargillmovement.org – it will be our joy and privilege.
Please find here the leaflet for Lee Abbey Field event for 18 -30 year olds – it used to be the Camp that Di and I were involved in for many years – You may know some young adults who would really enjoy this experience – it is wonderful!
Also, here is a leaflet about some Wild Camping events you or others might be interested in organised by our Matt. It’s likely to be a lot of fun!
Many have missed Di’s reflections – so here is her latest on silence – enjoy!
Blessing – golden circle
Diane writes:
The words ‘Silence is golden, golden’ keep singing in my mind with the tune from The Tremeloes released in 1964! (Probably because last Wednesday I made a golden circle to represent the word ‘blessing’). But, perhaps, that came from a brief conversation I had a few days earlier, when at breakfast one of our guests said to me, ’I have been watching you’. Oh help I thought, what does that mean!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently, they had noticed during afternoon prayers, focused around silence, me being still and at peace. Well! I was flabbergasted, that is certainly not how I perceive myself and I’m sure most people who know me see someone who is always on a mission, rushing here, there and everywhere. They may also know that, yes, I do have a deep desire to rest in God, to be at peace with myself and yes I am always trying to quieten my spinning mind and find stillness. And, to be honest, I do now enjoy sitting on one of the cushioned chairs (only at 4.30pm mind!), having my bead bracelet to hand and, just occasionally, I have found myself lost in the silence and pleasantly surprised to hear the closing liturgy. I have then truly felt blessed. Yet I still find it so hard to enter into this gift of silence.
The saying though, actually comes from a proverb extolling the value of silence over speech – “Speech is silver, silence is golden”. It most likely originated in Arabic culture, where it was used as early as the 9th century. This wise old proverb simply means that the value of our words can be compared to that of silver, but the value of silence is as precious as that of gold or put another way by Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus “Speech is of Time, Silence is of Eternity.” I was excited when I read these words, for silence leads me into a spacious place with God, silence leads me into his presence. Girolamo Savonarola said, ‘Silence alone makes listening possible – in other words, it alone allows us to welcome within us not only the Word, but also the presence of the One who speaks’.
In ‘Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer’ Benignus O’Rourke writes, ’To lose the burden of self and rest in God’s love is a pearl of great price’ and later, ‘Our prayer of stillness is all about being with God without any agenda. It is just being there’. He also quotes the following reflection by an unknown writer which he says ‘beautifully sums up our response to the invitation ‘Be still and know that I am God’’.
The Womb of Silence Not in the whirlwind not in the lightening, not in the strife of tongues, or in the jangling of subtle reasoning is He found, but in the still small voice of silence. Therefore be silent.
Let the past be silent. Let there be no vain regrets, no brooding on past failures, no bitterness, no judgement of oneself or others. Let all be silent.
Be still and know. Be still and look. Let the eyes of the mind be closed, that you may hear what otherwise you would not hear, that you may know what otherwise you would not know.
Abandon yourself to Him, in longing love, simply, holding onto nothing but Him. So you may enter the silence of eternity and know the union of yourself with Him. And if in the stillness he does not answer, He is still there. His silence is the silence of love. Wait then in patience and in submission. It is good to wait in silence for his coming.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
‘If you build it they will come’ is a famous line often misquoted from the film Field of Dreams (it was actually, ‘if you build it he will come’). In this homage to baseball the farmer hears a voice telling him to build a baseball pitch in his cornfield to attract the ghosts of former baseball players who need a chance at redemption.
As a saying it can be applied to wildlife ponds, ‘if you build it (a wildlife pond) they (the wildlife) will come!’ That’s exactly what we have found with our pond here at Scargill. We have water beetles, pond skaters, water boatmen, dragon fly larvae, mayfly, and at least one tadpole. Most excitingly we have three newts. An interesting question is how did the newts find the pond?
Apparently, newts follow the scent of water, or by following the mating calls of common toads.
Pond in the Sensory Garden
The pond began life with a team from A Rocha working with the Estate team between the 24-28 May 2021, just over year ago. It was carefully located above the chapel lawn, to be in a flat area, with light and shelter. It has a shallow end so that creatures like hedgehogs coming for a drink can crawl out.
Since the initial work, the pond liner was laid, the pond filled and oxygenating plants like Marsh Marigolds, Water Lilies and others placed in it in pots. There are rocks around some of the plants to provide platforms and shelter. Bees and bumblebees have loved the plants as they have flowered. There are plants around the edge which will trail into the water along with the grass that surrounds the pond which newts also like.
We have called our newts names like Sir Isaac, Olivia, Ron and King Can! A little video is attached of the Scargill newts. We believe they are common or smooth newts. As a Scargill first we led a mindful newt spotting workshop recently.
Trying to spot the amphibians or the other wildlife is a very mindful exercise. Firstly, you must be patient. If you are bored within 30 seconds, then notice the feeling and switch your attention back to the pond. Attention and awareness is a created gift from God with different elements. We can focus our attention on one part of the pond, perhaps one of the plant pots the newt might be sheltering under, a bit like a spotlight of attention. Or you can have a more open awareness where you are openly aware of the whole pond, more like a floodlight of awareness. Your eye will be drawn to any movement, and you will be led back into a focused attention.
If this practice of sustained attention is new to you your mind will wander frequently, taking you out of the present moment and an observant state. You have a beautiful capacity called meta-awareness, where one part of your mind can notice that another part of your mind has wandered. Do notice what your mind has wandered too and bring it back to the pond. With practice this will enable you to learn to both sustain and switch your attention – eventually leading to a capacity to be more deeply attentive – which is life in all its fullness! One of the joys here at Scargill is being part of a community that takes ecology and the care of creation seriously. It was one of the aspects of community life that drew me here. How about you?
If you want to know more about joining community please visit our Joining Community page.
We are glad to announce the publication of our new Programme combined with Momentum (covering new events from September 2022 to February 2023). We do hope that you find much to encourage you to continue to journey with us and to plan to book a visit to stay here, amongst the wide variety of events on offer both in-house and online. Please complete your booking forms via the website if at all possible.
Search for new Scargill TrusteesExciting opportunities are arising for you or people you know to join our group oftrustees on Council. Most of you will know that the Trustees are legally responsible for Scargill and, with Phil (the Director) and the leadership team, set the strategic direction of Scargill. Trustees are not involved in the day to day operations except maybe as working friends. Over the next 6-9 months it is likely we will have at least 6 vacancies covering the following areas of skills we need:
– Urban ministry
– Inclusion
– Environmental issues and planning towards zero carbon emissions
– IT and Social Media
– Building maintenance and estate management
We need to enhance our balance of gender and ethnic representation on the Council.
So if you feel able to offer your skills in any of these areas and would like to be part of walking with God as he leads us through the next few years of life and ministry of Scargill – or if you can encourage others you know who might – please get in touch by sending a CV to the secretary of the Council Sheila Thompson (council.secretary@scargillmovement.org) outlining the areas you think you can best contribute.
Or email Phil (phil@scargillmovement.org) to arrange a phone conversation if you’d like to discuss it first!
We look forward to hearing from you!
Dear Friends
This comes with much love and prayers to you in this Easter Season. We pray that you may know the love and power of the Risen Lord in your lives.
Scargill Chapel Easter Sunday
It was a real joy for the Community to welcome guests for Holy Week and Easter, the first time since 2019. You can catch up on our Good Friday Hour at the Cross and Easter Sunday Service on our YouTube channel.
We are glad to announce that our new combined Momentum magazine and Programme (covering events from September 2022 to February 2023) will be coming through your letter box on Monday 25th April (and go live on the website from around 10am that day). We do hope that you find much to encourage you to continue to journey with us and to plan to book a visit to stay here, amongst the wide variety of events on offer both in-house and online. Please complete your booking forms via the website if at all possible.
Thank you for your prayers for new Community. We are pleased to have welcomed a couple of new members, from Brazil and Pakistan.
We offer enormous congratulations to Sarah and Dani who have added to our Community numbers! Ezra Daniel was born on April 9th, weighing in at 6lb 2oz and is such a wonderful blessing from God. Mum and baby are doing well and we’re all thrilled with the new addition to our Scargill family!
We would very much value your prayers at the beginning of May when we will be interviewing for a new Chaplain, who will be an additional person to work with Mike and the rest of the Pastoral Team.
There is a very helpful blog from Shaun entitled, ‘Closing the wound within’, first published on theBaptist Union of Great Britain website. We are aware that many of us are living in a Holy Saturday moment and this article could be helpful.Thank you Shaun!
Below is Di’s article on the Emmaus Road – Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Emmaus Road – Miklos Somos
Nusi, a dear friend of ours from Hungary, first introduced me to this painting one Easter whilst here on community. The painting is entitled Emmaus Road by Miklos Somos. Miklos Somos was born in Hungary in 1933 and died in 2009. Unity and relationships in the world were important to him with his paintings always having a reference to transcendence, state of grace or divine existence, often with a Bible theme.
At first, even though it was Easter! I didn’t recognise the shadow on the wall as Jesus, alas, I don’t think I even saw it! I hope you did! I hope you were drawn to the shadow walking just a little apart from the despondent disciples, perhaps unbeknown to them even leading the way! Anyway here is a clever, gentle painting showing the travellers too busy talking to notice they have been joined by a companion. They are blind to Jesus’ presence; their friend will appear as a stranger, their teacher as a traveller. This painting made me wonder how many times have I been too busy to notice what is happening around me, too busy to really listen to what is being said. Probably far too many. And how many times I have sat in Chapel willing myself to be open to God, to listen for his voice when instead I find myself listening to my thoughts, my concerns and my worries of the day. Again far too many!
But when walking, walking alone or with Ossie, the dog, I find my thoughts disappear and I can begin to feel a companionable presence alongside. God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden and he walks with us now. God has promised throughout the scriptures he will be with us always. From Moses to the Jews in exile, from the early persecuted Church to the church of today we can all recall God’s promises to accompany his people.
This past week I have seen community members, Working Friends and guests sitting alongside another, being a companion. They had noticed a need and responded. They had looked with eyes that saw and acted. They listened and shared, probably not for the hours of a long walk, although I know many conversations take place on the walk to Connie Pie, but for the time they have been given. There have been times when we have all been a companion to others. There have been times when we knew we should walk alongside another when perhaps we did, perhaps we didn’t.
As we travel onwards, in this Easter Season, can we seek to be more aware of those who are actually walking alongside us? Can we be a ready companion, an encouraging friend, a listening ear, a source of joy and laughter, a giver of chocolate?
Can we be bringers of hope into this tired and distorted world? I do hope so.
This comes with much love and prayers, and particularly for Ukraine during these dark days. We do believe in the God who is able to do miracles, who is Hope, Love and Peace. We are in need of a miracle.
Lord have mercy on Ukraine
Some of you have asked: ‘How can we pray for Ukraine?’ – A good question. There are two wonderful prayers you may find helpful. One is from Taizé by Brother Alois and the other is from CAFOD (see here):
Loving God, We pray for the people of Ukraine, for all those suffering or afraid, that you will be close to them and protect them.
We pray for world leaders, for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.
We pray for the world that in this moment of crisis, we may reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need.
May we walk in your ways so that peace and justice become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world. Amen [CAFOD]
Last Wednesday 2nd March our 4:30pm livestreamed prayers were focused on praying for Ukraine. See link here.
Also, below you can find the link to a Ukrainian Chant of the Jesus Prayer- “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us” – which you may find helpful as you pray. Jesus Prayer music from Ukraine:
A couple of weeks back, we remembered the life of Archbishop Janani Luwum who was martyred for his faith. Di’s reflection picks up on this which speaks of placing Jesus right at the centre. Amen to that.
Diane writes, beginning with an exerpt from ‘Blessed are the Patient Meek’ by Hannah Hurnard: Immortal meek! Who take the earth By flinging all away! Who die – and death is but their birth Who lose-and win the day Hewn down and stripped and scorned and slain.
O Christ-like meek! By heaven blessed, Before whom hell must quake, By foolish, blinded men oppressed, Who yet the earth do shake. O “seed” of him who won through loss
In my last reflection we looked at Martin and Rosa Up Front, a beautiful painting by Coiln Bootman and today I would like us to think about modern martyrs.
‘Why?’ you may ask.
Because two weeks ago, as I began writing this reflection, we had the family of Archbishop Janani Luwum of Uganda staying with us. Janani Luwum is one of the ten Modern Martyrs of the 20th century who stand above the west door of Westminster Abbey. Unveiled in 1998, Janani Luwum . stands 3rd from the left with Dr Martin Luther King Jr 5th. Following the closure of St. John’s, Nottingham, a plaque originally erected there in memory of the Archbishop Janani Luwum was, last October, relocated to Scargill House with the hope that an act of commemoration would take place here, every year on the 16th February – the day the Archbishop was killed in 1977.
Also, the week before a regular guest, who supports Open Doors, was staying with us. Open Doors tells us that every day, millions of Christians risk their lives to follow Jesus. In more than 60 countries, Open Doors supports them by supplying Bibles, providing emergency relief and helping persecuted believers stand strong for the long-term. In the UK and Ireland, Open Doors helps the church to pray, give and speak out for those who share our faith but not our freedom. Are we able to show our unity with those in peril? Have a look to see how you could help.
Unfortunately suffering is an expected element in Christian living (see 2 Tim. 2:3) and although for us here in the UK the actual “persecution” may be less, the unbelieving world will always remain deeply hostile to the gospel. The New Testament talks a lot about forgiving one’s enemies, a noble and altruistic notion perhaps but one that is so difficult. As humans, we want revenge and vindication. We don’t naturally think about praying for our enemies. But Jesus commanded us to pray for those who persecute us. In Luke 6 we read ‘this is what I say to all who will listen to me: Love your enemies, and be good to everyone who hates you. Ask God to bless anyone who curses you, and pray for everyone who is cruel to you.’
Ephesians 4 also tells us to treat enemies with kindness, putting away the temptations to gossip or become bitter. When we forgive those who are against us, we start to treat them differently, looking at them through a lens of compassion. Praying softens our heart, as we let go of our agenda. And most of all it allows us to become more like Jesus. And so as we pray for our enemies, we forgive them and we become channels of peace.
Can you join me in the prayer below and perhaps like me you may even find yourself singing it! How wonderful that would be.
Make me a channel of your peace Where there is hatred let me bring your love Where there is injury, your pardon Lord And where there is doubt true faith in You
Make me a channel of your peace Where there is despair in life let me bring hope Where there is darkness only light And where there’s sadness ever joy
Oh, Master grant that I may never seek So much to be consoled as to console To be understood as to understand To be loved as to love with all my soul
Make me a channel of your peace It is in pardoning that we are pardoned It is in giving to all men that we receive And in dying that we are born to eternal life
Oh, Master grant that I may never seek So much to be consoled as to console To be understood as to understand To be loved as to love with all my soul
Make me a channel of your peace Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope Where there is darkness only light And where there’s sadness ever joy
We do hope this finds you well. It is hard to believe that we are into February!
Thank you for your continued love and support, and particularly for your prayers for new community. Community numbers continue to be an ongoing challenge for us, but we are very glad to welcome Remiel (from Hong Kong), Emily and Richard. We will be having another day of prayer in the near future and we will obviously send you the details as we would really love for you to join in.
You would be very welcome to join us for any of our hybrid or online events which you can find on our website. We are committed to continue our Wednesday 4:30pm Evening Prayer Services and thank you for the encouragements from those of you who have found them really helpful.
We wanted to remind you of the current Free Wills Network offer – please find information below from Clare:
Between January and March this year Scargill Movement is partnering again with the National Free Wills Network (NFWN). This scheme enables an individual or couple to get a simple Will written, free of charge, by a participating solicitor, near to where they live. Your details are forwarded by us to the NFWN who will provide a list of six local participating solicitors from which you can make a choice that works best for you.
There is no obligation of course, but should you choose to leave a gift through this scheme it would be a wonderful legacy to bless the work of Scargill Movement into the future.
If this is of interest, please either email your name and contact details (including address) to legacy@scargillmovement.org
Or alternatively, feel free to call Clare Lambert on 01756 760515.
Those of you who have been waiting again for Di’s reflection, here is the latest one. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Recently, we have had so many beautiful days here and the other morning was no exception except that it occurred to me how easy it is for us to see God’s beauty, glimpses of God’s glory – we are surrounded by it. BUT, oh how difficult it can be to see it in the city. It is certainly not impossible it just requires a different way of looking.
When at university in Camden I used to cycle from Hackney up and down Holloway Road, which for the most part appeared cold and dreary. Then, one day, our history tutor took us to St Pancras Station and she told us to look up, always look up. For here was our history, in the buildings and their architecture. And looking up, as well as making cycling a little more hazardous, opened for me a new perspective of God’s presence.
But looking up is only part of the story. Laura Knight, one of the most popular English artists of the twentieth century who focused on recording daily life has an exhibition in Milton Keynes which we saw last week when visiting our daughter. The blurb for one of her earlier paintings includes this quote: ‘there was beauty in very simple things if one had eyes to see it.’
Matt Whitney, an artist I have used a few times in my Advent weekends, writes about ‘glimpses of glory’: ‘Riding the bus forces me to wait. It’s in these waiting moments that I seem to have glimpses of glory – kind deeds done amongst strangers crammed into an overcrowded bus, catching a sunset over the Ballard Locks, or the seemingly random flourishes of inspiration that strike me when my mind wanders. Spaces between immanence and transcendence are revealed. I have a heightened sense of spiritual awareness when I ride the bus – such an unlikely place for this to happen! Or is it?’
Martin and Rosa Up Front by Colin Bootman (2001, Oil on canvas, private collection)
You see only today I saw this painting, Martin and Rosa Up Front, in our ‘page-a-day gallery calendar 2022′, and it is sitting on our kitchen table next to me whilst I write. Surely here is a very beautiful and tender painting. Peace and warmth called out to me long before I read the title (I had to go and get my glasses!!) then the story behind the picture made it extra special, and guess what, they are sitting on a bus.
Riding the bus causes Matt Whitney to pay more careful attention, to look with undistracted eyes. Laura Knight encourages us to see beauty in the simple things of life and I pray that today all of us will catch a glimpses of God’s Glory where ever we are. God’s spirit is everywhere drawing us in, we need only to look with open eyes and hearts full of expectation. It is not about where we are but about how we look.
WIth love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
We’ll let Remiel introduce himself.
Hello, my dear friends! My name is Remiel from Hong Kong, one of the newest members of community. I am so happy that one of my friends, a guest here, suggested me to come here. Because at that time I wished to join a community and also, I can learn about how to build good community life in Europe. And learn how to be a good community builder in the future, especially in the European church. So now I was invited to join the kitchen team. We work hard every day but I am learning a lot form the kitchen team. I am learning to work with people from different backgrounds. I’m learning very practical skills both in the kitchen and our daily life. I hope I will learn a lot and that I will find an enjoyable life here at Scargill.
What have you enjoyed so far?
I have enjoyed the work in the kitchen, the bible study group time, prayers, and having some time for silence and learning. I can learn how to adjust my manner with the people and the guests.
You’ve got the practical stuff in the kitchen, preparing meals for people, a bit like Jesus prepared a meal for his disciples, that’s the spiritual principle. Are there any other spiritual things we do you’ve enjoyed?
I think it’s quite hard to separate out different parts of one’s spirituality. Because when I was serving the meals to the guests, I think this is very important to my spiritual life. I can try to practise how to be hospitable to different needs, as well as pick up on people’s feelings. I would also like to practise group leading during the dinner times. We are invited to talk to our guests, to listen, perhaps to draw out someone who is quieter.
Brilliant! And what were you doing in Hong Kong?
Before coming to Scargill I was working as a freelancer, doing translation, teaching, and telephone interviews. Before that I was finishing a Master’s degree in theology.
You’ve already visited London, Leeds, Skipton and Grassington, what motivates your curiosity?
I have visited friends and of course curiosity is a very good reason. For Skipton I want to experience and feel how life is lived by people here. Another reason is going to a church which has a connection with me.
You’re from a Lutheran background?
Yes, yes, I am!
Can you say a prayer for us?
Dear Lord thank you that we can meet in Scargill and keep learning here. And keep growing as well. We can come together in a community the way Jesus came together with his disciples. Jesus, I pray you shape us in this kind of community life. Also, a blessing on our guests from different places, from Britain and different cultures. I would like to send blessings to people from different countries. My prayer is also for the Hong Kong people. Please hear our prayer in Jesus’ name Amen.
Thank you Remiel, may your stay here be a blessing as you bless us!
Dear Friends
We are delighted to say that our new Programme with Momentum magazineis released today. It covers new events from March through to August 2022, and lists events with spaces remaining for January and February 2022.
We are very pleased with the variety of events and speakers you have to choose from. You can find it on the website, and those of you who signed up for a paper copy will have one coming through your letter box.
The programme lists both in-house and online events. We have made a couple of our events in January and February 2022 into hybrid events (previously these were only in-house), so you can now also join us from the comfort of your own home. Do check out the list of ways that you can join us and form community by either visiting in person or gathering together online.
The Programme is not as full as it has been in the past as this reflects the size of the Community, which remains small, but also the desire to care for our guests and Community as we continue to navigate through the Pandemic. We look forward so much to welcoming you again through our doors.
We still long for new Community members so would you continue to pray for us and spread the word. Thank you! Details of how to join Community areon our website.
So, we would like to welcome you to come alongside us as we pray on Monday 13th December from 10am, specifically for God to increase the number of people on Community. A prayer sheet will be available on our website to help you in your prayers.
In the evening, you are very welcome to join us for our Praise and Prayer Meeting which will be on Zoom from 8-9pm. Please be open to the Holy Spirit for words, scriptures and pictures as we pray and worship together.
As Jacob said in his wrestling with God, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!’ (Genesis 32:26). We believe that we need to wrestle for a blessing.
If you want to book for the Praise and Prayer evening via Zoom, which we would strongly encourage you to do, then book your free ticket here.
With much love in this Advent Season,
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Looking to 2022 we are faced with a real challenge. Our current number on Community is about 23 and our desire, to fulfil the ministry of Scargill, is to grow the resident community to 32.
In the Programme, that will be with you on Monday, we have had to limit the number of guests we can take to balance the number of community available to offer hospitality.
[Note that our programme will not be available to book online until office hours have begun on Monday morning. Please be patient with our bookings team as we try to process your booking requests in the most efficient way that we can.]
We all know and love Scargill, and we are always wonderfully surprised at how our loving God speaks into people’s lives when we try our very best to offer a Jesus-centred hospitality. The testimonies since we have re-opened have been so encouraging and amazing.
So, we would like to welcome you to come alongside us as we pray on Monday 13th December from 10am. A prayer sheet will be available on our website to help you in your prayers.
In the evening, you are very welcome to join us for our Praise and Prayer Meeting which will be on Zoom from 8-9pm. Please be open to the Holy Spirit for words, scriptures and pictures as we pray and worship together.
As Jacob said in his wrestling with God, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!’ (Genesis 32:26). We believe that we need to wrestle for a blessing.
If you want to book for the Praise and Prayer evening via Zoom, which we would strongly encourage you to do, then book your free ticket here.
Scargill Chapel Foundation stone
With much love in this Advent Season,
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
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On Saturday 23 rd October 2021 at 2 p.m. a tree was planted in memory of the martyred Ugandan Archbishop Janani Luwum in the Marsh Garden at Scargill House by his son Andrew Luwum and the Revd Canon Phil Stone, Director of Scargill. A plaque originally erected in memory of the Archbishop at St. John’s College Nottingham on the 18 April 1977 just two months after Janini’s tragic death was also relocated, following the closure of St. John’s. In the original ceremony in 1977 in Nottingham a tree was also planted, which sadly blew down in high winds in 2012. The service of remembrance was attended by many people including, Andrew the Archbishop’s son, his wife Harriet and daughter Precious Samalie, as well as Canon Dr Christina Baxter CBE and Bishop Colin Buchanan, both former Principals of St. John’s Nottingham, former students, and Mrs Kate Galpin (86) who was a missionary with her husband Alan in Northern Uganda when Janini was Bishop there. A longer article will appear in the next Momentum magazine.
COP26 in Glasgow the 1st to 12th November 2021 is the UN’s 26th annual climate change conference of the parties who signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1994.
The headlines say that climate change is the biggest risk we face as human beings. We have all read about increases in global temperature causing devastating storms, floods, and wildfires. The carbon emissions from our way of life are responsible for this rise in temperature, and significant problems with air pollution. It is developing industrial nations that suffer the most from climate change.
Like our eco-partner A Rocha UK we are committed to not only caring for our small piece of creation but the whole earth. For this reason, we are following COP 26 closely, and praying regularly for good outcomes. COP26 has been called the world’s ‘last best chance’ to control runaway climate change.
The big challenge set at COP21 in Paris in 2015 was to limit the increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees this century. We are not on track to do this and so a major focus for COP26 is to revisit this and set new emissions reduction targets.
It is also clear that all nations need to work together and that rich nations need to help developing nations. A Rocha point out that it is not just a frightening change in dramatic weather patterns at stake, there is ‘even faster global biodiversity loss,’ even greater ‘disruption to human life,’ and increasing eco-anxiety amongst young people.
This week pray in the words of A Rocha, that there will be a ‘rising to the moment.’
This comes, as always, with much love and prayers.
We would like to thank you for joining us on the day of prayer for new community. During the day, praying in the Chapel, there was a sense of well-being – acknowledging that God very much had this in His hands. Since the day of prayer there have been some green shoots with some enquiries to join community which is looking hopeful.
Di’s reflection this week is centred around the wonder of creation, how we are so much part of it and how we are called to love it.
I have just returned from an A Rocha Partners-in-action retreat and the forthcoming COP26 in Glasgow was a major topic in our conversations. A Rocha are going to be at the conference and, needless to say, we will be holding the conference in our prayers throughout the two weeks which starts on Sunday 31st October. We will be trying our best to put reflections, prayers and updates onto our website and Facebook page.
Our next online Quiet Dayis on Saturday 20th November, reflecting on Christ the King.
Our new programme, which will take us from beginning of March to end of August 2022, should be with you by the end of November.
The Wednesday Evening Prayer Livestream services will continue for the foreseeable future.
Diane writes:
This month Glasgow will host COP26, the United Nations climate change conference. And it feels that we have reached a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change.
So here is my aboriginal painting entitled Creation by Jeremy Devitt Wunongmurra, which I bought when visiting Phil’s sister in Australia. Placing this photo out in the garden not only brings the painting to life it also reminds us that creation is all around us. Yes even in the cities; although it was difficult to find a city backdrop in our garden! ‘God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning–the sixth day.’ Genesis 1 v 31
The background of this painting is full of muted colours, really quite beautiful, and if you follow the spiral into the middle there is a flower in full bloom with its petals reaching out into the world, sadly they seem to become distorted the further out you look. Well, that’s what I can see! The Aboriginals believe that the entire world was made by their Ancestors, way back in the very beginning of time, the Dreamtime. They have a profound spiritual connection to land. Tom Dystra an Aboriginal elder says ‘We cultivate our land, but in a different way from white man. We endeavour to live with the land; they seem to live off it’. Sadly I think this is true, hopefully this is what COP26 will try to address.
And that is not all, I remember being excited when I first unrolled the painting and saw on the back much more than I had expected. Jeremy wants to give us a sense of his rich heritage, of what makes him who he is and his paintings what they are. Jeremy “Mudjai” Devitt is descendent of the Nganyaywana, Daingutti (Dhanggatti) and Gumbainga (Gumbaynggir) nations and has English, Irish and Scottish heritage. He also tells us his skin name which is inherited at birth and forms part of a broader kinship system that spans across Australia. This kinship system dictates daily life, social relationships and responsibilities, rights to land, ceremony and Dreamings, and of course, the Aboriginal artworks they share. (ARTARK)
“Mudjai” is written in the palm of, presumably, Jeremy’s hand and in Isaiah 43 we read “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” And later in Chapter 49,‘I (God) have written your name on the palms of my hands.’ He has called us by name and made us his very own beloved children. I began to think what would I write? What makes me tick, what makes me who I am? Is there a rich heritage to be found? Well, for me, family is important, very important. Not only my familial family but also in knowing I belong to the family of God. Surely there can be no richer inheritance! ‘You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.’ Ephesians 2
And being fellow citizens brings us back to Creation. In Genesis 2 v 15 we read ‘Humans were placed in the Garden of Eden and instructed to ‘work it and take care of it’. In other words, God has given us the responsibility to act as stewards of his creation – to care for, manage, oversee and protect all that God owns. Which does not give us free licence to exploit and abuse God’s earth. No! God commissions us to rule over the creation in a way that sustains, protects, and enhances his works so that all creation may fulfil the purposes God intended for it.
We must learn to manage the environment not simply for our own benefit but for God′s glory. Perhaps we must learn to ‘live with the land not off it.’
With much love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
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Interview with Chloe
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Interview with Peter
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Dear Friends
This, as ever, comes with much love and prayers as well as a deep gratitude for all your support during these days that continue to be challenging.
We’d like to ask you to pray alongside us on Friday 24th September as a day of prayer for new Community.
The number of applications to join Community is currently very low due to the pandemic and implications of Brexit. The current Community is around 23 and, with those who are set to be leaving during the next few months, in January 2022 the size of the community could be 18. The Community are in good heart and we have been very grateful to our Working Friends, without whom we would not be able to fulfil our gift of hospitality.
We have always believed that Scargill is about ‘lives –shared, lives-transformed’ with Jesus at the centre, and we do believe that God will bring the right people to join the Scargill adventure. Please pray with us that the Holy Spirit will be working in those people’s lives to join them to Scargill.
A YouTube resource will be available on our website to help you in your prayers – but whatever you do it will be great if you can pray for Scargill and the Community on Friday 24th September.
Our next online Quiet Daywill be on Saturday 9th October and you would be very welcome to join online any of our hybrid events which you can find on our website.
It has been such a joy to be open again to guests and there is no doubt that people are encountering God and His love during their stay.
We look forward to seeing you in person, hopefully in the near future.
Di’s reflection this week explores ‘Treasure’.
Diane writes:
Well Summer is almost over and I’m still waiting for a heatwave! Yes, there have been gorgeous, warm, almost hot, still days but for the most part it feels as if the warmth was lost in dull and grey skies. So here is a picture by Kelly McNeil of her son playing on the beach (Big Beach, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia).
Kelly McNeil – ‘Discovering a Treasure’
The painting is titled, ‘Discovering a Treasure’, and shows the little boy, feet in the water, looking for something, looking for treasure. And he seems to have found it; perhaps a beautiful shell or some seaweed, a pebble or a few minnows, he will enjoy trying to catch. Perhaps the treasure is in the enjoyment of finding and chasing it! Perhaps not, but all are beautiful gifts from nature.
In Matthew 13, Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field’. The treasure the man found is so precious to him that it completely transforms his life.
Small treasures are there for the finding. I remember one morning, many years ago, when we had two small children under three years old. We were living in Cambridge and Phil was away on placement. Unlike this painting it was a damp, dull Autumn morning and we were walking the dog in one of the gardens. I was tired, annoyed and possibly a little resentful when our eldest cried ‘Mummy come here, come and see the flower’. Over I trudged and saw her standing there with a late blooming flower in her hand (sorry, yes she had picked it) and a wonderful smile on her face. I too smiled, the day was transformed, was there even a hint of sunshine? Rachel had found one of God’s treasures and I have never forgotten it.
This morning Phil reminded me of another treasure – the Holy Spirit that strengthens us from within. As we listened to this song by Alistair MacLean I was struck by the many similarities with my story.
Even though the day be laden and my task dreary and my strength small, a song keeps singing in my heart. For I know that I am Thine. I am part of Thee. Thou art kin to me, and all my times are in Thy hand.
As we journey on into Autumn can we have expectant hearts to see the treasures God has already prepared for each of us.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Our very own Jo Penn, Community member, is guest writer for Sanctuary First Daily Worship this week (Sun 12 to Sat 18 September). Check out the first two posts here, and follow them for the rest of the week:
We have just finished three weeks of Summerfest, and it has been such a joy to welcome guests back, to hear the sound of young people and wonderfully see how God has been blessing many on their return back to Scargill. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and support – it means a great deal to us.
We continue to offer online quiet days and our next one is on Saturday 4th September which I will be leading around the theme of, ‘Jesus: the Bread of life’. Do book – we’d love to see you through the wonder of Zoom. There are plenty of space on our other online and hybrid events (online tickets). See here for further details of online events in September and October:
We are continuing with our Wednesday Livestream Evening Prayer services from Wednesday 8th September (there is not one on Wednesday 1st September)- which you can pick up on our YouTube channel.
I would like to highlight for Church Leaders: Fuzzy Church led by Elli Wort and Nigel Rooms – Mon 1st to Thu 4th November – which is based on their new book looking at the Gospel and Culture in the North of England.
For those of you who want to develop their understanding about Justice, I recommend the course Fri 12th to Sun 14th November, funnily enough it is called Time for Justice.
Below is Di’s latest reflection about fitting in and green noses!
Diane writes:
‘If only I had a green nose’ the title of a Max Lucado story and what a brilliant way to start a reflection? The blurb for ‘If only I had a green nose’ tells us a green nose is the latest trend and everyone wants one, everyone wants to fit in, but the colour kept changing and soon ‘Punchinello and his buddies had so many layers of paint on their noses they couldn’t remember what they really looked like.They had been trying to fit in but now returned to Eli because they just wanted to be themselves.’
Trying to fit in! Now isn’t that what I have been secretly trying to do most of my life? I have wanted to be slimmer, taller, sportier, wear the right clothes, say the right things etc. etc. And although it wasn’t necessarily true, I often felt ‘left out’ and I still think people don’t really understand me, but of course that’s because I am such a unique person or maybe it’s because I don’t let them!
Now, I knew there was a poem out there somewhere about being ourselves and Shaun kindly sent me it, “Warning” by Jenny Joseph also known as “When I Grow Old, I Shall Wear Purple” which was penned in 1961 at the age of twenty-nine! On the surface a light-hearted poem until you start reflecting, especially at my age, and mulling over what is really being said!
Warning [by Jenny Joseph] When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people’s gardens And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
About this poem J R Milson wrote “I hear her speaking to each of us, male or female, in an ode to nonconformity, one of my personal favourite rants and topics. In a humorous, tongue-in-cheek and fun way, Jenny Joseph conveys a serious message for all, to never take ourselves too seriously or lose the twinkle in our eyes.” I will certainly continue to wear my bright red pinafore dress with pride!
Thankfully fitting in is perhaps the opposite to where following Christ will lead us. Did Jesus ever fit in with the world? No, and neither will His followers. We were never meant to fit in with the crowd. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us ‘But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done”.
We have been called to stand out, to be different in this world where God is often put aside. To be the one to show an alternative way of living, one that shares the love of God, and draws others in – perhaps with a twinkle in our eyes, whatever the colour of our noses.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We do hope this finds you well as we navigate through these challenging, and sometimes confusing, days.
We are very thankful to God for being able to be open since the beginning of June and the feedback has been wholeheartedly positive. It has been lovely to watch how God has gently worked in people’s lives.
We are now readying ourselves for Summerfest with reduced numbers yet open to all that God has for us and hopefully with plenty of fun and laughter!
Our livestreamed Evening Prayer services will resume this coming Wednesday 4th August at 4:30pm and they will continue through Summerfest.
We are delighted to say that the new Programmewill be released today. It covers events through to February 2022 and we are very pleased with the variety of events and speakers you have to choose from. You can obviously find it on the website, and those of you who signed up for a paper copy will have one coming through your letter box.
The Programme is not as full as it has been in the past as this reflects the size of the Community, which remains small, but also the desire to care for our guests and Community as we continue to navigate through the Pandemic. We look forward so much to welcoming you again through our doors.
We still long for new Community members so would you continue to pray for us and spread the word. Thank you! Details of how to join Community areon our website.
Below is Di’s reflection on Friendship. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Do you remember playing with your shadow? I still enjoy playing shadows with our grandchildren, and I particularly enjoy those shadows that make me look tall and willowy.
I first met Cathy in 1975 when I started my SRN training at Charing Cross Hospital. Since then we have remained firm friends. This week we met Cathy and her husband for the first time in 18 months at Nostell Priory. In many ways nothing had changed, we looked much the same, yet so much had changed and not just due to COVID but also because life goes on regardless. We stood for a while just ‘being’ together, no words, no action, just being close.
Di’s photo of the shadows of herself and friends
Later as we stood on a bridge I saw our shadows – a good photo opportunity perhaps? I took the photo, rather hurriedly before we moved on, using my phone – oh how I miss holding the old camera up to my eye! Anyway, the shadows began to represent our friendship. You see shadows are always there whether we can see them or not, as are good friends. The weather being extremely hot found us seeking out shaded areas to provide relief from the direct heat of the sun. The shadows of the trees provided a cool place to rest and as we sat and talked I began to think about Psalm 91 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Later I read that the word “dwell” means, “to take up permanent residence in.” The psalmist is reminding us to stay in God’s presence. Ephesians also reminds us that God is constructing a new Temple, a Temple not of stones, arches or pillars but of human beings because God seeks to make his home in the hearts, lives and communities of his people. And if that is the case whatever each day brings we can “rest” in the very “shadow (the very presence) of the Almighty.”
Our daughter Ruth is watching once again the sitcom Friends. Friends is a 90’s Comedy TV show, based in Manhattan, about 6 friends who go through just about every life experience imaginable together; love, marriage, divorce, children, heartbreaks, fights, new jobs and job losses and all sorts of drama. The show starts off with each character in their 20’s, and expands over a 10 year period, as each character tries to find happiness, success and what the true meaning of a “friend” really is. What they discovered can be seen in a few short quotes from the programme
Friendship is another word for love. – …
It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. – …
The only way to have a friend is to be one. – …
A friend is what the heart needs all the time. – …
The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it. –
Just recently two very different friends have responded to two very different concerns, both have encouraged me to rest in God’s presence, to trust, to have hope. Both have blessed me more than they will ever know. Their shadows have been long, they have supported me from afar. Our friendships are secure. Our friends whether present in person or in shadow, whether new or old, will often help us to ‘rest in the shadow of the most high’, if would only we let them!
I’ll finish with a tweet from Conversation UN Women: ‘On Friendship Day (30th July), and every day, let’s support each other, lean on each other, believe in each other & encourage each other.’
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
What took a year to build and cost £15,000? What has panga panga blocks and Columbian pine beams? Where do we find unpolished mahagony and limestone sourced locally, some from the estate? Where do we find something shaped like a carpenter’s bench, and what is it? What are panga panga blocks resistant to in their native country?
The answer is of course the chapel which was dedicated on the 8th of April 1961 by the Lord Bishop of Liverpool. For the other questions, why don’t you have a guess and email us at admin@scargillmovement.org with your answers.
Since we have been open at the beginning of June this year a number of new guests have treasured their time in the chapel, and there has been at least one life given to Jesus over these last few months. We have also had folk who have been here in the past come in just to look at the chapel. We even had an architectural student who stopped by to admire it.
It is a Grade II listed building designed by York architect George Pace in the Modernist style, wood, and rock and sky glued together. At its dedication the Bishop of Bradford said the blessing and Revd Geoffrey Rogers, the then Warden of Lee Abbey said prayers. Dr Donald Coggan a famous friend of Scargill was that Bishop and went on to be the Archbishop of York and of Canterbury.
The spectacular sweeping roof is made of grey cedar shingles. The architect was also involved in the design of the wrought iron cross behind the altar, and the pattern for the kneelers. The clear latticed windows are designed that a worshipper might be encouraged to lift their eyes up to the hills (Psalm 121). They also let in all the light of the sky and the Dales.
In stormy weather the chapel creaks and groans like a ship in sail, and you are transported to Galilee and imagining yourself on a fishing boat with Jesus. Shaped like praying hands it has held thousands of people, young and old from every background in its embrace, in joy and in sorrow, a thin place where heaven and earth can meet.
At the moment the community prays three times a day. It is a place where in silence and solitude you can be alone in its light, but not lonely. Or you can worship with 150 others and be taken out of your own self into God’s presence. If you have a memory or a photo of the chapel do send it to shaun.lambert@scargillmovement.org. In remembering the good things of the past, we can be grateful in the present and hopeful for the future.
Dear Friends
This, as ever, comes with much love and prayers from the Scargill Community. Many of you will be aware that we were delighted to welcome a limited number of guests back from 4th June which has been wonderful.
The feedback has been very positive, as one guest wrote: ‘I am encouraged that the Scargill Community has survived a difficult year and very much appreciate being able to come here and all the careful planning you have put in place to keep us safe. It is always good to come here and sense God’s presence in this special place. Thank you for your love and support.’
We would very much value your continued prayers for Community as our hearts’ desire is to give a warm Scargill welcome within the restrictions that we have to abide to at this time. So far it is going well!
We are very much wanting to grow the Community – and if you know of anyone who is looking to fill a gap year then please do point them in our direction.
Our next online event is a Renew Refresh Restore– Friday 16th to Sunday 18th July, which is alongside an in-house event. Please look at the website for details.
We will be continuing with our livestream Wednesday Evening Prayer service but just to give you a heads up the Community will be taking some downtime allowing for some holiday, so sadly there will not be a service on Wednesdays 21st and 28th July. We will be back livestreaming on 4th August.
We are very much working on the next programme, which we hope will be with you by the end of this month, and cover September 2021 to February 2022 events.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming you again through our doors.
Here is Di’s latest reflection. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
I have been thinking a lot about change recently. COVID hastily brought, rightly so, an enforced, sustained time of change upon us, which we were not used to. And it has, again, rightly so, been constantly changing! Most of us are coping well, other just about, but perhaps all us feel weary. The past was much simpler!!! Or was it?
Bob Tamsay reassures us that ‘One of life’s constants is change. Ready or not, it happens. We grow. We age. Technology reinvents each new day. Some relish change; others resist. We like it best on our terms, but don’t always have that option. Sometimes all we can do is cope with it’. Which is perhaps where most of us are at the moment.
Picasso: 18 years old
Picasso: 25 years old
Picasso: 35 years old
Picasso: 56 years old
Picasso: 83 years old
Picasso: 90 years old
Picasso seems to have embraced change, he constantly sought out and experimented with new ideas, new techniques, new materials to work with, and created a whole range of self-portraits – the same person seen through evolving styles of art. Here are a few of them, from mymodernart.com which in December 2016 had an article by Kelly Richman-Abdou ‘Evolution of Picasso’s Iconic Self-Portraits from Age 15 to 90’. They all reflect Picasso’s constantly changing styles and although I appreciate some more than others they all suggest, reveal something of Picasso’s personality and they are all part of his journey.
Cinema going has been a constant part of my journey and after Faith went to see Anthony Hopkins in The Father at the Skipton Plaza, I became rather nostalgic about going to the cinema; which has certainly changed in my life time. As I child I remember two shorter full length films and the usher. The usher with her torch, showing you to your seat, identify the young couple at the back or those talking too loudly and then, in the interval striding down the aisle to serve ice-cream. I also have a vague memory of ladies wearing hats (at times so annoying) and standing for the National Anthem. Did we really do that?
Slowly all this changed, multiplex cinemas became the thing, with small cinemas like our Skipton Plaza being the exception! They show long films, have an usher who rarely moves, heaps of popcorn, an interval after the ads and going out to get your own ice-cream. Mind you a couple of years ago we went to a cinema with sofas and the pre-order interval refreshments were brought to you. So, you see, not all change is bad.
This past year we have had to learn to embrace change, find new ways of living, that although strange and unfamiliar have become acceptable and achievable. Rick Newman wrote ‘Change can teach us to adapt and help us develop resilience, but only if we understand our own capacity for growth and learning. When change makes us better, it’s because we have learned how to turn a challenging situation to our own advantage, not merely because change happens.’
Can we look back and use the changes made for ‘the common good’, sift through them and find those that will be beneficial to keep, those that have brought about positive change and those that could be adapted for the days ahead? Here at Scargill we will keep an eye on our ‘rhythm of life’ with and without guests and continue having zoom events, often alongside residential ones – a hybrid programme apparently! And I will certainly keep up my morning exercises, shop locally or online, be more creative with cooking – thanks to our daughter and visit all our children and grandchildren as often as possible – I have sorely missed them and OH, how much they have grown and matured (well some of them!) in 15 months.
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
We are Partners in Action with the Christian eco-charity A Rocha UK. A Rocha are creating a community of ordinary Christians they are calling ‘Wild Christian’ which explores ‘the connections between our Christian faith, the natural environment and how we live.’ You can find out more via this link https://arocha.org.uk/wildchristian/.
You are encouraged by A Rocha to get attentively and creatively involved, in themes like nature and climate, nature and the UK, nature and the global, nature and the local, nature and celebration. You can explore the connections between yourself and the wild through art, poetry, action and so many other ways. We can also immerse ourselves in the wild.
Here at Scargill Movement on community we have an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the local, in the wild Yorkshire Dales around us. Whether it is wild swimming in the river Wharfe, rock climbing Kilnsey Crag, paragliding with views of Scargill House, cycling, fell running, walking the Dales, braving the steppingstones, or toasting marshmallows over a fire pit – there is so much for the adventurous soul!
And then there is the wildlife. You might catch a slug bungee jumping! Or help identify spittle bugs, Bird-cherry Ermine moths all wrapped up in silken webs on bird cherry trees, or Speckled Yellow, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, and Speckled Wood butterflies. You will have deer outside your front door in the hay meadow, barn owls and tawny owls haunting your dreams with their calls and silent flight.
We have the huge privilege of enabling others as guests and friends, young and old experience something of the ‘wild Christian.’ We might be maintaining the 90 acres of unspoilt creation on the estate team, or feeding the community, guests and friends after adventure, or creating beautiful and comfortable rooms for them to sleep…we might be hosting, and welcoming, and praying, and leading our retreats and Quiet Days, or helping with our online ministry – together creating a space of hospitiality and thin place to experience God’s presence and generosity.
Whether we are cultivating holy noticing of an otter or kingfisher on the river Wharfe or possible moments of meeting with a guest, friend, or God – we do learn to be attentive to the little details of the wild around us, we learn something of the creative Word God has placed in each member of community, as well as the joy of sharing in the stories of our guests and friends. This is an apprenticeship in discipleship with community and kingdom at the heart of it.
If your heart is strangely warmed reading this, then perhaps God is calling you to experience the adventure of community, to immerse yourself in an Acts 2 moment, being together and sharing a common life. That’s pretty wild and adventurous! Here is a link to explore this: https://old.scargillmovement.org/join-community/.
A working party from A Rocha UK were with us here at Scargill Monday 24th May to Friday 28th May. They were leading a bioblitz, an intense period of biological surveying, especially focusing on plant and bird life on our 90-acre estate. They were also working with the Estate team at Scargill in building an accessible wildlife pond and sensory garden, with pathway, seating area, stumpery (see later), and hazel arch entrance.
Here at Scargill we love caring for God’s creation and we are part of A Rocha’s Partner in Action conservation network. Our lead with A Rocha is community member Chloe Leigh. We asked Chloe some questions about the bioblitz and pond project.
Chloe, how was it working with A Rocha? Now be honest!
‘Oh, it was brilliant! They’re such a lovely and dedicated group to work with. Andy led the bioblitz group in surveying the estate, and Regina led the group working on the pond area. Every meal and break time we would sit and compare notes on how we were getting on, and it was lovely to hear everyone’s achievements and experiences of the day. Everyone had a very positive working attitude and we achieved so much in just a short length of time! I really hope we can work together again in the future.’
Can you give us one exciting finding from the bioblitz?
‘Well, we’re yet to find out the survey results, but I did hear that we have several rare species onsite. They also set up a wildlife camera at the top of the estate, so it will be fascinating to see what species they managed to capture on camera.’
How pleased were you with how far you got with the wildlife pond?
‘Very pleased! We managed to dig the pond, shape it, make a raised seating area, dig, and line the paths, build a stumpery (a rockery made from tree stumps), build a bench and extend the dry-stone wall – all in just three days! It was very impressive how everyone was so dedicated and worked so hard to complete their tasks, and I appreciate the working friends coming to offer their support as well.’
What needs to happen next?
‘Next we actually need to fill the pond! However, before we do that we need to put up natural fencing (for health and safety reasons) and put the liner in. We also need to weave the arch, make a path through the woodland and build an insect hotel! We’ve come such a long way from just a piece of paper with a sketched drawing on and an empty plot of land– we’ve got a wildlife garden well under way! I can’t wait for more guests to come and sit on our benches to admire the beautiful view down the valley, and to praise God’s wonderful creation.’
A new opportunity for guests is to visit our new Lament sculpture in the walled garden commissioned by Scargill from former community member and sculptor Lizzy Taylor. We asked her a few questions about being on community and the genesis of the sculpture.
Tell us about living on community?
‘Living on community is a special experience that I don’t think you can fully understand unless you’ve experienced it yourself. It was a time for me to grow as a person and learn to be comfortable and have confidence with my decisions…or lack of decisions in life and faith. Being surrounded by such accepting, lovely people who give you the freedom to explore and ask questions and love you for who you are whilst challenging you to do the same for others, loving and accepting others for who they are.
The biggest challenge for me wasn’t living in community itself, but actually working and welcoming guests and letting them share a snippet of community life-feeling safe in community makes you vulnerable to people coming and going as guests. But of course, it comes hand in hand and community life wouldn’t happen like it does without the guests!’
How did you get interested in sculpture?
‘I have always been creative. Since I was very young, I was interested in woodwork and art which led me to do sculpture and then furniture design and craft. Working in 3D comes naturally to me and I’m able to visualise things. Sculpture enables me to be more experimental and work without constraints.’
You’ve done some other work for Scargill?
‘I have changed many of the beds and cleaned a lot of toilets in my time at Scargill! I also had fun carving an owl from a tree that had fallen which you can find on the estate walk. Suz, a previous community member on the Estate team asked me to do it!’
Tell us about this new commission for Scargill ‘Lament’?
‘I was approached to design a lament prayer station and it was suggested to have a small, portable one that could be used in the chapel and provide a safe place for someone to engage with.
When thinking more about the brief, I felt that maybe the Chapel wasn’t the best place for this as personally I don’t find it easy to express difficult emotions in Church spaces. For me, being outside in nature is where I feel closer to God, and it’s somewhere I feel the freedom to feel whatever I feel – positive or negative emotions. The walled garden seemed the perfect safe space for this to be.
The small, portable prayer station soon didn’t seem appropriate for what we were trying to achieve. When faced with grief and sorrow, it doesn’t feel small, and I wanted the sculpture to recognise that. It can feel like you hit a wall…. something that’s impossible to see beyond, something overpowering and bigger than you. The lament sculpture came into sight and it needed to be big!
The following Psalms were mentioned in an early meeting about the idea:
Psalm 22 “My God my God why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 56 “You have stored up my tears in your bottle and counted each one of them” Psalm 88 “Darkness is my only friend.”
These have inspired the different aspects that have been incorporated within the sculpture. The large sculpture represents the wall you can feel faced with and the darkness is shown in the scorched surface. It provides a safe place to question and entrust your laments within the holes and cracks of the wall, and the water is to recognise peoples tears and cry over their questions and thoughts.
I hope people find the space that has been created helpful, and although the vision for it came before the pandemic, perhaps the timing of it is especially needed after the challenging year and months everyone has faced.’
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What would be your dream as a sculptor?
‘I would love to work full time as an artist/craftswoman. I just love to make beautiful things for others to enjoy.’ We believe Lizzy’s sculpture is a prophetic and timely piece of art that will resonate with many of our friends. We also believe it will help us express both our sorrow and our joy, our tears and our laughter as we meet God in the thin place that is the walled garden.
Dear Scargillians
We do hope you are enjoying good weather, as we are, at this time. We always seem to be talking about the weather here at Scargill.
We have a few things to share with you:
We hope that you will join us for our online Evening Prayer Service which has now moved to Wednesdays (the first on 9th June) – it will be good to have you with us.
We are so glad that we have been able to receive our first residential guests but our online presence will continue. You are very welcome to join us for a Quiet Day on Saturday 26th June. There will also be some online events in July, and we will send you details in the next mailing.
We are still very much looking for new Community members, so if you know someone who may be looking for a gap year, or you know someone who may be feeling called to community, please do get in touch with us (di@scargillmovement.org).
I know that many of you have enjoyed these mailings with Di’s reflections. They will continue but will now become monthly.
Di and I have just enjoyed a week off here at Scargill where we have been welcoming some of our family to stay for the first time for over a year. Di’s reflection speaks of the joy of re-connecting with grandchildren. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Some of you may remember reading Shirley Hughes books. My favourite one for a long time has been Lucy & Tom’s Christmas which has now become a firm family favourite. It finishes with the first illustration below and these words ‘Christmas can be quite tiring as Tom gets very excited about his presents and rather cross. So he and grandpa go for a walk together in the snow, just the two of them. The sun is very big and red.’
‘Lucy and Tom’s Christmas’ by Shirley Hughes.
In other books, Alfie and Grandma are very special friends, and together they have lots of adventures! Whether it’s saving the day and finding a lost pet, or exploring indoors and out, Alfie loves being with his grandma. In the short story A Journey to the North Pole, ‘after being stuck indoors all morning relations between Alfie and his sister Annie Rose are becoming fraught so Grandma suggests they all put their waterproofs on and go for a walk in the rain’. (second illustration). Good old grandma!
‘Journey to the North Pole’ by Shirley Hughes
‘One thing we all have in common is family. Whether large or small, near or far, dear or distant, our families and familial relationships influence who we are. Siblings and cousins are often our first friends; parents and grandparents are frequently the first people we love’. A quote I read looking up a possible etching by John Costigan at the Whitney Museum of America.
And families has been the focus of our recent week’s holiday with the children and grandchildren visiting – one set Friday night to Wednesday, the second from Wednesday to Sunday – with grandchildren aged from 9 weeks to 8years!!!!!!!!!!! During the week we stayed local, the weather has been kind and generous, the sun remaining remarkably warm for most of the week – miracles still happen! And wherever we went there were grandparents like ourselves basking in the company of their children and grandchildren. Monday though, will see us back with community a little tired, well a lot really, but also very content, with a renewed sense of purpose and place.
In Proverbs 17:6 we read: ‘Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.’
Not sure what our children would say! BUT I can definitely say that to see one’s children’s children born into this world and have an opportunity to interact with them, to have fun with them, to laugh and listen is a pure joy which many of us have missed over the past year. It has been helpful using Zoom, WhatsApp and messenger as well as visiting castles!!! Castles have been amazing places to meet halfway for a few hours whenever lockdown has been lifted, keeping those vital links that have made this week so special.
I also know that in families, all is not necessarily well, that fractions and frictions can and do arise and that unlike Shirley Hughes stories, endings are not always happy. So let us this weekend rejoice and be thankful for the good times and pray for God’s presence in the more difficult and challenging times.
With much love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
The swifts are beginning to return to Scargill and we await the house martins to once more build their nests in the eaves, and after some days of heavy rain the sun is now shining. This week we welcome a small working party from A Rocha as we develop our sensory garden with a pond as well as doing a Bio Blitz on the Scargill Estate – all very exciting!
This past week Community members have been training to prepare for residential guests coming once more through our doors from the beginning of June, wanting to make it a joyful and welcoming experience.
Before June, we are continuing to run online events. Two events coming up in the next couple of weeks are still available for online bookings – we’d love to see you:
We will continue to have the Weekly Evening Prayer livestreamed service when residential guests return, and we have one on Thu 27 May, but this moves to Wednesdays from Wed 9 June. [We will not have a livestreamed Evening Prayer on Thu 3 June as we transition]
We are pleased to give thanks for a grant received from Allchurches Trust Hope Beyond programme to help provide and improve the equipment we need to enable us to offer our ongoing online ministry. “Hope Beyond aims to enable churches and Christian charities to meet changing needs within their communities, helping them and the communities they support to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by the Coronavirus pandemic.” See further details in our blog here: https://old.scargillmovement.org/2021/05/online-retreats-a-sacred-place/
There is much to give thanks for over this first half of 2021, and we thank you for your friendship to us over these months. We hope that we have brought a message of encouragement and hope to you over this time, and even some laughter!
There are still lots of details to get our heads round on practicalities of opening to guests once more. In this context, Di writes today about the subject of worrying. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Recently, Shaun sent me a poem from “Swan: Poems and Prose Poems” by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press), which seems to express so eloquently my thoughts and my fears because I am a worrier, I just am. I often lay awake with anxious thoughts running around my brain. Sometimes I awake far too early for my liking, with non-urgent concerns vanishing any idea of further sleep. Then during the day all it takes is for something to be said, especially on the news or I notice a slip-up, a blunder or even an error – heaven forbid, and off I go again. Anyway, here is the poem.
I Worried
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers flow in the right direction, will the earth turn as it was taught, and if not how shall I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrow can do it and I am, well, hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it. am I going to get rheumatism, lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing. And I gave it up. And took my old body and went out into the morning And sang.
Sparrows by Mostafa Keyhani
Well I probably wouldn’t sing, but I would go in the garden – if the rain has stopped, and sit with a ‘nice cup of tea’. And this poem makes me smile, puts my worries into perspective and reminds me of Jesus’ words: ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.’ Matthew 10:29-31
Now I know life isn’t this easy, we all have bouts of stress and anxiety, which the pandemic has only fuelled, but this Sunday, we are reminded that on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those followers of Jesus who had waited in the locked room for the Spirit, which was to give them boldness, confidence and the nerve to follow Jesus; to be empowered and encouraged to be living witnesses to a life with Christ or as one of our morning prayers says – to be companions of God. Surely that can give us hope.
So ‘sweet dreams’ everyone and remember. ‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me (Jesus!).’John 14
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
As a community here at Scargill we are currently studying about different sacred spaces we inhabit. In lockdown we have heard consistently that our online presence has been a ‘sacred space’ for our guests and friends. As lockdown eases and we can welcome guests and friends to stay with us physically we want to still offer a vibrant online programme.
To enable us to substantially improve our online presence we are planning to invest in improvements to our technology and digital capabilities. This will continue to ensure that people experience Scargill Movement online as a sacred space, where they can be part of an online community. Allchurches Trust have given us a generous grant to help us launch this new project.
Dave Lucas our Operations & Project Leader who put together the grant request, and will run the project of digital improvements says, ‘I am delighted with the Allchurches Trust grant from the Hope Beyond project, and I believe that is what we can continue to offer with their financial help – hope beyond lockdown!’
Allchurches Trust is one of the UK’s largest grant-making charities and gave more than £23 million to churches, charities and communities in 2020. Its funds come from its ownership of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group. Visit their website: http://www.allchurchestrust.co.ukfor more information.
If you want to know more about this digital improvement project and our plans to get in touch with Dave at dave.lucas@scargillmovement.org.
As ever, this comes with much love and prayers to you all, especially as the lockdown restrictions are gradually eased.
At Scargill we feel we in a transitional space as we prepare to warmly welcome back residential guests at the beginning of June. We are so excited! The online events will continue and here is what is coming up.
We would like to warmly welcome you to our Scargill Forum on Wednesday 12th May (8-9:30pm) where Phil will be giving a short Biblical reflection as we begin to emerge into a new way of living. There will be an opportunity to ask questions, share thoughts and have fun!
Before that, on Tuesday 11th May, Mike will be leading a singing morning – ‘Finding your Voice’.
On Friday 14th and Saturday 15thMay Phil will be leading two separate Quiet Days (repeated material) reflecting on the wonder of the Ascension and looking forward to Pentecost.
Our next Crafternoon is on Saturday 22nd May 3-4pm (email hello@scargillmovement.org for the link).
From Tuesday 25th to Thursday 27th May – Di and Margi will be leading an Enneagram 3 course.
It is lovely to welcome Donna Worthington to be leading us on a Pentecost Retreat Fri 28th to Sun 30th May.
We would very much value your prayers for us as a Community on the week beginning Monday 17th May, as we have a training week to ready ourselves for residential guests.
There is much to be thankful to God for – and we are very thankful to YOU for the love and support you have given us.
Here is Di’s reflection – enjoy!
Diane writes:
Wall, walls, walls, over the last two weeks I seem to have constantly been faced by walls, so I thought I should pass them onto you!
It began with Chloe’s morning prayers from Ephesians 2. Chloe was struck by a recurring theme of walls. From v14 Chloe read that ‘Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that divides us.’ More interestingly from v20 she read ‘You are like a building, with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone.…and you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God’s own Spirit to live.’ Here was a metaphor of Christians, us, you and me, being the bricks that make up God’s household. Chloe, liked this idea, that we are the bricks that make up God’s dwelling place because ‘if you think about it, all bricks are important, if you take away one, you lose the integrity of the house. All the bricks are equal; there is no hierarchy, the bricks at the top are no more or less important than the bricks at the bottom, and they are all the same – no inequality, no prejudice, no exclusion: they are all just as important and just as valued’. She finished with ‘That’s what the Church is supposed to be like anyway.’ Yes!
Prodigal Son – Sieger Koder
Then during the recent Enneagram course Margi and I led, we asked our participants to choose one of three paintings to reflect on in a meditative way. During the feedback Joce, having chosen ‘The Prodigal Son by Sieger Koder, decided to sketch it. As she sketched Joce noticed the wall jutting out towards us held her focus and attention. That the white wall formed a barrier between the elder son and his father, reinforcing the separation between the lives and characters of the sons. The elder son, jealous, serious, looks on from the outside! – He looks squeezed, thin, hands wringing together. Is this self-imposed isolation? In contrast 2/3 of the picture is of the rounded encircling figures of the younger son and his embracing father; intimate, hands and arms outstretched towards one another. Although the elder son is hidden by the wall that separates him from his father, we are drawn to his right arm resting slightly in front of the wall, perhaps hedging forwards, maybe a sign of hope or redemption – if he chooses!
I was also reading A Passion for Life written by Joan Chittister and in the Chapter ‘Rumi – Icon of wisdom’ I came across this short quote from Jeluddin Rumi, a Sufi Saint born in 1207.
‘The clear bead at the centre changes everything. There are no edges to my loving now. I’ve heard it said, there is a window that opens from one mind to another. But if there is no wall, there is no need for fitting the window, or the latch’.
Joan Chittister went on to write ‘It’s fine to say we can open the windows to the world outside of ourselves, that we can, if we will, let the outside in, but what, Rumi asks, is the point of building walls between us to begin with?’ A good question, the poem is quite a challenge?
Saint Joseph Foster Father of Christ – Francois Jean Baptiste Benjamin Constant
And finally from my Daily Gospel -Christian Art I was given this beautiful painting ‘Saint Joseph, Foster Father of Christ’ by François-Jean-Baptiste-Benjamin Constant (1845-1902) – Wow what a name!
Anyway, here we see Joseph as a middle aged man, with the carpenter’s saw at his feet simply sitting next to his Son, Jesus, in his early teens. They don’t look at each other, but… they are looking ahead together… they share the same horizon and they are sitting on a wall!
Perhaps we all need to think about which wall we are sitting on, knocking down, building up or edging around?
WIth much love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
We are excited to announce that our latest Momentum, prayer letter and our residential programme (yes!) for the Summer will be coming through your letter boxes by the end of this week. Obviously, we will have limited in-house numbers as we navigate through the Covid restrictions. Our residential bookings will open on Saturday 1st May.
Meanwhile, we will continue with our online programme of events and just to highlight some in May that are available to book:
Tue 4 to Thu 6 May: Felicity Lawson leads ‘Walking with Jesus – Adventures on the Emmaus Road’.
Tue 11 May: Mike will be leading an online Singing morning entitled ‘Finding your voice‘
Wed 12 May: We will be having our Scargill Forum (7:45-9:30pm)
Fri 14 and Sat 15 May: Phil will be leading two separate Quiet Days, with repeat material.
Tue 25 to Thu 27 May: Margi and Di will be leading a week on ‘Enneagram 3‘.
Fri 28 to Sun 30 May: We are very glad to welcome Donna Worthington to lead a Pentecost Retreat weekend.
Watch out too for news of our online Half Term event during the week beginning 31 May.
We are obviously still looking for new Community, so please do check our website for further details.
Here is Di’s latest reflection – enjoy!
Mary Sitting in a Wood by Louis Ginett
The other day I went up to Morning prayers, there I found the table beautifully covered with daffodils and large pebbles/stones. Blue and brown fabric fell down, alongside the potted tree from the Morning room, and across the floor in front of the table in folds playing with the small gems, candles and more pebbles. We were to look at Psalm 15 – Who May Worship the Lord?
For me, and I am sure for many, Psalm 15 presents a conundrum. David describes the man ‘who may stay in God’s temple’, who may ‘live on the holy mountain of the Lord’. Now please, have a quick read because who do you know that fits these credentials? Definitely not me!
So I chose to sit at the back, hiding behind a pillar facing the Taizé cross. As I sat and faced the cross there in front of me was God’s greatest gift – Himself. There was the gift of GRACE. I knew that although I cannot perfectly live up to these standards, Jesus has, and because He has, I can, through him. I leant against the pillar, the wood was warm and surprisingly comforting, I felt at peace.
After prayers, I googled paintings of sitting by trees and found Mary Sitting in a Wood. I was drawn to the dappled light, the hint of Spring (so like Scargill), the open coat and Mary lost in her sewing, at peace and untroubled. Is there a soft cushion by her back? I do hope so, it would be rather nice if there was. Here is a beautiful painting giving substance to my thoughts, a reminder of that rare morning; of feeling cocooned, loved, accepted and forgiven.
Watchman Nee wrote ‘For rightness is not our goal. The test of our actions is not, ‘Are they right or wrong?’ But always and only, ‘Is the divine blessing upon them?’
The divine blessing is surely upon Mary sitting in a wood and I feel certain it is upon us all, if we, with the help of the Holy Spirit and encouragement from each other, follow the example of Jesus, and seek to live the pathway of love and the kingdom.
Please be assured of our love and prayers, and we very much look forward to seeing you either on Zoom or in-house.
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
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Hugh Warwick is an ecologist, author and leading expert on hedgehogs. As part of our A Rocha partnership we at Scargill have started a hedgehog project, and we approached Hugh for some advice. He was not only very helpful for the estate here, but if you have a garden at home Hugh has some great tips for being hedgehog friendly. Chloe is our lead on the A Rocha partnership. This is the first of some exciting blogs with an ecological theme – do look out for more.
Dear Friends
This comes with much love and Easter greetings to you. There is much to share with you as life begins to open up for us again. When I think of Easter I think of Psalm 18:19 ‘He brought me out into a spacious place, He rescued me because He delighted in me.’ The Resurrection encounter is an invitation to adventurous living!
The first thing to share with you is that we are delighted to say that we will be able to welcome Day Visitors on Saturdays and Wednesdays starting on Saturday 17th April. Please check the website here on how to book and the structure of the visit- the dates available and further details will be updated during the coming week. It will be lovely to see you again.
At the beginning of June we will be opening for a limited number of residential guests, watch out for details in the new Momentum that comes out at the beginning of May.
As we look to welcome people back through our doors, one area that we would value your prayers and support for is the need to grow Community again. We are particularly looking for community members who may want to do a gap-year and there are also other opportunities for joining community. It may be that you know people who could be the missing piece in our Scargill jigsaw. Please check out for more details here on our website or email Di on di@scargillmovement.org
We are continuing to offer our online programme, and have published details to the middle of May. Here are links for events over the next couple of weeks, do check our website for the full list.
Fri 16th to Sun 18th April We welcome back Andreas and Anna Anderssson, through the wonders of Zoom, as we explore ‘Resurrection Encounters’.
Tue 20th to Fri 23rd April ‘Enneagram 1’ led by Margi Walker and Diane Stone (note closing date is early on Wed 14th April).
Sat 24th April ‘Quiet Day’ with Mike Leigh and Shaun Lambert looking at ‘Pathways to Stillness’
And, of course, if there is anything that you would like us to pray for then do email at prayer@scargillmovement.org
There is a lot going on, so please have a good look at the website!
Here is Di’s latest reflection on Masks – enjoy!.
Here is a snapshot of a few of the masks we have at home. Last summer I made some and some came for the Community at the house. And I feel a completely irrational delight and sense of achievement whenever I go out, mainly shopping, and my mask coordinates with my clothes, I hate to say outfit as that is certainly not me!
There is a sadness at the death of Prince Philip and as I write a COVID restricted funeral is being discussed! And so we all continue to wear our masks, probably for quite some time. Whether we’re aware of it or not we will use our eyes to communicate our thoughts and feelings every single day. You see we naturally speak with our eyes – we stare, we wink and we roll them, our eyes can show fear and surprise, joy and sadness, laughter and tears. Our eyes speak volumes about who we are and how we feel. Although if you’re anything like me you will try to hide some of your emotions, especially the negative or angry ones!
When we meet people, whether they are wearing a mask or not, Phil and I are very different. Phil will find out many details and points of interest whilst I would have had a lovely time chatting about this and that, but learning nothing! I used to think this was because I didn’t ask the right questions, possibly quite so, but perhaps there is also a time and place to listen and enjoy another’s company without intruding. You see, when we left Kensal Rise for North Yorkshire we were given a beautifully framed set of blessings by John O’Donohue, personally penned in green ink from ‘Benedictus: A Book of Blessing’. It is there in our kitchen just by the door. The blessing I am frequently drawn to, and often challenged by, says:
Remember to be kind To those who work for you, Endeavour to remain aware Of the quiet world That lives behind each face.
‘Endeavour to remain aware of the quiet world that lives behind each face’ has perhaps become an even greater challenge now with us all wearing masks. Here we are being asked to try, to strive, to attempt to understand that what we see or hear is not always the full picture. To be aware of, is not asking us to find everything out about a person, only to recognise that what we see or hear is not all the story and so to tread gently in our relationships. We are to be driven by love and grace, not inquisitiveness; with a generosity of time, embracing silence, accepting there will be unspoken words and thoughts. It is the generosity of the heart, it is companionship.
Sr Jane once said ‘God respects each one of us as a mystery and we must do the same.’
With love and prayers from
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
After the Second World War there was a turn to community inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, and communities and retreat centres like Lee Abbey were set up. Some believe there will be a similar turn to the kingdom and early church value of community in our post-pandemic lockdown world, as many reassess their priorities in the light of the shaking of all our old certainties.
Scargill Movement as a vibrant international community of all ages set in 90 acres of God’s beautiful creation offers the hospitality and the generosity of the kingdom to guests coming on retreat looking to experience wellbeing, healing and transformation.
We are now asking God’s Holy Spirit to lead to us those called to join community in this new season as we move forward on the road map to recovery along with so many others. If that is you, and your heart is being moved to explore the more of God’s life in all its fullness then follow this link and send us an inquiry.
Dear Scargillians
This comes with much love and prayers to you all as we move into Holy Week, journeying with Jesus to the Cross and then to the wonder and joy of his Resurrection on Easter Day. We pray that during this disorientating and difficult time we will all know the joy of the Risen Lord amongst us.
We will be having our usual Tea Party on Tuesday 30th March, and a special Tea Party on Easter Sunday 4th April – both from 3:30pm on Facebooklive.
The week beginning 5th April, the whole Community will be having a week of holiday therefore the Office will be closed during this time and re-open on Monday 12th April.
On the website you will see some post-Easter events for you to book onto: with Bridget and Adrian Plass; and (Zooming in from Sweden) we have Anna and Andreas Andersson. There is also an Enneagram 1 course (available to book now) led by Margi and Di, and on 24th April there will be a Zoom Quiet Day (watch out for further details to be released).
Here is Di’s Holy Week reflection on washing feet – enjoy!
Diane writes:
Over the last year in my reflections, I have written a number of words and included many paintings and poems but today I leave the words to a woodblock by Sadao Watanabe called, ‘Christ Washing the Feet of St. Peter’ and a poem entitled, ‘I Wash Your Feet Just Because’. Both surprised and challenged me – in a good way! I hope they will do the same for you.
This woodblock is said to be one of his best and reminds me of mediaeval book illuminations. The print, with its ‘harmony of colours’ has been described as ‘a bold and impressive rendering of John 13:6-11’. The strong lines, the elongated hands, fingers and toes plus the large eyes of Jesus highlight the importance of this symbolic act. For me, the surprise is the hovering Holy Spirit up in the corner – is Jesus being honoured and blessed as he honours and blesses others. I’ll leave you to find the surprise in the poem.
Sadao Watanabe – Christ Washing the Feet of St Peter
I WASH YOUR FEET JUST BECAUSE In the middle of the meal – not when they came in the door not before the meal – but in the middle of the meal
Jesus fell on his knees and washed their feet, not even looking up to see which foot goes with which face! He washed them all, one by one.
He washes the feet of all of us, believers and unbelievers, old and young, saints and sinners, women and men, rulers and ruled, rich and poor, filled and hungry, dressed and naked.
Can it be possible that Jesus washed The feet not because they were dirty but just because …
”I want to wash your feet because I want to wash your feet. For no other reason except that I love you.”
[Author unknown, seen on A-MUSED]
We pray you have a blessed Easter. With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
As ever, this comes with much love and prayers from the Community here at Scargill. We long to see you again through our doors, and we are so grateful that we can mutually support each other during these difficult and for many, exhausting days. St. Paul talks about carrying each other’s burdens (Galatians 6) and thank you for love during this time that seems just to drag on and on. Please contact us at prayer@scargillmovement.org if we can pray for you in any way.
If the Government’s road map is able to keep on track, we look forward to welcoming day visitors again soon after April 12th, and in early June a limited number of residential guests to begin with. Please keep checking out our website where we will inform you of these exciting possibilities.
On our website, you will find our latest online offerings that are coming up which could be encouraging for you during these times. Check them out here. They include:
This coming Saturday, at 7pm on Saturday 20 March, come and join a free-to-view concert by our wonderful friend Simeon Wood livestreamed especially for the whole band of Scargillians (expected run time 1 hour):
The “Feeling Good” show – Simeon Wood As the title suggests an uplifting, inspiring, happy and thought provoking show full of hope and packed with music taken from Simeon’s latest album.
Mike Leigh and Shaun Lambert are looking at ‘Finding our voice – mindfulness and song’, Fri 19 to Sun 21 March. There are still a few spaces left if you would like to book.
Margi Walker will be leading us in a Palm Sunday themed Quiet Day ‘Journeying into Holy Week‘ on Saturday 27th March on Zoom.
We will also be offering an online programme over Easter so please look out for details. This will include Holy Week morning reflections on Zoom, livestreamed services and a film of the powerful Good Friday ‘Walkaround’ along with an Easter Sunday afternoon Tea Party on Facebooklive.
Following the success of February Half Term, we’re going to have an ‘Edible Easter Garden’ cook-along for the youngsters (or young at heart) on Holy Saturday (3rd April) at 2:30pm on Zoom. Information about how to book for this, along with other resources to help families engage with Holy Week, will appear on our website programme page later this week.
As we begin to look forward, there are a few ways in which you can help us with spreading the word about Scargill:
As the roadmap to end lockdown offers the possibilities of opening our doors again to actual guests, rather than virtual guests, our presence on social media is vital to communicating our values, programme and friends. If you are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram please do follow us and like or repost our content as we move forward!
Follow us on Twitter via @ScargillHouse; follow us on Facebook via @Scargillmovement; and Instagram via @scargill movement.
Also, we’re updating our mailing list. Please could you email hello@scargillmovement.org with your latest contact details if you’re a Scargill Companion (have said the Companion promises, received your badge and are following the Scargill Pathway). Thank you!
Do know that you are warmly welcomed to join us online weekly for our fun Tuesday Teaparties on Facebooklive at 3:30pm, and our reflective Evening Prayers livestreamed from Scargill Chapel on Thursdays from 4:30pm.
Thank you again for journeying with us.
Here is Di’s reflection, enjoy!
Diane writes:
Did you know that in the Middle Ages mothering was apparently multifaceted, complex and difficult — rather like today, and intellectuals compared it to the very work of God. I wholeheartedly agree!
It feels that Mother’s Day has been part of the church calendar for ever, daffodils and all but ‘Nooo’ you hear me cry, not at all. Traditionally this Sunday has been a day of celebration, within the sombre period of Lent to celebrate the Church as mother of the faithful. It was considered important for people to return home to their ‘mother’ church once a year – the church you were baptised in, the local parish church or the nearest cathedral. Domestic servants were given the day off and so inevitably this became an occasion for family reunions. I have often looked forward to and enjoyed this day with family and friends, lots of fun and offers of help! But alas, we remain unable to visit or be visited by family or friends and not all churches are open for worship. Oh, it would be so easy to just let the day go by!
But last Sunday I spoke on The Ten Commandments where I was reminded that our first duty after our obedience to God is within the family and only then can we consider our obligation to other people. Family and Judaism for me have always gone together, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that scholars have partially credited the survival of Judaism to the importance and value they place on the family. In Jewish families, parents and children are responsible for each other as a way of honouring God. Parents are seen as partners in God’s creation of each human being, so to honour one’s parents is to honour God. We are called to honour our parents.
Jesus & the Samaritan Woman by He Qi
Samuel Johnson, (A Dictionary of the English Language -1755) defined honour as having several senses, the first of which was “nobility of soul, magnanimity, and a scorn of meanness”. I was struck by the definitions, certainly worth thinking about! This quote led me to ‘Jesus-&-the-Samaritan-Woman’ painted by He Qi through Patrick van der Vorst’s reflection on a different painting / same subject, where he talks about Jesus seeing the Samaritan women as a person and approaching her as a person. That Jesus acknowledges her as an equal and treats her with sensitivity and openness. Is this honouring others? If so Patrick van der Vorst’s goes on to mention ‘that words of openness, kindness and encouragement can bring about daily resurrections of hope in people’. How good it that?
As well as showing me how important families are and how bereft I have felt not being able to meet ours, other than on zoom, this past year has also confirmed in me, that family values are wider than just family. That perhaps living community is living family values, where ever we are. So let’s not forget Mothering Sunday, I certainly won’t – I have a small parcel sitting in the kitchen with Mama Stone written on it! Let us, me included, also use this day to look to others, honouring one another with our time and commitment, with generosity of heart towards all we meet or have contact with. And in doing so, by honouring our families and neighbours, we will also be honouring God.
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
This week we have had hopeful and encouraging news! The Government laid out their roadmap to bring us out of lockdown, subject to conditions at every stage. So, if this goes to plan, we will reopen to residential guests in early June. To begin with, it will be for a limited number of guests but, at last, we can see some light at the end of this very long tunnel – how life-giving and warming is that. Thank you for the journey that we have shared, and continue to share, through this time together. It gives us hope.
By the beginning of May, we will publish a programme that will take us through the Summer, at this point we will start taking bookings for these residential stays. In July another programme will be released which will take us through to the end of the year!
In the meantime, we will continue to offer an online programme and in the new post-lockdown world Scargill will continue to offer an online presence alongside residential events.
The online programme until Palm Sunday is on our website, and we will soon be releasing details of what it looks like for Easter and beyond.
We would like to highlight a few of the events coming up – we would love to see you online: ‘Heal the Land’ next week led by Russ Parker – Tuesday 2nd to Thursday 4th March ‘Quiet Days’ (same content on each day) led by Phil Stone and Mike Leigh – Friday 5th and Saturday 6th March ‘Dust and Glory’ – Lent Retreat led by David Runcorn – Tuesday 9th to Thursday 11th March ‘Scargill Forum’ – Wednesday 10th March ‘Younger than Springtime’ led by Adrian and Bridget Plass – Friday 12th to Sunday 14th March Additionally – Scargillians are invited to a free special online concert put on for us by Simeon Wood at 7pm on Saturday 20th March. The link for this, and more details, will be publicised nearer the time.
I hope that you enjoy Di’s hopeful reflection.
Diane writes:
“Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11
February always feels like a long month that drags on at the best of times, not much happens except perhaps the start of Lent! But last weekend I went for my COVID vaccination, a very pleasant experience, in fact the highlight of the week / month. The icing on the cake was driving back home listening to Karl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man – a Mass for Peace – Benedictus” being played on Classic FM. As I listened I, quite unusually for me, became aware of the goodness of God, of a deep inner peace and a sense that ’all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well’. (Julian of Norwich)
Then on Monday, following rumours and speculations, the plan forward was laid before us, it was going to be a slow move out of lockdown. Excellent News of course, but there were also anxious thoughts and uncertainty about what the future might hold, how do we leave the safety of our homes, however small and begin again to meet friends and family without fear?
So what should I write about this week? Well instead of a painting I found two poems that excited me and gave me hope. One written in 1860 and the other in 2020. Emily Dickinson wrote ‘“Hope” is the Thing with feathers’ 160 years ago and it still speaks to us today, well to me anyway!
“Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard – And sore must be the storm – That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land – And on the strangest Sea – Yet – never – in Extremity, It asked a crumb – of me.
Emily Dickinson’s poem has been described as a kind of hymn of praise, written to honour the human capacity for hope. Recently I read (‘writers-on-line’) ‘If ever there was a poem that reminds us not to give up hope, it’s this one – hope can take flight even in the darkest of times, and if that tiny brave bird can keep singing, then so can we’. The poem portrays hope as a bird that lives within the human soul, that dwells inside the human spirit and sings a wordless tune come rain or shine, gale or storm, good times or bad; not stopping under any circumstances. This ‘tiny brave bird’, for me, is the Holy Spirit, often seen as a dove! God’s Spirit that keeps me in tune with His grace, truth, goodness, mercy, justice, knowledge, power, majesty – all that He is. Paul reminds us (Corinthians & Romans) that Christ isn’t outside of us as some kind of Helper in our time of need. No he actually lives in us and is with us all the time. ‘…that the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God’.
I smiled when I read this second poem ‘The Orange’ by Wendy Cope and remembered Sister Jane’s quote “Humour is near to holiness, and love to laughter” and that a good healthy laugh relieves tension and stress and so allows us to hope. Many of us will be able to recognise ourselves in this amusing and in many ways light hearted poem. But, at its core, this poem holds a deep truth for all of us. It shows us how to make the most of the small, quiet pleasures, such as sharing a fruit with loved ones and that these small pleasures enable us to get through difficult times. The poem ends with counting the biggest blessings – love, life itself (and of course laughter) – as a reminder of what is really important. And both these poems remind us of the power of hope and how little it requires of us, it is a gift freely given by God.
The Orange At lunchtime I bought a huge orange – The size of it made us all laugh. I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave They got quarters and I had a half.
And that orange, it made me so happy, As ordinary things often do Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park. This is peace and contentment. It’s new.
The rest of the day was quite easy. I did all the jobs on my list And enjoyed them and had some time over. I love you. I’m glad I exist.
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
This week has been really cold, and snow still covers the hills around us, but we are now starting to see many snowdrops – the promise of spring, as they are a sign of hope.
It has been a joy and a comfort to connect with you during these challenging times, and we are glad to announce our next programme which takes us up to Palm Sunday weekend. Please do have a look, you will find both short retreats and programmed events, as well as our regular Forum and Quiet Days. We are very thankful to work with such speakers as Bridget and Adrian Plass, Bishop Chris Edmondson, David Runcorn and Russ Parker.
This coming week is Half Term which is always the most challenging of them all, and never more so than it is during lockdown. So, please do look up our Half Term activities based on C.S. Lewis’ ‘Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ – there are plenty of fun activities to be involved in including a cook-along.
We had our first Crafternoon this weekend, which people really enjoyed, and our next one is going to be on Saturday 27th February at 3pm. Please e-mail hello@scargillmovement.org if you would like to be involved.
Last year we journeyed through Lent through the first lockdown, and here we are, a year later, starting Lent in lockdown 3. Who would have thought?
Below is Di’s reflection as we approach Ash Wednesday. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
” Ash Wednesday” by Carl Spitzweg
Can you believe it? Lent starts this week with Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, so perhaps we should be thinking about depriving ourselves of some small pleasure or indulgence and offer that sacrifice up to God.
Here is a painting by Carl Spitzweg entitled “Ash Wednesday”. At first glance the painting and the title do not seem to match. Here is a ‘mardi-gras’ clown sitting in a prison cell after a nights revelling. He has perhaps woken up to the painful reality of pushing the spirit of Mardi Gras a bit too far and gets to spend Ash Wednesday in jail. The downcast carnival clown is seated in the corner of a cell with head bent and arms crossed. There is no clowning around here! No laughing at life or ignoring of the rules. Despondent perhaps but there is also hope. The clown is bathed in light from an upper window; perhaps this prison cell has ‘become a place of retreat, repentance, and conversion’. The dark archway, directly across from the clown, shows us where he has come from however the window above lets in the light, and the rays point the way upward, inviting the clown towards a change of direction from darkness to light. (Daniella Zsupan-Jerome on Loyolapress)
As a child I was brought up attending our lively Congregational church, I have no memories of either a Shrove Tuesday or Ash Wednesday service, although warm memories of eating many pancakes – with lemon and sugar, of course! And we did often talk about ‘giving something up’ for Lent; I have to admit mine often contained a ‘figure changing’ element rather than a spirit enhancing one! But it has occurred to me that during this past year we as individuals and as a nation have already given up so much that it would be difficult to think how this tradition would be of any benefit.
Thinking about this the bridegroom passage from Matthew 9 came to mind where Jesus says to his disciples “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?”, as I have mentioned in an earlier reflection ‘God is not elsewhere’, that must in turn mean that God is here with us right now, so perhaps this is not the time to fast. Perhaps this Lent is the time to become aware of the bridegroom’s presence through spending time with Him, quality time, getting to know him, getting to recognise His presence.
And I’m thinking (again), can we, like the clown, have a change of direction, but unlike the clown can we move from a penitential Lent, to one where we are free to treat ourselves, free to be kind to ourselves and free to invite God into our lives. Because God cares for our souls, but he also cares about our bodies and physical welfare. Our bodies are given to us to do God’s work. As Christians taking caring of our bodies is therefore taking care of the place where the Holy Spirit dwells (Patrick van der Vorst -12.2.21). As we open up time to spend with God we can begin to open our hearts, our whole selves and our whole lives back to Him. And surely this is what Lent is all about.
P.S. Phil has just read this and rejoices that chocolate remains a possibility!!
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
This comes as ever with much love and prayers. I would imagine that the majority of us are struggling with this lockdown, particularly as we are having a proper Winter, today at Scargill we have had some more snow. But we do have some online events which we hope will be a light in the darkness as we meet together ‘virtually’. This week is busy with opportunity!
This coming Monday we are very pleased to have a Quiet Day led by Mat Ineson, there is still time to book, and if you miss Monday Mat will be doing a repeat of the content on Saturday’s Quiet Day.
Also on Monday, we are also delighted that Gordon Dey will be beginning an eight week course on ‘The World of Jesus’, running 7-9pm. There is still time to book.
Tuesday to Thursday: Dave Hopwood and I are leading a retreat on ‘The Voice and Silence of God’. I am very tempted to have one of the sessions where we are silent together! There is still space and we’d love to see you.
Our Enneagram 2course with Margi Walker and Diane Stone begins on Tuesday 9th February.
Our monthly Scargill Forum will be on Wednesday February 10th, 7:45 for 8-9:30pm, which has become a real joy to meet with fellow Scargillians, to have some fun and think theologically over the issues we are facing.
We are very pleased to announce ‘Crafternoons’ a new opportunity to connect with other Scargillians and the Scargill Community over your favourite craft, jigsaw or knitting on a Saturday afternoon from 3-4pm. The initial two dates are Saturdays 13th and 27th February. If you wish to come along to this Zoom event then do email hello@scargillmovement.org for details. We’d love to see you.
The final thing to mention is our online Half Term event (week beginning 15th February) based on ‘The Dawn Treader’ by C.S. Lewis. There will be a number of fun activities for all ages – watch out for further details.
Thank you to those who have used recycle4charity envelopes to send spent Printer cartridges off for recycling, raising money for Scargill. These envelopes are no longer valid, so please send your spent printer cartridges to Scargill Admin Team for sending on as a batch.
Here is Di’s reflection on one of J.M.W. Turner’s wonderful paintings. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Now, when did you last sing – ‘Jesus bids us shine’?
Jesus bids us shine With a pure, clear light, Like a little candle, Burning in the night. In this world is darkness, So let us shine– You in your small corner, And I in mine……………………
It possibly wasn’t in 1868 when it was written by Susan Warner! Faith and I both recall singing it in Sunday School whilst my children, now all in their 30’s, have never heard of it! But we have all read and know the passage from Matthew 5:13-16 where Jesus said, ‘You are like salt for everyone on earth……. You are like a light for the whole world……Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.’ In my Bible I have written (in pencil) How? Why?
‘Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth’ by JMW Turner
Well, a few weeks ago there was chaos in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and forced the lockdown of Congress BUT this was followed by Joe Biden’s inauguration where a young woman of colour, wearing a long, gorgeous, warm, yellow coat, read her amazing poem giving hope, not only to Americans, but across the world. Amanda Gorman’s poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’ concluded with these words:
“When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it If only we’re brave enough to be it”
This got me thinking, firstly, ‘are we ‘brave enough to see it’? Can we see the light in our present darkness? Some of us may be able to, others will find it more difficult, and I started to look for a painting that would hold and support these thoughts. First I found this quote from Dorothy Koppelman who wrote, ‘Magnificently, in the paintings of J. M. W. Turner, there is a light so blazing and so deep, one can almost be completely absorbed – and always, too, there is that blackness.’
And so, ‘Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth’ painted in 1842 by Joseph Mallord William Turner (The Tate) has become my picture of the week. As I looked at the painting, ‘The swirling storm’ encouraged my eyes ‘to circle around the canvas repeatedly’ – in fact at one point I felt a little queasy, never having been a good sailor! Anyway, I noticed ‘The black of the wind and the waves of the sea create a circle around the doomed ship. Through the windy peephole, (you) can see the helpless ship at the mercy of nature’s violent motion.’ BUT within the chaos of the storm there is light. In fact, it was the bright light that drew me to the ship in the middle of the canvas.
Although we, today, may feel powerless against the storm of the virus with numbers of UK deaths reaching 100,000, Amanda has reminded us ‘there is always light’. So let us look for the light, let us look towards the hope we have in the vaccination program and the falling numbers of cases, let us look and see Spring is on its way, ‘Aslan is on the move’, let us begin to see there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Often in order to be brave enough to see the light there needs to be those who are ‘brave enough to be it’ encouraging those who currently can’t see. Susan Warner almost urges us to shine ‘in (our) small corners’ and Matthew 5 encourages us to make our light shine for others to see. You may like me ask ‘How’? Well just now after walking Ossie I met a delivery man, we greeted each other and then I mentioned the miserable weather, his cheerful response agreed then he added ‘but it’s what you make of it! Have a lovely day’ and left with a smile on both our faces.
So today I want to inspire us all to ‘be brave enough to be it’, ‘be brave enough to look for it’, ‘be brave enough to see it’. Remember there is always light.
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Jo Penn has been writing Daily Prayer reflections for Sanctuary First this week (Sunday 17th through to Saturday 23rd Jan 2021). Here are the links to the first and last in the series – check them out.
We continue to pray for you and please be assured of our love as we live through this latest lockdown. We are very aware that for many of us it is very challenging.
It has been a real joy this weekend to link up with Scargill Companions and, though we did not need to be reminded again, we recognise how important it is to connect with one another and the encouragement we can give and receive. We all need building up during this time.
It would be lovely to connect with you and our Scargill Programme is available on our website.
I would like to highlight three of the events: We are delighted that Shaun Lambert will be Zooming in to speak on, ‘Redeeming the Present Moment’. Shaun is a great friend to Scargill, an excellent speaker and practitioner on Christian Mindfulness. I would truly recommend this week if you happen to be free.
Next weekend is a ‘Friends’ Weekend’ – so that is open to all of you! Mike, our Chaplain, will be leading some reflections with his usual humour and insight.
I would also like to highlight the ‘Individually Guided Retreat’ (Tuesday 26th to Friday 29th January) led by a Scargill Team.
The Scargill Pantomime, which we were working on before Christmas, is now released. I do hope it brings a smile to your face (also available on Scargill Home Page). The Community had fun producing it, we hope that comes through!
So, here is Di’s reflection thinking about ‘loving yourself’. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
When I started writing these reflections I never thought I would quote from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but I am. On recently reading ‘The Servant Queen and the King she serves, a tribute for her Majesty’s 90th birthday’, I was struck by how Christ centred her Christmas messages to the nation have been. Under the heading Love your Neighbour, towards the end of the book, Her Majesty is quoted from her 1975 Christmas message:
‘He (Jesus) commanded us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves, but what exactly is meant by ‘loving ourselves’? A good question, and one which a few years ago I would have found difficult to answer? In fact, it may well have been a question I would rather not answer, as I really didn’t know what to say. Surely it should be “God first. Others second. Myself third!’
But when the teachers of the law ask Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment?” he responds, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ ” (Matt. 22:37-38). Here, loving God remains at the top of the list, but love of neighbour and self are inextricably related. In fact, Jesus’ command implies that we will know how to love our neighbour only if we properly love ourselves.
“God is love.” (1 John 4:16) and “Beloved” means to be greatly loved. No one can love us like God. God spoke the world into existence with love, Jesus is the greatest expression of God’s love and, through the Holy Spirit, God’s great love lives in us. We are His beloved children, undeserving of His love yet chosen to not only receive it but to also pass it on; to live God’s love out in our communities and day to day encounters. And, although I think many of us find it hard to believe, ‘scripture clearly states that God sees us as His beloved, His beautiful sons and daughters who are adored, loved and chosen. To love ourselves, means recognising and accepting that God freely loves us, as we are and who we are, that we do have God given gifts and talents and whilst we’ll never be perfect this side of heaven, we are perfectly made in His image for His purpose’ (Anna Currin). It is through accepting that we are loved, that we can begin to love ourselves (as we are and who we are) and are then able to love our neighbours, out of a love filled with grace, forgiveness, compassion and empathy; having hearts open to hear and eyes open to see that God’s love is alive and active.
Which is perhaps what the Dalai Lama was also saying when he wrote, ‘If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not capable of developing compassion for others.’
The Queen’s answer was also about believing in oneself, recognising that we do have abilities, gifts and talents and using them for the good of others. “I believe it means trying to make the most of the abilities we have been given, it means caring for our talents. It is a matter of making the best of ourselves, not just doing the best for ourselves. We are all different, but each of us has his own best to offer. The responsibility for the way we live life with all its challenges, sadness and joy is ours alone. If we do this well, it will also be good for our neighbour.”
Her Majesty asks us to try our best, our community promises end with ‘ …with God’s help ….. I promise to try my very best to follow the example set by Jesus …’, it is what God asks of all of us. So, knowing we are beloved, can we try to be the very best we can, can we love our neighbours as we love ourselves, and see where that takes us?
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
This comes with much love and prayers as we begin this New Year. Since we were last in touch, the situation has become more challenging. We will continue to do our very best to keep connected with you in a number of ways:
Our Tea Party will resume this coming Tuesday 5th January at 3:30pm.
On Wednesday 6th January we have our evening Forum as we celebrate Epiphany (7:45pm for 8-9:30pm).
On Thursday 7th January we will be livestreaming our Evening Prayer at 4:30pm.
Our January Quiet Day is being run twice, on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th January. This will be led by Mike and Phil and have an Epiphany theme.
Please look at our website where you will find a number of online events that are planned to the middle of February. We very much look forward to seeing you.
Below is Di’s reflection on a wonderful word that I have never heard before. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
I am hesitant to wish your all ‘A Happy New Year’, but I do pray that we will all, very soon, be able to glimpse a light at the end of the tunnel and that for all of us 2021 will hold moments of happiness.
Listening to Classic FM over Christmas, I was introduced to the word ‘confelicity’. It is a much-underused word, which has a lovely ring to it and one which I certainly have neither heard nor read before. Anyway the radio broadcaster was very excited because confelicity means ‘delight in someone else’s happiness’ and ‘participation in the joy of others’. Which reminded me of a great friend of ours called Felicity. She is absolutely someone who relishes life and has great pleasure when those around her are enjoying themselves. Now surely this is a word that should be in common parlance? So why isn’t it?
Well I’ve no idea. But when I looked up confelicity the German word ‘Schadenfreude’ kept appearing. Now Schadenfreude means the complete opposite: “joy over some harm or misfortune suffered by another”. The Japanese have a similar saying: “The misfortune of others tastes like honey” and the French speak of “joie maligne”, a diabolical delight in other people’s suffering and I could go on, but instead let me mention that there has never really been an equivalent word in English for which there is surely only one possible conclusion: as a journalist in the Spectator asserted in 1926, “There is no English word for schadenfreude because there is no such feeling here.”
Really? What utter nonsense! Do we not delight in Laurel and Hardy and Tom and Jerry or as Mr Bennet in that most essentially English of novels, Pride and Prejudice, declares “For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?” And I’m sure like a German study carried out in 2015 our football fans smile more quickly and broadly when their rival teams miss a penalty than when their own team scores! More seriously though, do we not, like the media, seem to delight in the misfortunes of others?
Cartoon by Henry Scarpelli from ‘The Laurel and Hardy Magazine’ archive
But I digress, what has this got to do with confelicity? Well perhaps we can overthrow Schadenfreude. Can our New Year resolutions be to ‘try our very best’ to live the values of confelicity each day. To make the word commonplace, common parlance even. And I am sure as we ‘delight in someone else’s happiness’ and ‘participate in the joy of others’ we too will feel the warmth of God’s happiness as we travel through 2021.
With much love and prayers
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Friday 18th December 2020
Dear Scargillians
This comes with much love and prayers as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.
The Community will be having a break over the Christmas period, and will be coming back together early in the New Year.
I am very pleased to announce that this Sunday 20th December at 5pm we will be having an online Carol Service. It will be lovely to welcome you virtually into the Chapel.
Watch out for the links for Di’s Bedtime Stories that are being released on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day on our home page.
You will be very welcome to join us for Evening Prayer livestreamed from Scargill Chapel at 4:30pm on 31st December, as we ‘fly with fragile wings, courageous but a little scared’ into 2021.
Please look at our new online programme on the website which starts with an Epiphany Forum on Wednesday 6th January. This programme runs to the middle of February.
Our Christmas Momentum magazine, if you have not received a hard copy, is now available to read online here.
Diane’s reflection is sparked by an unusual depiction of Joseph, Mary and the Christmas story. Enjoy!
Diane writes: The illustration I am using today came as a complete surprise. Earlier this week just before Anna left community she was leading morning prayers and introduced us to ‘José y Maria’ by Everett Patterson.
Looking at this illustration with its pouring rain it could easily be a scene you drive past, observe whilst waiting for a bus, notice from the warmth and safety of your home, or walk by on the other side. Here I see a hot-line to God (telephone) and I love the donkey!!! But is this also a reality check; is this perhaps a more realistic interpretation of how Mary and Joseph might have felt on arriving at Bethlehem. Does this illustration challenge our perception of the lonely, the down and out, the refugee, the homeless? And as I write this listening to Jo Brand asking us to support ‘Crisis for Christmas’ I am reminded of ‘Jesus in the breadline’, that our Jesus’s parents (and indeed, Jesus himself) were at one time similarly unfortunate. I am reminded of a story or two Jesus once told…. and that ‘God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!’ (John 3:17)
Within their desperation there is HOPE. Have you noticed a hint of colour, a kernel of faith, a sapling of new life, the new shoot of Jesse’s tree, the promised Messiah, the Kingdom of God here with us? In his blog Everett Patterson writes ‘the main goal of this illustration was to pack as many clever biblical references into the scene as possible.’ There are at least a dozen including his favourites; the verse from the prophet Ezekiel in the graffiti on the phone kiosk, ‘the way the “Save More!” behind Mary’s head looks kinda like “Ave Maria!”’ and the two advertisements for “Glad” and “Tide” on the newspaper’ And YES I did find them all – eventually! Why not enlarge the image and have a go? It will, I’m sure, in a strange way, give you HOPE. As I searched God promises came to mind ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13 ) and “I (God) love those who love me, and those who diligently seek me will find me. (Proverbs 8:17).
Advent is a journey of the soul to meet with God, the journey is nearing completion, Bethlehem has been reached, the shepherds are in the field, the Magi travel on and the stable, where the Christ child will be born awaits his parent’s arrival. For this is the stable in which God keeps his appointment to meet his people. Remember in an out-of-the-way place which folk never thought to visit – there God kept and keeps his promise; there God sends his son.
Wishing you a very blessed Christmas in these strange and challenging times.
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargill Friends,
As always, this comes with much love and prayers to you all especially as the days become shorter and the weather becomes more inhospitable. We long to receive warmth and companionship and our prayer is that this newsletter provides something of that.
So, what’s coming up?
We are still livestreaming our Thursday Evening Prayers. On Sunday 20th December we will be livestreaming our Carol Service – watch out for details of this. Our Facebook Live Tuesday Tea Parties at 3:30pm continue. You are very welcome to join us for some silliness. Talking about silliness, watch out for our Scargill Pantomime which is being filmed this week.
If you wish to join our online programme – please click here. It is not too late yet to join Di and I on ‘Picturing the Gospel’ which starts this coming Tuesday. Mike, our Chaplain, is leading a retreat next weekend (Free). Our last online event for this year will be with Bridget and Adrian Plass,’Laughter in No Man’s Land’ (Monday 14th to Wednesday 16th December).
For our younger Scargillians, there will be a virtual Scargill Christmas Party with the Youth Team on Saturday 19th December at 4pm – do book in here.
I am very pleased that Di is also going to record some Christmas stories which you will be able to listen to over the Christmas period.
And speaking of Di, here is her latest reflection on clouds and rainbows. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
This week in morning prayers, in answer to the question ‘How can we be kind to others?’, one of Alison’s 5yr old, past pupils thought for a while, then offered this as their reply, ‘Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud’. Wish I’d thought of that. But I did start thinking, were there such things as rainbow clouds? Well, yes there are! And in a nutshell iridescent clouds, or rainbow clouds, are caused by the diffraction of sunlight caused by tiny ice crystals or drops of water suspended in the atmosphere. They are rare, often appearing on hot and humid days and accompanying storms. Of course most of you knew this already but, just in case, here are two photos for those who didn’t showing Circumhorizontal arcs (Fire Rainbow) from Nepal, Himalayas and Everett, America.
My thoughts soon moved on to the symbolic presence of rainbows. What do we think when we see one? Which took me to Noah and the NHS, well they both begin with N!
In Genesis 9:12-15, “God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.’” This does not imply that God “needs” reminding; it is simply a way of saying that God will faithfully keep His covenant, that He is ever mindful of His promise.
The rainbow reassured Noah and his family that a flood on the same scale will never take place again. This was an everlasting covenant with Noah, his family, their descendants, and all the living creatures. The rainbow was and continues to be a reminder of God’s commitment to the earth. It is not simply part of an ancient story or merely a symbol of hope, it is a living example of God’s faithfulness. It is an assurance that God has not forgotten us and that he continues to work in this world.
And this world has during this pandemic desperately needed hope. Many of us were taken by surprise, shocked at what was happening as the first lock down was put in place and we began to put our hope in the NHS and Key workers. Rainbows became the sign of our hope, our thanks and our wishes. So much so that ‘Rainbows for the NHS’ a giant interactive ‘mosaic of hope’, made up of thousands of pictures and stories, was created. One photo was of Suzy ‘s son, she writes “I’m sadly in the ‘extremely vulnerable’ group as I’ve suffered a Stroke. I was saved by my 6-year-old son who called an Ambulance, followed by 3 heart surgeries. My son has been shielding with me for 11 weeks. He is my rainbow and sunshine”.
For many just seeing a rainbow cheers them up and is a sign of hope. Advent also invites us to hope. To hope in our God of yesterday, today and forever who has promised his people ‘Shalom’, a peace that includes “wholeness, and well-being”. Advent is not only a time of looking forward and preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ it is the time for us to be bringers of hope to others. The lyrics from Desolation Row by Bob Dylan, ‘And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah’s great rainbow, She spends her time peeking into Desolation Row’ reminds me that many are now living on the edge of ‘Desolation Road’ hoping, hoping perhaps for a rainbow. So how can we this Advent ‘… be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud’? To be honest I don’t really know? It will be different for all of us. A listening ear, a helping hand, the giving of a treat, a smile or a joke. A prayer, a phone call, a shoulder to cry on, a ……… Have a think I’m sure you know what your rainbow needs to be.
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians,
As we enter the third week of ‘Lockdown 2’, we hope that this finds you well in what continues to be very challenging times.
Di’s reflection on ‘Building Bridges’ is a wonderful theme that runs through the life of Scargill.
So, we would love to connect with you. We have a Scargill Forum on Wednesday 25th November with our guests being Faith Lucas, Michael Mitton and Felicity Lawson. We gather at 7:45pm for 8pm start, and are finished by 9:30pm.We’d love to see you so do book here.
Our online programme is going well. We offer it as a way of encouraging us all in these dark days. Coming up is the Advent weekend (Friday 27th to Sunday 29th November) entitled ‘Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow’ with Bishop Chris and Karen Openshaw; from Wednesday 2nd to Friday 4th December Felicity Lawson will be leading our Advent Retreatentitled ‘Watching, Waiting, Hoping’. There are other online events for the rest of December please look at ourProgramme.
It has been a real joy to connect with may of you in our Thursday Evening Prayers (4:30pm). We will continue to livestream these and thank you for your encouraging and constructive feedback.
Now for Di’s reflection – enjoy!
Diane writes:
I don’t know how old this song is but I remember singing it as a child – and that was quite a long time ago!!!
He’s got the whole world in His hands He’s got the whole wide world in His hands He’s got the whole world in His hands He’s got the whole world in His hands
He’s got the sun and the rain in His hands…
He’s got my brother and my sister in His hands…
He’s got the rivers and the mountains in His hands…
He’s got the whole world in His hands…
It was not so long ago David Attenborough showed us (his) Life on Our Planet asking us again to face the consequences of our actions! And since I last wrote there has been the American Presidential election; our hopes for a vaccine seems nearer, with promises of a World Wide vaccination programme; we have heard from the news and from friends around the world that there remains many concerns and difficulties; and Phil and I have begun watching Small Axe – 5 films set from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, each telling a story involving London’s West Indian community, whose lives have been shaped by their own force of will, despite rampant racism and discrimination. And so I have recently been thinking that I should be praying more and more for the world. To pray beyond my local community here at Scargill, beyond my family and friends, including Working Friends of course! Beyond the divides in the United Kingdom and BREXIT.
At the same time, I remembered a giant sculpture Faith introduced me to called ‘Building Bridges’, used by Patrick van der Vorst to illustrate Matthew 6:7-15 (The Lord’s Prayer). It is the work of Lorenzo Quinn, for the Venice Biennale 2019.
“The artist wanted to symbolise how people can overcome their differences and his sculpture consists of ‘six pairs of hands joining across ‘dividing’ waters, with each pair representing an essential, universal value: “Friendship, to build on the future together; Wisdom, to make mutually beneficial decisions; Help, to cement lasting relationships; Faith, to trust in your heart and self-worth; Hope, to persevere in worthwhile endeavours; and love, the fundamental purpose for it all”. Surely these values go beyond dividing waters, to the joining of hands also across dividing seas and nations.
‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. ….’
Jesus tells us that praying the ‘Our Father’ reminds us that God is the father of us all, and therefore every human person is truly our brother or sister. Can you join me in holding the ‘whole world in our hands’? Our world needs friendship, wisdom, help, faith (trust), hope and love. Our world needs prayer. Our world needs praying hands.
Oh and to finish, an apology, in my last reflection I quoted ‘Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…..’ Of course this was from John 14 not Paul – although we all know he did write a lot about love, but not this sentence. A rambling mind I’m afraid is not always reliable.
With much love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargill Friends,
This morning we went to the Walled Garden to finish our service with the act of Remembrance. For me, it seemed more poignant than ever before, being in lockdown, as many would not have been able to commemorate an act of Remembrance. It is so important for us to continue to pray for peace for our world, giving thanks for those who have given their lives for the freedom that we enjoy. In these difficult days, I am reflecting on what it means to be a person of peace.
It was lovely to connect with many of you last Thursday for our livestreamed prayers and we will be doing that again this Thursday from 4:30pm. Watch out for the link on our website. It was a profound and beautiful time to be together in the Chapel. We warmly welcome you to join us again this Thursday.
We are very pleased that Jock and Margaret Stein are leading our Quiet Days next week, and you can still book in for Saturday’s Quiet Day here.
The next on-line programmed event is with Bishop Chris and Susan Edmondson, titled ‘For everything a season’. I am very grateful to +Chris and Susan for being willing to do this. If you would like to join this course then here is the link.
On Tuesday at 3:30pm, inspired by our new Community members Mike and Alison Leigh, we are going to do a Facebook live streamed Tea Party – and this is going to be just fun. You don’t need to sign up for Facebook to be part of this, and the link will again be on our website.
Here now is Di’s reflection on ‘what is essential?’ Enjoy!
Diane writes:
I have recently been on Grandma Di duty and when reading a bedtime chapter from The Animals of Farthing Wood. I read ‘Like Vixen, Fox wanted to run as far as he could in the opposite direction. – to keep running until those ghastly sounds (of the hunt) became memories only. But he had already decided once that day, that to be reunited with his friends was his most important objective. These friends, who needed him were somewhere ahead.’ Fox knew that his friends needed him, but was also beginning to realise they were also important to him, they were who he was and he was lost without them. It was essential that he found them.
Which set me thinking about what is essential to me. Well, first I asked Bonnie and Jack, they very helpfully said that dancing and jam sandwiches were essential to life! So moving swiftly on; for some reason I began dividing my life into Church and other! Perhaps that was more realistic back 11 years ago in London, even so I have spent a long time now talking about God–with-Us, about God not being elsewhere, about God being in our work, rest and play. So what was the ‘other’ if not part of the now?
I then looked at Ecclesiastes 4 ‘A rope made from three strands of cord is hard to break.” Phil often used this verse at a wedding; it is often seen as a picture of their relationship within the Triune God, and the third strand could be the Holy Spirit who has bound them together in oneness giving strength and durability to their relationship.
But I also read that the actual Hebrew does not say “three strands” but simply “three”. Now this left me room for interpretation. Of course the Trinity – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit sprang to mind, but also Faith, Hope and Love – and the greatest of these is Love. Then last Sunday Mike reminded us about being called into God’s love; that we are to enter into God’s love, to live the way of God’s love. Paul tells us ‘Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.’ And this love cannot be contained, we need to go out, we need to share this love with the world, we need to be God’s love in the world. This is what is essential!
But now we find ourselves back in lock down and once again we need to look beyond what is essential to us as individuals to what is essential to our family, our friends, and our neighbours. The editor of ConnectUs recently wrote ‘God has designed humans to be social. He is community in and of himself, and we are most in his image when we are in community with others, sharing God’s love and supporting one another.’
How we do this during these next few weeks I do not know? It will be different for each and every one of us. But I do know that we are to be God’s people wherever we are and that it will be in the small deeds as well as the large. Mother Teresa once wrote: ‘If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one’.
We are called to live the way of Christ, we are called to walk the way of love – this is what is essential.
With love from
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
This latest letter comes with much love and prayers. The COVID crisis has become more complicated and restrictive for many of us so please know that we hold you before Jesus in our Chapel prayers, in whatever the circumstances that you face, especially as we enter what is going to be a challenging winter. The importance of connectedness and relationships, where love can be shared, warmth experienced, even if it is in Zoom land, will be so important in the months to come. Let us know if there is anything we can pray for by emailing – prayer@scargillmovement.org
Please check out our online programme here. There will be something that will be nourishing and warming for you during these days ahead.
You will also find the links to our ongoing free quiet days and forums here.
There is also an addition to the programme! We are delighted and excited that Bridget and Adrian Plass will be with us in December helping us discover ‘Laughter in no man’s land’ here. I love the title.
There are many other thought provoking and relevant courses and good speakers, John Bell, just to mention one, so please have a look. We would love to see you and hopefully be an encouragement!
And talking of encouragement – here is Di’s latest reflection – enjoy!
Diane writes:
Queuing – The British like to queue, or we like to think we like to queue. We like to think we are better than most other countries at queuing and when living in London if anyone dared to ‘jump the queue’ they were very much frowned upon.
On Thursday last week at the Forum, which, by the way, I enjoyed very much, Gordon, in our breakout group, mentioned queuing and the great conversations he had. Sadly, for me this has not always been the case. There have been times when the 2m distance, the muffled speech and apparent deafness, that comes from wearing a mask, has made queuing a very quiet and perhaps anxious affair. We are left trying to communicate with our eyes, which is almost impossible, so we smile and nod to one another BUT there is hope: Mother Teresa wrote “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” I’m learning to smile with my eyes!
The Christ in the Breadline by Fritz Eichenberg
Queuing reminded me of a woodcutting by Fritz Eichenberg (1951) called The Christ of the Breadline and the nights when Phil and I would go down to Charing Cross station to serve homemade soup to the homeless. Here we see Jesus Christ standing in line at a soup kitchen, waiting with the rest of the Homeless for His turn to be served. In front of Him and behind Him are other scruffy people, hands in their pockets, wrapped up in thread bare layers, anxiously waiting for food, a meal they couldn’t prepare for themselves. They’re all together, the riff-raff, the vagrants and the homeless.
This though is not a typical portrayal of Jesus. Here Paul Luikart notes Eichenberg’s Jesus is weak, wrapped in a blanket. He’s entirely in shadow and like the ‘riff-raff’ stands silent and still. They stand, with the Lord of the universe in their midst, motionless in their deep poverty and hunger, wanting the same thing He wants—rest, fulfilment, and an end to suffering. Although Jesus is the central figure, and the only source of light in the entire image is His halo, the details are with those in the soup kitchen line standing with Jesus and not Jesus Himself. Paul Luikart also observes, ‘they can only be seen by the light of His crown.’ An interesting thought.
Jesus has come for all of us, every one of us, the whole world. Jesus is here with us, the question is, where will we find him? Today in 2020, in a year so full of turbulence how will we meet Jesus in the here and now? Will we meet Jesus in our queues? As we queue will others meet Jesus in us?
Remember Mother Teresa said: “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”
May Jesus our Hope be with us during these difficult days.
With love from
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear lovely Scargillians
This latest epistle comes with much love and prayers particularly as the ongoing situation with the virus continues to dominate our lives. It is not easy for any of us, so it is really lovely that we can keep connected, encourage one another in our prayers, and meet up in creative ways.
This coming Thursday will be sending another mailing where will set out our online programme to the middle of December. Not to give too much away, we are delighted to be working with: Dave Hopwood, John Bell, Felicity Lawson, Michael Mitton, Chris Edmondson, Shaun Lambert and others. Watch out for Thursday!
In the meantime here are the online events you can book for October. It is will be lovely to welcome our guests in the Forum and Gemma Simmonds CJ as she leads our Quiet Days. Details are below. You can go to the online booking page here to book for all these events.
The Quiet Days and Forum events are free and on Zoom. If you would like to donate then we suggest an amount of £10 for a Forum and £20 for a Quiet Day. Our Eventbrite system has two types of tickets for each event. You can either book a Free ticket OR a Donation ticket (minimum donation is £1) – please do choose the ticket that suits you. If you prefer to donate to us directly rather than through Eventbrite then choose a Free ticket and send your donation to us as usual. Thank you!
The next Scargill Forum will be on Thursday 15th October (8-9:30pm) on Zoom and we are delighted that our guests will be Diane Stone (Scargill Leadership), Mat Ineson (member of Scargill Council) and Gordon Dey (Founder of ‘Jesus shaped people’ (JSP)). JSP is helping grow urban and estate churches and we at Scargill are in partnership with JSP. Like the other Forums, this should be a thoughtful and enriching evening (as well as some fun!). Book here.
We are running two separate Quiet Days in October (identical content on both days) on Zoom on Tuesday 20th or Saturday 24th October. Do book for one of these. Again there is the option of booking a Free ticket or a Donation ticket for the same event:
We are delighted that Gemma Simmonds CJ will be leading our two Quiet Days in October, and hosted by Scargill. Gemma and Phil both met at Lee Abbey when they were guest speakers there. Gemma is a regular contributor to the BBC and other Radio station programmes, teaches on Ignatian Spirituality, and is also a Spiritual Director. She has written some reflections on the art of Sieger Köder. Her Quiet Day will be an opportunity to contemplate and gather insight on the Gospel as Gemma helps us reflect on some of these paintings. A Quiet Day not to miss! Book here.
Our first online programme event will be led by Dave Hopwood and Phil Stone, streamed live from Scargill. The theme is ‘King of Hearts’ and it will run from Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd October. Further details of this conference, including costs and how to book are available here.
We continue to share some of our Morning prayers and talks from Sunday services as audio files here.
We are extending the opportunity for day visitors through October, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, where you can be assured of a warm welcome in the House. Please see here to book.
We would love for us to be able to pray alongside each other in this way.
Please do not hesitate to get in contact with us for any situation or person that you would value prayer for by e-mailing: prayer@scargillmovement.org
And, finally, here is Di’s latest reflection – Enjoy!
Harvest. Where has harvest gone to this year? Despite the farmers busily gathering in their fields, my allotment – which I hasten to add has in the past produced winners at the Kettlewell show! – this year produced a very meagre offering. One that I was glad I wasn’t relying on for sustenance or for living the ‘Good life’! Was I thankful or not thankful for the two strawberries (a cabbage from a neighbouring allotment) and the complete lack of runner and broad beans, peppers, tomatoes and beetroot? Well, to be honest, thankfulness didn’t really enter into my thoughts, I was disappointed and disillusioned, vowing to leave my allotment fallow next year. Then on my way home after evening prayers I remembered ‘The Angelus’, an oil painting by Jean-François Millet. Wanting to catch the unchanging rhythms of peasant life Millet has shown us two peasants, who on hearing the distant church bells announcing the day’s work is over, have paused, bowed their heads over a basket of potatoes, to say the Angelus prayer. A moment of respite giving of the day’s labour and its produce to God. This painting led me to ask myself – What am I really offering to God? Not vegetables, that’s for sure!
But I was reminded of a more modern painting, ‘Feeding of 5000’ by Ray Foxell. Look closely and you may well find a Mars Bar in the offering! So what can I offer? I feel that in many ways these reflections are my offering, my offering to God, my offering to the friends I know well and those I hope to meet one day. These reflections have become a life line for me, and an offering to you. I might not be able to grow vegetables but it seems I can write a reflection, it is when I feel most alive, most close to God. And your replies have certainly been an offering to me. So thank you, thank you for not only reading my reflections but also for the many small, encouraging comments you have sent in as well as a needle threader or two! Which were most welcome – honestly. Perhaps it is the small offerings graciously given and graciously received for which we should be thankful.
After talking with Helen B about my ‘meagre offering’ and the two paintings she wrote this poem.
Small Offering
Lord, I am frustrated, I don’t have a lot to bring. Although it isn’t very much, I give you everything. I don’t just give these tiny fruits but all they represent – the love and care and all the time and energy I’ve spent. I’m mindful of the boy who gave the contents of his plate, just five loaves and two small fish but that day, thousands ate. His lunch seemed insignificant, inadequate and yet you took, broke, blessed and gave it so that others’ needs were met. Looking round, I’m overwhelmed by all the need I see but make my gift a blessing, multiply your love through me.
Helen Brocklehurst
Here at Scargill, our day’s work ends in the Chapel, at 4:30pm with silence following a psalm. This has become a precious time for many of us. A time when we too can pause, bow our heads and give the day’s labour and its produce to God. Why not join us at 4:30pm?
This comes with love and prayers from
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We do hope this finds you well in these uncertain and difficult times. Many of you will have been aware that we were hoping to open for residential guests at the beginning of October. The direction of travel of coronavirus infections across the country is significantly rising and, sadly, we feel that we need to press the pause button. We will review the ‘state of play’ by mid-October to see if we are able to open in November.
This is obviously disappointing for everyone: the Community as well as the Guests who were looking to return. We believe it is the right and responsible decision to take at this stage.
However, there is some positive news! We have decided, whatever happens, to publish a programme which will be delivered online from Scargill. Watch out for more details!
We are extending the opportunity for day visitors through October, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, where you can be assured of a warm welcome in the House. Please see here to book.
Here are some October dates for online events and we very much look forward to reconnecting with many of you through these events. Details are below. You can go to the online booking page here to book for all these events.
The Quiet Days and Forum events are free and on Zoom. If you would like to donate then we suggest an amount of £10 for a Forum and £20 for a Quiet Day. Our Eventbrite system has two types of tickets for each event. You can either book a Free ticket OR a Donation ticket (minimum donation is £1) – please do choose the ticket that suits you. Thank you!
The next Scargill Forum will be on Thursday 15th October (8-9:30pm) on Zoom and we are delighted that our guests will be Diane Stone (Scargill Leadership), Mat Ineson (member of Scargill Council) and Gordon Dey (Founder of ‘Jesus shaped people’(JSP)). JSP is helping grow urban and estate churches and we at Scargill are in partnership with JSP. Like the other Forums, this should be a thoughtful and enriching evening (as well as some fun!) Book here.
We are running two separate Quiet Days in October (identical content on both days) on Zoom on Tuesday 20th or Saturday 24th October. Do book for one of these. Again there is the option of booking a Free ticket or a Donation ticket for the same event:
We are delighted that Gemma Simmonds CJ will be leading our two Quiet Days in October. Gemma and Phil both met at Lee Abbey when they were guest speakers there. Gemma is a regular contributor to the BBC and other Radio station programmes, teaches on Ignatian Spirituality, and is also a Spiritual Director. She has written some reflections on the art of Sieger Köder. Her Quiet Day will be an opportunity to contemplate and gather insight on the Gospel as Gemma helps us reflect on some of these paintings. A Quiet Day not to miss! Book here.
Our first online programme event will be led by Dave Hopwood and Phil Stone, streamed live from Scargill. The theme is ‘King of Hearts’ and it will run from Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd October. Further details of this conference, including costs and how to book are available here.
We continue to share some of our Morning prayers and talks from Sunday services as audio files here.
We would love for us to be able to pray alongside each other in this way.
Please do not hesitate to get in contact with us for any situation or person that you would value prayer for by e-mailing: prayer@scargillmovement.org
And, finally, to make you smile. Here is Di’s wonderful reflection on the life of the Trinity. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Two pictures (see below) for you that although completely different in styles and themes both share visual expressions of what the Trinity means to me; with a glimpse, a hint of the joyous hospitality that is at the heart of the nature of God.
Many of you will be familiar with Andrei Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity. You may also know that it is an ancient image of a divine dance, an image of one God in three persons, perfectly united in will, distinct and unique in persons, moving together in joyful love’. I have to be honest, I see very little movement, but we are asked to ‘follow for a moment their gazes and the tilt of their heads’ and see ‘a movement of perpetual give and take’. This, it was interesting to read, is because ‘the angels are not inserted into the circle, but create it instead, thus our eyes can’t stop at any of the three figures and rather dwell inside this limited space’. And as we face the icon we too are invited to join and so complete the circle Our presence, our participation at this table is required if the circle is to be complete, drawing us into a relationship with the Father through the Son, in the Spirit.
Now you may wonder where does Skipping (in the gutter) by Robert Williams 1934-5. whose characters, often working class, come into it. Well, the other afternoon whilst drinking tea and trying NOT to eat cake, we began talking about skipping in the playground at school. For the life of me I can’t remember why. Anyway I mentioned a painting I saw at the Tate a few years ago, a painting showing women skipping. It is a small painting, originally part of a much larger piece of work entitled ‘The Gutter’. Dare I say I was first drawn to their bottoms! I rather like that, but once I looked up to their faces I said to myself – ‘Trinity!’ Here was, for me, a modern everyday depiction of the Rublev’s Icon. Here was the Trinity in the gutter, where else would they be?
Now bear with me – three ladies, different but the same, holding a rope, forming a moving circle, supporting one another as they skip, in the gutter. There is definite movement here! There is concentration but there is also fun – skipping is not just good exercise – do you remember skipping in the playground? Being invited to join the queue, the excitement and apprehension of waiting for your turn to jump in, then the count 1, 2, 3 ready? Nooo!! try again, 1, 2, 3 YES, there you are rhythmically jumping and chanting, sometimes with a partner always with the group, till you falter, and move out ready to rejoin the queue whilst the next person jumps in. Here is perpetual motion with the invitation to join.
Perhaps I see too much in the second painting, but I strongly believe God desires to draw us into the dance, that God constantly invites us to live as God lives among his people, with justice and mercy, with sorrow and joy, whether in a quiet sedate dance or a skipping frenzy, whether here at Scargill or in the city gutters.
This comes with love and prayers from
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
We are still hoping to open in October and there will be another MailChimp coming out next weekend with further details – so watch out for this! We are so much looking forward to welcoming you back. You can be sure of a warm welcome in a place that is ‘Covid-secure’. Each programme event will have limited spaces available to book.
We are doing two ‘Renew, Refresh Restore Quiet Days’ on Zoom either this Thursday 17th September or Saturday 26th September (10am to 4:30pm). We will be looking at the gift of the Holy Spirit, and this will be led by Philip and Phil. These are bookable through our website (please do not use the hello@ e-mail to book these events).
This September we still have open the opportunity to make a Day Visit. For details of how to book please go to here.
Here is Di’s latest reflection. Since she wrote this, Phil has managed to spectacularly break his glasses and so is waiting eagerly to receive a new pair! :+)
Diane writes:
Phil had to go for a regular eye test last week. Which is fine except we couldn’t find his glasses. We searched everywhere, under every table and chair or so we thought, looking but apparently not seeing. As my Nan would have said “You can’t see the Wood for the trees!” although for us she may well have said ‘You can’t see the glasses for the toys, the mess and the washing!’ Our only excuse being that it was the day after a fortnight of having our children and grandchildren here – in distanced dribs and drabs, which was great. Oh, and we did find the glasses, just in time!
An interesting fact – I have discovered that the origin of this phrase comes from Bath, in England. It refers to a concourse of houses that were designed by the architect John Wood. There was a tree planted directly in front of these houses, and it grew quite large. So people began to exclaim: “You can’t see the Wood for the tree!” This adage also speaks about being so involved and concerned with all the small details (the trees) of a situation that we are unable to get a clear overview of the whole situation (the wood) and so often lose perspective. And as autumn approaches, or has it already settled itself in, with the ever changing COVID guidelines and the differing information we are receiving I am beginning to ‘lose the plot’. I can’t see clearly anymore, the negative seems to have overtaken the positive and instead of noticing the special moments, the kind words, the thoughtful acts I find myself complaining, complaining, mainly over details that effect ME!
I realised that I had begun to lose the wonder of God, perhaps a little like in Corinthians 4:4 where we read, ‘In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’. Today we have uncertainty, the world is in a state of fear because of uncertainty, we feel helpless and out of control. But we can turn to the One who is fully in control and perfectly able to help in our times of need. Psalm 62 says, ‘For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy’. We can turn to a God, who wants to meet with us, who is involved in the heaven and earth he created, who takes his material world so seriously that he became a part of it, embodied and embedded, in Christ. (Paula Gooder – ‘Heaven’)
When visiting Hungary for Kata and Greg’s wedding several community stayed in a wonderful Airbnb and there on a shelf was a heavy, metal statue of Mary sitting peacefully holding Jesus in her lap. It felt as if she was offering Jesus to me. The statue was heavier than expected and suddenly I realised Jesus was separate, that I could hold him. It was astonishing how I felt holding baby Jesus. So many memories came flooding back, of cradling each of our four children newly born and oh so precious. As I held each one, time seemed to stop; I gently held their small fingers and toes, sensed their vulnerability with a deep sense of responsibility. I remember a warm stillness, there were just the two of us – A moment of wonder. I gently returned Jesus to his mother and took this photo.
Mary offered me, offered the world the gift, of her son Jesus, a gift given by God.
Can we today accept that offer and offer ourselves back to God? Perhaps then we can see the wood AND the trees – the gift and the wonder of God within the mess of these uncertain times.
This comes, as always, with much love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We hope this finds you well as we all navigate through these disorientating and strange times.
We are still hoping to open in October. We will let you know what we are doing, and how to book, sometime in September. We are so much looking forward to being able to welcome people back again through our doors.
If you are unaware, we will be doing a Scargill Forum on Zoom on Wednesday 9th September (8-9:30pm). We will let you know soon who our guest speakers will be for this. This is bookable through our website here (please do not use the hello@ e-mail to book onto this event).
We are also doing two ‘Renew, Refresh, Restore’ Quiet Days on Zoom on either Thursday 17th or Saturday 26th September (10am to 4:30pm). They will be led by Philip and Phil, and also involve other members of the Community. These are bookable through our website here (please do not use the hello@ e-mail to book onto this event).
As we pray for you, please do pray for us. September is going to be a busy month as we prepare to receive guests again in the COVID world that we are living in.
I hope you enjoy Di’s reflection. I just want to highlight the bit that we are actively looking for new Community to join the Scargill Adventure, particularly those who would like to do a gap year.
As a Community we would love to pray for you so please send any prayer requests to: prayer@scargillmovement.org
We are delighted to be able to welcome Day Visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and have released dates into the middle of September. It will be lovely to see you. For details and how to book please go to here.
All these events are free but if anyone would like to donate then please visit our website here which shows how you can do that.
Diane writes:
In my last reflection I talked about being ‘half-empty / half-full’ people and was sent this – ‘The optimist says this glass is half full, the pessimist says this glass is half empty and the engineer says this glass is twice as big as it needs to be!’ which made me smile, thank you.
When we closed due to COVID Scargill Community was in many ways ‘twice as big as it needed to be’. We stopped inviting guests and Working Friends and began the slow process of saying good-bye to Community, including very recently 5 over a period of two weeks. We are indeed now half the size we were! Ironically in the hope of opening to a small number of guests later this year I am on the verge of recruiting a small number of Community! And with all the news concerning universities and gap-years I am also hoping to recruit two or three gap-year students – so if you know of any – honestly, let me know. As for all you Working Friends, you are not forgotten, we just need to see how all the logistics pan out. Please continue to be patient and continue praying for us. We’ll be in touch
The artwork below, ‘Camels in the Eye of a Needle’, isn’t ‘photoshopped’. These are actual tiny, sculptures that fit in the eye of a needle! Russian artist, Nikolai Aldunin, using syringes, toothpicks and superglue keeping his hands perfectly still, in order to build these extraordinarily microscopic artworks. I find this absolutely amazing especially as I have been making face masks for Phil and I and in the process I have struggled to even thread the needle, time and time again I have squinted with poised thread to no avail, until at last for no apparent reason, hey presto, the thread slides through the eye of the needle, reminding me of Matthew 19 where Jesus says to his disciples, ‘I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’
The image of a camel going through the eye of a needle, even if it was a very small gateway, is a great description of our planning meetings, where we have discussed many practical issues, trying to cover every guideline we can read about to prepare for guests, but we also need to ensure we can provide – A WARM WELCOME, a FRIENDLY STAY and a feeling of being WANTED and VALUED notwithstanding social distancing and family units. As Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, on ‘Thought for the Day’ this week said, “if society remains so gripped by fear of illness and death that we think of nothing but physical safety we risk losing sight of other virtues that make us human in the fullest sense. Virtues like compassion, kindness, sociability, community, to name but a few.” She went on to say, “We are more than physical shells we are soul and spirit too.”
At times this all feels like an impossible, uphill task, so I hold onto the fact that Jesus said. ‘For men this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
This comes with all our love and prayers. As it is true for all of us, the Community are working out how to live through these disorientating times. To be honest, it can really drain the life out of us! We are praying that you may know the mystery of God’s presence each day. I hope you enjoy Di’s reflection on ‘half empty/half full’.
As a Community we would love to pray for you so please send any prayer requests to: prayer@scargillmovement.org
We are delighted that we can now offer you some forthcoming Scargillian online events. It will be a joy to connect with you.
Our next Scargill Forum will be on Wednesday 9th September (8-9:30pm) on Zoom. We will let you know soon who our guest speakers will be for this. This is bookable through our website (please do not use the hello@ e-mail to book onto this event).
We would love to welcome you to one of our ‘Renew, Refresh, Restore’ Quiet Days on either Thursday 17th or Saturday 26th September (10am to 4:30pm). They will be led by Philip and Phil, and also involve other members of the Community. These are bookable through our website (please do not use the hello@ e-mail to book onto this event).
We are delighted to be able to welcome Day Visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and have released dates into the middle of September. It will be lovely to see you. For details and how to book please go here.
Also, watch out for some ‘Fun on Friday’ dates that we will announce soon.
All these events are free but if anyone would like to donate then please visit our website here which shows how you can do that.
Diane writes:
Since I last wrote I have been swimming in a ‘proper’ pool and not the river and I HAVE HAD MY HAIR CUT! Yes!! Curiously they were both ‘life-giving’ and ‘life draining’. There I was in the hairdresser’s, a solitary customer with my solitary hairdresser in an otherwise empty room. All very friendly and we had a little laugh towards the end when I was asked if I wanted my hair any shorter? The trouble was with my comely, flowery mask across my face I had no idea. So I furtively lowered my mask had a quick peek and said no – next time I may say yes! Likewise, when I went swimming I was allocated my lane, the fast lane, unfortunately no one was booked into the slow lane so here I was again all alone. Now I have always treasured those swims when I have had the pool for a few minutes all to myself, but soon I began to feel very lonely, fit but lonely. Both had given me life but there I was dwelling on the negative. Have I become a ‘half-empty’ person, are we becoming ‘half-empty’ people – I do hope not.
For some reason this caused me to remember a poem I’ve had tacked to my office bulletin board ever since our son Matt sent it to me a couple of years. It still fills me with ‘the gladness of living’ every time I read it. The poem has been translated from the Turkish of Edip Cansever and is called Table.
Table A man filled with the gladness of living Put his keys on the table, Put flowers in a copper bowl there. He put his eggs and milk on the table. He put there the light that came in through the window, Sounds of a bicycle, sound of a spinning wheel. The softness of bread and weather he put there. On the table the man put Things that happened in his mind. What he wanted to do in life, He put that there. Those he loved, those he didn’t love, The man put them on the table too. Three times three make nine: The man put nine on the table. He was next to the window next to the sky; He reached out and placed on the table endlessness. So many days he had wanted to drink a beer! He put on the table the pouring of that beer. He placed there his sleep and his wakefulness; His hunger and his fullness he placed there. Now that’s what I call a table! It didn’t complain at all about the load. It wobbled once or twice, then stood firm. The man kept piling things on.
Here is a ‘half-full’ or even a ‘brim-full table if ever there was one. Sarah Robyn (August 19 2000) has written very expressively about this poem, capturing, for me, its very heart.
This poem ‘speaks to me across cultures because it is a poem about being human – anywhere, any time. The delight of it hinges on the turn the poem makes, beginning in line 5, where the table – which starts out as an ordinary piece of furniture – begins to metamorphose into a magic table, one whose capacity seems limitless – a veritable groaning board, but one that doesn’t groan.
At first the table is a convenient surface for a man to put things down on, presumably the things he is carrying: his keys, fresh flowers, the groceries he has brought home. But in the enthusiasm of the moment, the man doesn’t stop. Onto the table goes the light from the window; then, some ambient sounds; then, some pleasing textures; then – pell-mell – his imaginings, his hopes, his relationships. And then (“Three times three make nine”) the tally of what he has already put down.
This man is putting all his cards on the table, so to speak. Before we can stop him, he has “reached out” and “placed on the table endlessness,” or his right to reach for the sky, to put anything at all on the table … our man’s next move is homely: he longs for a beer. He places on the table – not the beer itself, but “the pouring of that beer,” the frothy moment of promise.
Next, as if they were equal in weight, the paired opposites of sleep and wakefulness, hunger and fullness: even life’s privations, the poem seems to say, are part of its bounty – for what would fullness be, without hunger?’
We leave the man still happily “piling things on”; the table standing firm, despite a wobble or two. I love this poem because it reminds me that my own “table” is sturdy, too, and will hold as much as I have the heart and the gusto to heap on it. Here is a poem speaking of abundant life within the everyday, of the glass ‘hall-full’ rather than ‘half-empty’ or perhaps that even an honest ‘half-empty’ glass is just as meritorious of going on the table.
Have another read of the poem (read it perhaps a couple of times) then think about what you’d like to put on the table. Perhaps even make a list – you may be pleasantly surprised.
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We do hope this finds you well as the easing of lockdown is stalled at this moment. In this newsletter we have Di’s reflection on ‘trust’, and to begin with a short message from Lucy, our Chaplain, who leaves us next week. It is has been a joy to work with Lucy, and we have very much appreciated her valuable contribution to Community and our guests.
Our next Forum is on Wednesday 5th August (8-9:30pm) – please book via our website by 2pm on Monday 3rd August.
I wanted to share a few words with the extended Scargill family before I move to parishes in Cambridgeshire on 10th August.
My three years living and serving in the Scargill community have been a fertile and fruitful experience. I have certainly grown through the experience and I trust that you have found your stay(s) here to be enriching. The first event I led here was a ‘Renew-Refresh-Restore’ weekend on Life Balance. As a group we explored “Time to Pause & Rest, Laugh & Play, Rejoice & Celebrate.” From my own story, I know that Scargill is a place where we can grapple with these possibilities and begin to embed them in daily life. Thank you for joining me on that journey through your companionship.
This February, a matter of weeks before lockdown, I preached in Scargill Chapel on Romans 8:16-27. Groaning was the theme of the talk: Creation groaning in labour pains; Christians groaning inwardly; the Spirit interceding with groans. Many of us may have groaned inwardly and outwardly in recent months amidst the changes, restrictions, questions and concerns we have faced. I am heartened that creation is perhaps groaning a little less in the wake of severely reduced travel and a slightly smaller environmental impact. I believe that the Spirit of God has faithfully interceded for us and will continue to do so throughout the age of Covid-19.
As I say farewell, I do so with thankfulness for all that has been at Scargill and in anticipation of all that will be. With Paul’s words in Romans 8 in mind, may we look to the future waiting eagerly, hopefully and patiently for our redemption in all its fullness.
Diane writes:
Welcome once again to my short reflection.
I have several cousins, one of them, when very young developed a congenital bilateral blindness. As she grew older she wanted more and more independence and one day asked her mother if she could walk down to the corner shop on her own. Knowing this need for independence her mother said yes, but then followed her daughter along the opposite pavement there and back again. On her return my cousin told her mother off for following and not trusting her! Was my auntie wrong to have followed her daughter?
Why have I told this story? Because Phil and I have recently been thinking about trust. We agreed (a rare thing indeed!) that trust is such a fragile thing. It’s relational; always relational and it grows love and forgiveness. We also agreed, to be trusted is very affirming and can nurture responsibility, whereas not to be trusted can be quite soul destroying. We also felt that trust allows for the possibility of failure, which is a healthy thing, but failure can also lead to hurt, a hurt which will not always easily mend.
And yesterday (28th July) I heard Hannah Malcolm an ordinand at Durham speak on Thought for the Day. She spoke about how for many lockdown kept us safe from uncontrolled encounters but with restrictions being lifted “we face a wider challenge concerning our sense of collective belonging and public trust. We are (now) negotiating the anxious spaces shared by those who have returned to all but normal life and those who remain at home … We are treading murky waters away from our tight circles” towards others “containing potent danger … As we negotiate the growing pressure of constantly counting risks, the temptation to become more suspicious rather than less generous is not one we can ignore … To be in communion, to be in common with each other we have to relinquish some control leaving our interests behind.”
This felt very near to home and resounded with how I see Scargill today. At the beginning of this pandemic Phil spoke about us all being in the storm but not necessarily in the same boat. Some boats have been travelling along troubled waters, others going right through the eye of the storm, whilst we have steadily meandered along in the relative calm, only now venturing outwards into the murky water as we prepare to once again welcome guests, friends and family. For some this has been challenging and exciting, for others fear–provoking and disquieting because possibly deep down, like many, we want to keep control, we don’t want to steer through murky waters!
Proverbs 3 says “With all your heart you must trust the Lord and not your own judgment. Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow”. Of course the prerequisite is to trust Jesus, but that is not nearly as easy as said. Take the calming of the storm. All the pictures I have seen have Jesus sleeping whilst the storm rages. If I was in the boat I like to think I would ‘stay calm and trust Jesus’, but in reality I’m sure I would be scared, very scared. We do need to trust Jesus to clear the road ahead but we also need to trust each other as we travel along it. Trust, responsibility and forgiveness should all walk alongside allowing relationships to grow and friendships to deepen, generosity to develop and hospitality to be given with an open heart that welcomes all – when the time is right.
With much love and prayers to you all as we negotiate this challenging landscape together.
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Thank you for you continued love, support and prayers, it means a great deal to us.
Below are details of how you can book on to our forthcoming online events. We are in the process of changing the way that you can book! Please bear with us.
We would love to welcome you to one of our Renew, Refresh, Restore Quiet Days on either Friday 31st July or Saturday 1st August. The theme will be around Jesus – the Light of the World and the Bread of Life. They will be led by Lucy and Phil involving other members of the Community. If you would like to be involved in either of these days then please e-mail us at: hello@scargillmovement.org
During what would have been our Summerfest Programme, we are hosting ‘Fest Teas for all ages’. We hope to have some fun together on Zoom! These Teas will start at 4pm and the dates are:
Monday 27th, Tuesday 28th, Wednesday 29th July
and then Monday 3rd, Tuesday 4th, Wednesday 5th, Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th August
Our next Scargill Forum will be on Wednesday 5th August (8-9:30pm) on Zoom. We will let you know soon who our guests will be for this forum. This is bookable through our website (please do not use the hello@ e-mail to book onto this event).
We are also delighted to announce that starting in August we are able to welcome Day Visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It will be lovely to see you. Further details and booking is through our website.
All these events are free but if anyone would like to donate then please visit our website here which shows how you can do that.
Diane’s reflection this week is on ‘Love and laughter’. Enjoy!
“I love to laugh … Loud and long and clear … The more I laugh, the more I fill with glee.” (Mary Poppins – Film). Hi, I hope you are now all singing away with Bert! A question – When did you last laugh, really laugh out loud? I asked that question when reading a quote from “Loving God Whatever” (reflections by Sister Jane) on July 11th “Humour is near to holiness, and love to laughter”. I was initially drawn to the book by a comment on the back cover which says “This selection of her writings reveals not only her spiritual wisdom but also her great capacity for friendship and understanding, her down-to-earth sense of humour and fun and her ability to meet people where they were, making them feel special.”
Does this remind you of anywhere? It did remind me of the time when the small initial core community were thinking about our Community Promises and we unanimously decided to include the promise “Love, laughter, and a generous spirit are foundational values in our life together. We see Jesus taking great pleasure in receiving and giving unexpected treats to other people. Are you willing to do likewise?” Oh Yes! We all replied loudly and with broad smiles on our faces. Since that day Scargill really has been a house of love and laughter. Each morning after prayers we now meet together and start with ‘HUMOUR’. Phil asked us all to send in something to watch that would make us laugh. Why? Because it’s good to laugh. Medical science says “A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after. Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.” Wow!
My sisters now regularly send me a joke or a funny video, something that made them laugh, which they want to share, and over the last few months this has become a life-line for many. But it really isn’t the same as seeing them in person. One of the reasons why many of us have found lockdown, isolation and distancing so hard is because we naturally want to be in community. We were not created in isolation, but within the Trinity of God – Father Son and Holy Spirit, and we were created to reflect that community within our human communities. Sophie Scott, explains that people are thirty times more likely to laugh if they’re with someone else. In other words, people are more apt to laugh in community than isolation, the very place most of us are! So what can we do about that? Nothing, but when meeting or passing someone by, even if wearing a mask, love and laughter can come over in a smile, the inflection of your voice or seen through your eyes.
To finish with – Did you know, one reason I married Phil was to have fun and laugh? Although I yearned to, I was not very good at either, but instinctively knew I should, and there he was! Also, many of you will know that we have a Munsterlander (dog) – but did you know Munsterlanders really want their owners to have as much fun as they do! I can’t think why Phil decided this was the dog for us.
We look forward to welcoming you whether it is online or through a booked Day Visit.
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
Today, 4th July, has many associations, and for us as a nation it is a further easing of the lockdown. Later on you will be able to read Di’s reflection on patience which is so relevant for us in these days. There are many ‘ifs and buts’, and the future is unknown, but if the momentum keeps moving in the right direction, we are hopeful we will be able to re-open sometime in the Autumn. We are not taking any bookings at the moment, but be assured, we will keep you well informed. We are very much looking forward to welcoming you through our doors, even if it may start by being a limited number. Thank you for your continued support and prayers, especially as we plan to re-open.
The Community continue to be in good spirits, truly entering in to a daily rhythm of prayer which has sustained us during this time. Please do get in touch with us at prayer@scargillmovement.org if we can pray for you during these strange times.
On Thursday 9th July (8-9:30pm) we will be having our second Forum, and my guests will be: Lucy Cleland (currently our Chaplain); Andreas Andersson (Zooming in from Sweden – a former Chaplain); and Bishop Chris Edmondson (Chair of Council). A rather esteemed group and I think we can look forward to a good evening together. These Forums are an opportunity for us to continue to learn about God and ourselves through these disorientating times. If you would like to be involved in this Zoom event please send an e-mail request to hello@scargillmovement.org so we can send a link.
Thank you for the very positive feedback for the Zoom Quiet Days that we shared last week. We will be doing some other stand-alone Quiet Days on Friday 31st July and Saturday 1st August which will involve a range of Community. Please book for one or the other of the days. Each will begin at 10am and finish around 5pm. Within the day there will be a couple of reflections, an opportunity for a Zoom discussion and tea and cake together at the end of the day with some worship. Again, if you would like to be part of either of these days please e-mail us at hello@scargillmovement.org
These events are free but if anyone would like to donate then please visit our website here which shows how you can do that.
If you wish to listen to our morning prayers and the Sunday morning sermon they are to be found here on our website
We are delighted to be in partnership with ReSource where I have just written a blog. If you wish, you can read it here
So here is another reflection for us from Diane Stone:
Recently when sitting in the garden enjoying the sunshine I mentioned I wasn’t sure about what to write this week and Phil quickly responded, partly seriously, partly ‘tongue in cheek’ (I hope!) that I should write on patience, hopefully because he is thinking about a sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit. Well, I rose to the bait and replied I consider myself very patient although I did appreciate that others may find me a little impatient.
After a little naval gazing I recognised that I can be, and was, patient when working with others in my teaching and SENCO role, nursing, midwifery, motherhood and now my Scargill personnel role, especially when I have enjoyed supporting one or two community members BUT I have to be honest and say yes I AM impatient particularly when waiting; waiting for someone, waiting for something to happen and now waiting to play with, read to (side by side) and cuddle our grandchildren.
Everyone can be impatient for right and wrong reasons and you could argue that every day as individuals our patience is tested. This could be something trivial like waiting in traffic, to something vital like waiting for a friend’s COVID-19 test results. We though are called to be patient, it is one of the Fruit of the Spirit but I fear most of us need to practise patience. There is a lovely scene from the film Evan Almighty, where a modern Mrs Noah has become exasperated by her husband building the ARK outside their home and wishes she had more patience. Now Mrs Noah happens to be mentioning this to God who is sitting next to her in a burger bar (in the disguise of Morgan Freeman) where he is working! And God suggests that if we ask for patience surely we would be given situations in which to practise patience. Don’t you sometimes wish you hadn’t asked the question? But I am sure the answer is worth mulling over and as we look back there may well have been many opportunities where we could practise patience, though I wonder how many we recognised at the time?
Interestingly Faith sent in a poem that is also about, yes, you are right, patience. Faith said this poem spoke very powerfully to her and she thought it ‘very apt for us all in these times’. It is by Pierre Tielhard de Chardin SJ (1881-1955).
Patient Trust Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you. Your ideas mature gradually – let them grow, let them shape themselves, without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time; that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will, will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that His hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.
In these bewildering times it takes patience to know that we are on the right path, and while we may not be exactly where we would like or want to be, we can recognise it’s only for now. This won’t be forever. I’m still learning how to be more patient, but at least I know I will get there eventually.
Well I hope so anyway!
Please be assured of our love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We hope and pray that this latest newsletter finds you well. Thank you so much for your continued love and support. It means a great deal to us, and we are very much looking forward at some stage to welcome you again through our doors.
The Community is in good spirits. We have just had a couple of days retreat which has strengthened our life together. The Community continues to reduce in size as we will be saying goodbye to Carolin and Annette over the next two weeks.
Please do get in touch with us at: prayer@scargillmovement.org if we can pray for you during these strange times. We continue to have our rhythm of prayer and within this we have a time for intercession.
We have just had our first Scargill Forum, which was a very rich experience. Someone wrote afterwards: ‘Thank you for all the thoughts, the wisdom, the laughter, the prayer, the gathering us together into community again.’
We are planning our second Scargill Forum for Thursday 9th July (8-9:30pm), as we continue to learn together about God and ourselves through these disorientating times. If you would like to be involved in this Zoom event, please send an e-mail requesting to be involved to hello@scargillmovement.org so we can send you a link.
It is still not too late to join one of our Quiet Days through Zoom on Friday 26th or Saturday 27th June. The theme will be: ’Waymarks for the journey’. Each will begin at 10am and finish around 5pm. Within the day there will be a couple of reflections, an opportunity for a Zoom discussion and tea and cake together at the end with some worship. Again, if you would like to be part of either of the days please e-mail: hello@scargillmovement.org
These events are free but if anyone would like to donate then please visit our website here which shows how you can do that.
If you wish to listen to our morning prayers and the Sunday morning sermon they are to be found here on our website
Here is another reflection for us from Diane Stone:
A while back I had a dream that woke me. Influenced I think by the fact that our daughter, staying with us, (for now!) has strongly encouraged us to de-clutter, and throw away three items a day! In my dream I am in a post war railway station, quite dark and dingy. I have lost my suitcase and my best coat, not sure about the coat! But I am extremely anxious, asking people to help. No one can find either the bag or the coat and eventually I have to travel on leaving both behind. Thinking about this I was reminded that Jesus sent his disciples telling them not to take a money bag or a travelling bag or sandals.
So was I being asked to travel light when we so often, if not all the time, carry things that are not necessary, things that only weigh us down, slow us down, keep us from being and doing what God intends for us.
Just before the dream Hilary led a lovely morning prayer during which she talked about how our sin/mistakes block our relationship with God and demonstrated God’s total forgiveness by emptying a household rubbish bin onto a sheet then, gathering it all up before throwing the sheet away, out of sight. I know I need to accept the abundant GRACE given by God and travel on renewed in hope and faith. But as she was throwing the rubbish away I saw several items which would or could be recycled. Surely, I thought, some of my sins/mistakes could be recycled? I’m always saying we learn by our mistakes and although in my head I know that God forgives, I do not forget so perhaps I could channel my sins/mistakes into memories, into cue cards, preventing the same mistake again. Well why not?
‘…we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.’ Romans 8:28
As we journey, we often desire to meet with God! But we often fail to give time to God! We are full of excuses – too busy, too tired, too many burdens! Philippians 4 tells us to ‘be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’
Here at Scargill, we are perhaps travelling alone, travelling light, unable to welcome guests has created a void, a void that is, I hope, encouraging us to seek a deeper relationship with God and each other. Perhaps now is the time for all of us to set aside time – no excuses, not even for me!! Now is sacred – now is where God is to be encountered, not tomorrow, not next week but here in the middle of this pandemic God wishes to be met.
To finish, a poem by Robert Frost. It is an ambiguous poem that allows us to think about choices in life, whether to go with the mainstream or go it alone. If life is a journey, this poem highlights those times in life when a decision has to be made.
The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.
Please be assured of our love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
We hope and pray that this latest newsletter finds you well. Thank you so much for your continued love and support it means a great deal to us. As I have mentioned before, please do get in touch with us at: prayer@scargillmovement.org if there is anything we can pray for you during these strange times.
We are glad to say that on Thursday 18th June from 8 to 9:30pm I will be chairing our first Scargill Forum, and be joined by Rev’d Mike Leigh (currently Vicar in Scarborough and a Scargillian); and Jo Penn (current Community Member) to talk about what we are learning about God and ourselves through this pandemic. If you would like to be involved in this Zoom event then please email: hello@scargillmovement.org so that we can send you a link to join in.
We will also be doing two separate Quiet Days through Zoom on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th June. The theme will be: ’Waymarks for the journey’. Each will begin at 10am and finish around 5pm. Within the day there will be a couple of reflections, an opportunity for a Zoom discussion and tea and cake together at the end with some worship. Again, if you would like to be part of either of the days please e-mail: hello@scargillmovement.org
These events are free but if anyone would like to donate then please visit our website here which shows how you can do that.
Here is a reflection from Diane Stone:
A couple of weeks ago Phil asked me to head-up this two-weekly ‘keeping in touch’ letter. Possibly like you, Community seem to either have too much time on their hands or too little time, either way it has struck me that this is a waiting time, a time for us to wait on God. And two poems, both about time, have come to mind, perhaps because although I will be asking other members of community to contribute this week, alas, I ran out of time to ask anyone!
The first poem, really the opening sentence, is a song from my childhood by Bing Crosby on the soundtrack of the film ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’ (1949). To be honest it’s really the first line which seems to sum up life at the moment, well not quite for me, but for many. This song may seem trivial but I think there is a lot of honesty in it. And it makes me smile, I hope it does the same for you.
We’re busy doin’ nothin’ Workin’ the whole day through Tryin’ to find lots of things not to do. We’re busy goin’ nowhere Isn’t it just a crime We’d like to be unhappy, but We never do have the time I have to watch the river To see that it doesn’t stop And stick around the rosebuds So they’ll know when to pop And keep the crickets cheerful They’re really a solemn bunch Hustle, bustle And only an hour for lunch
The second was a poem I found when preparing for morning prayers by William Henry Davies entitled Leisure. Wikipedia told me that this poem written in 1911 warns that “the hectic pace of modern life has a detrimental effect on the human spirit. Modern man has no time to spend free time in the lap of nature”. And not so long ago we may all have agreed, but now, for our physical and mental health, we have been encouraged to spend time outside ‘in the lap of nature’. I have never walked so consistently I don’t think in my entire life and this poem encourages us to look and see!
What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty’s glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.
So where do we go from here? Let’s turn to Ecclesiastes 3 where we read ‘Everything on earth has its own time and its own season. There is a time for birth and death, planting and reaping, for killing and healing, destroying and building, for crying and laughing, weeping and dancing, for throwing stones and gathering stones, embracing and parting. There is a time for finding and losing, keeping and giving, for tearing and sewing, listening and speaking. There is also a time for love and hate, for war and peace.’
This ‘song’ is followed by the heading ‘Life isn’t always fair, so live wisely’ and soon we are reassured that ‘God makes everything happen at the right time.’ The chapter confirms ‘We can never know the future.’
As a community we have promised to meet with God, to set aside time throughout the day to refresh our relationship with Him. So let’s use this waiting time wisely, whether we are busy or not, working or at home, can we rest as well as walk trusting in our God. A God who will not abandon his world but plans on redeeming it. Recently I heard, and have mentioned before, the phrase ‘God is not elsewhere’, a phrase which helps me feel very close to God, you see if God is not elsewhere then He must be HERE, here with you and me. Here in the midst of our waiting…
Please be assured of our love and prayers
Phil and Diane & the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
During these strange times, familiar relationships can be even more important than ever. Whilst we are unable to welcome guests to Scargill, one of the ways we would like to stay in contact is to write a fortnightly letter. These will include reflections and encouragements from different Scargill folk, news of upcoming online Scargill events and other community updates.
We are very thankful for the donations and messages of encouragement that we have received in recent days. Thank you so much for your generous support.
We continue to hold a rhythm of prayer and it would be a privilege to pray for you and the situations you are facing. You can e-mail us at: prayer@scargillmovement.org
We would very much value your prayers for us as we journey through this unfamiliar and challenging landscape. Please pray for the Community as we discover what is to be our ‘voice’ during this time.
Generosity is a ‘Kingdom Value’ that we keep learning about at Scargill. Here are a few thoughts from Phil:
What we love about Jesus is that he shows us the heart of the Father. In John’s gospel Jesus says ‘I can only do what I see my Father doing’ (John 5:19). And we see that Jesus is always generous, always giving more than enough, some would say he is gloriously extravagant, others would say over the top. I mean water into wine (John 2) is a miracle of transformation and such generosity showing the heart of God – isn’t that just wonderful! And again, in Luke 5, enough fish that boats began to sink, and then later plenty of bread and fish to feed thousands (John 6). Jesus shows us the nature of God, who always has been generous, never more so than in wilderness situations. A wonderful example of this was the giving of manna (Exodus 16), where the people of God surprisingly found abundant grace. I photographed this art installation at St Anne’s, Manchester, portraying the wonderful gift of manna.
Our current situation has forced us into a wilderness, and it has been heart-warming to hear the stories of generosity from many people. I heard of a family who put a table at the bottom of their drive with toilets rolls and packets of pasta on it with a notice saying ‘please take one’. Walter Brueggemann points out:
‘That journey from anxious scarcity through miraculous abundance to a neighbourly common good has been peculiarly entrusted to the church.’
Our narrative is shaped by Jesus who calls us to be generous. What would that look like for you? In what ingenious way might the Holy Spirit be asking you to show the heart of God? Where can you bring hope in these wilderness days?
Gracious God, Confront us with your heart of generosity, Your extravagant love. Unlock our hearts, free us from our anxious ways, Show us through your Spirit how to be a generous offering. In Jesus’ name – Amen
With our love
Phil, Diane & the Scargill Community
Dear Friends
This comes with much love and prayers from the Scargill Movement during these very challenging and disorientating times. The coronavirus has truly turned all our lives upside-down.
Since our last guests left, followed then by the National lockdown, the Community have taken specific precautions to protect themselves from the virus and we are glad to say that the Community are well. To mitigate any risk, the Community are living under restrictions which go beyond those being asked by the Government.
As we pray for you, please pray for us as many of our overseas Community are unable to go home, even if they wanted to do so. Community life during this time is challenging and when the lockdown is eventually eased we will be finding ways to make the Community gradually smaller for now, which will help us to manage the situation in many ways.
From a Council perspective, we are enormously grateful to Phil, Di, Dave and others in the Leadership Team, for the pastoral care and support given to the community during this time, along with all the attention to detail which has gone into navigating different aspects of this unchartered territory.
As for all of us, the situation we find ourselves in has huge financial implications. We are very grateful for the financial support that we have received from many Scargillians. People have been wonderfully generous, and we know that others are planning to support us in this way. This will sustain us for we know it is going to be a considerable time before we see guests again. Thank you for this practical expression of your love and commitment, and you can be assured that the Council and Leadership Team are, as always, working closely together, as we monitor the financial and business aspects of Scargill’s life at this challenging time.
As we go forward in a landscape which is so unfamiliar we would like to connect with you. In these times we need the support of one another more than ever. The Community are keeping a rhythm of prayer, and if you have anything that you would like us to pray for please do e-mail it through to prayer@scargillmovement.org
We are also hoping, in the relatively near future, to try our hand at some on-line retreats, and we are beginning to keep in touch with people through the wonders of Zoom and other means. Again, please be in touch (hello@scargillmovement.org) if these are ways that you would like to connect. What we have treasured always at Scargill is relationships, our relationship with God and one another, and maybe through all this we are learning how we may nurture this deep truth, which may be reflected in the ‘new normal’ when we come out of this crisis.
Our doors will one day be open again to be God’s hospitality, but in the meantime let us stay connected, with encouragement, compassion, humour, love and prayer.
To finish, a short reflection from John’s gospel (John 20:19) where the disciples are locked for fear in the Upper Room. The risen Jesus comes amongst them and they recognise him through the wounds of love. It is love that dispels fear, as St John in his letter reminds us (1 John 4:18). Jesus speaks twice the words, ‘Peace be with you’ and breathes on them that they may be filled with the Holy Spirit. During these times, when difficulties and dark days can envelop us, may we hear and know these words from Jesus for ourselves.
Here is one of our prayers from our morning prayer sheets:
Spirit of peace Quiet our hearts Heal our anxious thoughts, Free us from our fretful ways, Breathe on us your Holy calm So that in the stillness of your presence We may open ourselves to trust and be transformed.
With love and prayers
+Chris and Phil
Bishop Chris Edmondson (Chair of the Council) and Revd Canon Phil Stone (Director and Community Leader)
Dear Friends
This comes with much love and prayers to you all as we continue to be in these bewildering and unknown times. Please continue to look at our Facebook page and website where we will do our very best to give hope through prayers, reflections and no doubt some humorous stuff that will make us smile. We do see the priority in physical distancing but our intention is to be very social for we will need each other.
The last few guests left last week and we are now in to a 14 day ‘lock-down’ where we will be living in small household groups. This is to make sure that if any of us are carrying the virus we have a plan to contain it. During this time we will be continuing our rhythm of prayer, and please do e-mail us if there is anything that we can specifically pray for you.
As we pray for you, please pray for us as many of our overseas community are unable to go home, even if they wanted to do so. As for all of us, the situation we find ourselves has a huge financial impact but we are committed to continue to support the Community in regard to allowances for the long-term future.
Our doors will one day be open again to be God’s hospitality, but in the meantime we are becoming a Community with a focus on prayer. This is a wonderful opportunity to develop our relationship with our gracious God as well as to learn to truly listen.
To finish, a short reflection from John’s gospel (John 20:19) where the disciples are locked for fear in the Upper Room. The risen Jesus comes amongst them and they recognise him through the wounds of love. It is love that dispels fear, as St John in his letter reminds us (1 John 4:18). Jesus speaks twice the words, ‘Peace be with you’ and breathes on them that they may be filled with the Holy Spirit. During these times, may we hear and know these words for ourselves.
So here is one of our prayers from our morning prayer sheets:
Spirit of peace Quiet our hearts Heal our anxious thoughts, Free us from our fretful ways, Breathe on us your Holy calm So that in the stillness of your presence We may open ourselves to trust and be transformed.
Phil Stone
Unfortunately David Runcorn was taken poorly over the weekend we celebrated our 60th birthday (don’t fret he has made a full recovery!)
He has generously provided us with the script of what he intended to say at the time.
Ruth Yeoman recalls a childhood of picnics, extended family and growing up as part of the very first Scargill Community.
I was born at Amber Cottage, Kettlewell in September 1960. After their marriage in April 1959 my parents joined the Scargill Community; my dad, Richard as the Estate Manager and my mum Shirley to work on the House Team.
It was incredible to be a first-born among such an array of loving and supportive adults; surrogate ’aunts and uncles’, who popped up all over the place; to babysit, to share in a task, to sit next to in the chapel or come to our house so that Mum could share in prayers, to encourage me on through snow up to Hag Dyke at New Year where there was lunch and roaring fires all waiting for us, or pile into the cottage for coffee on a Sunday morning after worship at Kettlewell Parish Church, where Dad became a churchwarden.
The House and grounds at Scargill and the surrounding Dales were a wonderful playground and source of endless adventure and opportunity: Throstles Nest for summer picnics by the river, children’s games during the holidays with families staying at Scargill. Much of the time dad drove around in the Landover. Occasionally I could join him strapped in, as we climbed up rough and ready tracks or down into the valleys. We would meet guests out in the Dales with food and drink to sustain them for the afternoon.
Was the House running low on water? Dad showed me where to look up at the reservoir at the top of the Scar to see if the marker on the water was visible and if not we would cross the road below the House to turn on the pump to bring water up to the necessary level. Apparently dad’s instructions for this are still being used!
Dad seemed pretty fearless and endlessly practical. He was soon taking groups potholing and was a member of the Wharfedale Fell Rescue for almost a decade.
There were sorrows too. I remember a large more muted gathering to dedicate the new Marsh Lounge. Later I was to learn of how Dick Marsh and his fellow climber had both died in an accident on Coniston Old Man.
It was a busy life, but always one where people were ready to pray and be supportive, where needs were the mother of invention, with laughter and fun accompanying the daily round to be ready to welcome the next group of guests.
Looking back I am sure that this early experience of community and lived out Christian faith has shaped my life and the person I have become, together with the many Scargill members from the 1960’swho are still life long family friends. I had a privileged childhood. Thank you Scargill and many congratulations on reaching 60! May you go on shaping lives for good through faith and fellowship in Christ Jesus.
Peter Lewis tells how his holiday at Scargill had quite an unexpected twist!
I first came to Scargill on a Parish Weekend from Nottingham when I was new to the city and my parish church. (It was an excellent way to get to know others in the Parish over the weekend and I made friends amongst the community from that first weekend!) Having returned a number of times on my own or with friends for holidays or workshops, I came in 1991 for a holiday week and became aware during the walks that there were a number of children there with just one parent and keen to be more active, so we organised some extra football games and took a whole group of children off to the swimming pool twice during the week. Amongst the children were two boys from Nottingham who were on holiday with their father immediately after their parents’ divorce. The younger boy attached himself to me, telling me jokes all the time and wanting to walk on the rambles with me. At the end of the week the two boys told me they were singing in a concert in Nottingham shortly with a youth choir and suggested I should come. I didn’t think too much more about it and had no way of contacting them, but about a week later some close friends at church asked me if I’d like to come to a youth choir concert which their own son was singing in and I joined them for this. As soon as I entered the concert hall the two boys I’d met at Scargill recognised me and waved. In the interval they came and got me to take me off to meet their mum. She said she’d heard an awful lot about me and perhaps I’d like to bring my Scargill photos round for tea some time. This was the first stage in a quite unexpected new relationship and we were married in 1994. We are next month celebrating our Silver Wedding and have two grandchildren – the offspring of the younger boy who wanted to tell me jokes. Our elder son now lives in Australia and whilst we have visited him there we also maintain contact digitally on a regular basis. Both my step-sons continue to be amused by the way that this encounter at Scargill changed all our lives! My wife and I have been back to Scargill many times, as she had also been there in the 1980’s, and we actively promote Scargill in the Derbyshire village churches where we now live. I am a Reader approaching my 34th year of ministry and my wife is active in church music, leading worship and counselling.
I recently told a version of this story at a celebration for the anniversary of the Youth Choir in Nottingham where it caused lots of laughter and amusement!
Peter & Rae are due to visit Scargill again later this summer.
Catherine and her sons Dylan and Oliver have been visitors to Scargill many times since the house reopened in 2010. When asked what Scargill meant to them the family said the following:
“Scargill is awesome
I really enjoy staying there, meeting new people and doing new things.
I have been going for 5 years and every visit is as enjoyable as the last.
I love the themed events like Summer Fest and Paddington (half term) as it’s really fun and there is lots of other kids there. Going to chapel for morning prayer is special.” says Dylan
Dylan & Ross Summer fest 2017 and Dylan in the chapel Summer Fest 2015
Oliver, who has become increasingly unwell over the years he has been visiting Scargill says “I love that everyone just accepts the changes to my health and mobility and that I am included and enabled to join in.
Summer Fest is a great joy, meeting up with regulars/friends and making new friends.”
Oliver before making his pathway promise.
As a family Catherine say’s “We all get so much from the all age, come as you are join in as much as you like worship of Summer Fest. The boys both still sing the songs they learn and have screen print T shirts for each year/theme.”
Nick Barker (son of Arthur) shares childhood memories of growing up at Scargill
Scargill was a great place to grow up. I enjoyed the wide spaces and camping on the ledge above the House. The stars were amazing.
I remember my mother cooking for thirty each day when working parties came up from Bradford churches to prepare the House and grounds for opening.
My Father was usually up at the house so we didn’t see a lot of him, but the fun of living with the community made up for that.
Apart from my parents, Brenda Bracewell was the first to come as secretary, and after that others joined.
They were great folk and the picture of us all brings back happy memories.
Father’s and Son’s weeks were fun with caving and climbing as activities. Dick Marsh was a great speaker, making the Christian faith a reality.
I remember the television coming and doing an outside broadcast of a service in the field.
I helped Stephen Butcher who kept sheep in the field. We enjoyed river bathing at Throstle’s Nest where he and Moira lived.
We helped clean out the main water tank on the hill, which seemed enormous inside.
One day there was a huge thunderstorm. A tree behind the house was struck. Sparks leapt from the phones. From my bedroom window I saw a great fire ball hurtle down the dale towards Kilnsey.
A few keen folk used to walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks all the way from Scargill. I can remember returners in the evening dragging themselves up the drive to finish.
My memories of Scargill 60 years ago are of a different age. For example, little traffic. I could run (O golden days,) from the house to Kettlewell, over the bridge, and then to Kilnsey, then back over the bridge to Conistone, then back to the house and only have to watch out for the Post Office van.
When I was a member of the community I looked after the pigs, four: Hands, Knees, Bumps and Daisy. When it was time for them to be butchered, the butcher came to us. The meat was put in the freezer, but the ‘innards’ were shared out. This is what happened up and down the valley so nothing was wasted. The heads were raffle prizes at the local WI. The WI met in the village hall. There were dances in the village hall, but ladies could not go without a male partner, so I was co-opted. I would turn up with 4 or 5 other members of community and they would dance with the RAF rescue team, handsome young men who danced in their thick woolly socks. They came dressed in their outdoor gear so they could go ‘rescue’ if called out. I found a nice corner near the food table, a long trestle table piled with homemade food – pies, every pie you could think of. The dance didn’t start until 10 o-clock, supposedly after milking, but it was accepted that that was earliest you could get the ‘band’, a piano and a fiddle, out of the pub. It was fun. The thing you needed to be a community member was faith, and energy.
Love
Walter Storey
Jennifer Douglas writes
“Scargill house truly is where we all grew up together. I met my best friend Sarah Martin (nee. Penney) there 19 years ago through CMM.
This is Sarah and I the year we met
In that time I’ve been her chief bridesmaid and now Godmother to her two children.
Our friendship has remained strong through the wonderful foundation set with CMM – despite living 250 miles apart! ”
These pictures were taken of Jennifer and Sarah at the christening of Sarah’s first born, Imogen and her baby shower for her 2nd child.
Jennifer still has a connection to Scargill, as her Mum visits regularly and Jennifer performed in the chapel at one of our Summerfest events about 3 years ago.
In this first of our “Tales of The Unexpected” Blog series Tom shares with us what Scargill has meant to him and his family:
I attended Scargill with my parents and brother from a very young age (once as a foetus I believe!) and returned for that glorious week every summer until its closure in 2008.
During our visit in 1999 for “Jerusalem Joy” music week lead by Roger Jones of Christian Music Ministries, I met a girl called Rachel Walker, who was also visiting with her family. I was 7 years old, she was 8. Rachel enjoyed singing and dancing in the musicals, and I started out playing bass guitar.
The following year whilst visiting Scargill for “Snakes and Ladder” I met Roger Jones’ son Peter, who was drumming for the musical. Peter, who was also a drum teacher, gave me my first ever lesson on the drum kit. Sadly, Peter became unwell and went to be with Jesus in 2002 but he lit a fire in me and inspired me to learn the drums which has been my primary instrument ever since. I continued to attend Scargill and drummed for Roger’s music weeks every year, and now Rachel and I join Roger and the CMM team for CMM events all over the country.
Rachel and I made many close friends whilst visiting Scargill, taking over “The Den” for the week where we watched films, played games and learnt about God together. It is no exaggeration to say that we all grew up together at Scargill.
Rachel and I became very close friends over the years and although we only saw each other for a week every year remained so, until in 2015 when on a weekend visit to Scargill together, whilst in the chapel, I asked her to be my wife… and she said YES! We married in York Minster 8 months later, with Roger preaching at the wedding.
So were it not for Scargill I wouldn’t have met my wife or become a drummer. Scargill is a very special place for both of us. We were both delighted when Scargill re-opened and we’re thrilled it is now back on its feet so many more people are able to visit and experience God in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.
We are returning with our familes and CMM this summer for the production of “Wildfire”, and just as my parents visited whilst my mother was pregnant with me, we will be doing the same as Rachel is expecting our first child in October, and we cannot wait to introduce the next generation to Scargill and make many more happy memories meeting new friends and worshiping God!
This area has miles and miles of stone fences dividing pastures.
To my American eyes, it is so beautiful. (And I also see dollar signs everywhere 💲💲💲 because I see a long stone wall and my mind starts calculating how much it would cost to have one of these built in the United States. First, you would need to purchase stone from a stone company, then you pay to have it delivered, then you pay someone to construct the wall.) I suppose all these stones were just lying around on the ground somewhere close by in the beginning, so that when the first walls were started, it was just a matter of stacking them up. For Free! Of course, over the years, they have been re-stacked and re-stacked. What are they fencing in? Mostly sheep, and some cattle, but mostly sheep. And they are also fencing out predators to keep the herds safe.
So my mind also turns to the familiar scriptures about Jesus being my Shepherd, and being the gate. …Which means that I am a sheep. 🐑 I like that. 😊
Enjoy these photos I have taken all around Scargill in the last week…
Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need.
He lets me rest in meadows green and leads me beside the quiet stream;
He keeps on giving life to me and helps me to do what honors him the most.
Even when walking thru the dark valley of death, I will never be afraid, for He is close to beside me, guarding, guiding all the way,
He spreads a feast before me in the presence of my enemies He welcomes me as his special guest
with blessings overflowing, his goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life,
and afterwards I will live with him, forever in his home.
(Lyrics from “The New 23rd” by Ralph Carmichael)
Is this really Day 10? If it is, our Journey must be coming to a close?
As we say goodbye to a number of our hosts outside St James Church, Bradford I try my hand at a selfie. I have the idea to use a 10 second timer on my phone (I’ve seen PK doing something similar). Success! A selfie in which we’re all in the picture.
We arrive at Scargill an hour later. Balloons adorn the driveway, and bunting too. It may be in part for the royal wedding, but in our now found humility we decide it’s for us! Community and friends form a human tunnel for us to walk through as we make our way the final few yards into the doors of Scargill House. After the Bradford selfie I’m still feeling confident, and I pass my phone to Jonathan to take a pic of us passing through the human tunnel. Afterwards, I see Jonathan looking perturbed. It seems I left the 10 second timer on. We seem to have left the tunnel by the time the photo is taken…
We do still miss and love our fellow pilgrim PK, for all that he brought to this Journey (and not just because he really did know how to work a camera). Oh, and in case PK was wondering – the jigsaw has now made it to Scargill where it was gratefully received…
So, we’ve now travelled 900 miles, spent 9 nights in 9 different beds, never quite being quite sure where we are or have just come from. We’ve met many people in different situations and have had so many conversations. Some areas have been affluent, others deprived. But we’ve been made so welcome at every location.
We’ve really bonded too, becoming our own little community – loving, laughing and supporting each other through the ups and downs of the journey. We have experienced what it means to BE community in addition to DOING community. And we have felt God’s presence with us throughout.
And so it only remains for us to thank all who have provided support along the way and to those who have followed us on the blog. Over the coming weeks we will compile and publish the whole blog and will invite and include our own reflections plus any we receive from the communities we’ve joined along the way.
To you all,
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, wherever we journey in this world…
Fri 18th May : Day 9
Day 9 dawns bright and sunny in Southport. We have had a lot of sunshine on this journey, and have discovered warmth in every place we’ve been.
Esther gets in the quote of the day before we even set off. After getting into my car she asks, ‘Sorry to be a pain, but can I get into the boot?’. And now we can’t set off because we can’t stop laughing. Is my driving really that bad?…
As ever, we extend our gratitude to our various hosts for opening their homes to us and for their warmth and hospitality.
Paul and Sheila go ahead to St Stephens Church, Bradford and spend time with kids from the St Stephens C of E Primary School. When they arrive, children are playing football and other games in the yard. They find a beautiful chalk design drawn onto the pavement. There is fun and enjoyment all around – a picture of God’s Kingdom: different nationalities, even different faiths all coming together and experiencing God’s love. Wendy (of Scargill descent) is there too. Referring to Samuel choosing David she explains to the children that no matter how clever we might think we are, it’s what’s on the inside that matters to God. Craft activities and a film follow.
Meanwhile, back in Southport, Esther, Jonathan and I are releasing a little of God’s love, in the form of chocolates, to the people we meet on the street. This is fun – we share in some great conversations and find opportunities to talk about the Journey. Esther even strikes up a conversation with a real photographer who takes our photo for us (though it’s important to note that we still miss PK!)
We share a meal at a Bradford Balti restaurant which has been recommended to us by one of our hosts. We are not disappointed. Even Paul feels there’s enough naan to go around!
We finish the day at a social event which has been organised for us at St James Church Hall. It is so fitting that Chris Edmondson and his wife Susan are here too. Chris, formerly Bishop of Bolton is chair of the Scargill Trustees and is a former Warden of Lee Abbey. There are around 20 others from the local area too, many with connections to Scargill which is now only an hour’s drive away. We answer questions about the journey. We’ve had a lovely day and evening, and we are grateful too for those who provided hospitality along the way.
And finally, Scargill – end of our journey, is now in sight…
Thu 17th May : Day 8
As Day 8 dawns here in Manchester, we begin to sense that the end of the Journey is coming into sight. There are mixed feelings. We’re all tired and a little disorientated by now, but we’ve developed such strong bonds together, supporting each and ‘being’ in addition to ‘doing’ Community.
We gather at St George Church, Tyldesley and chat with others from the wider church team over tea before setting out on a short prayer walk in the local area.
There are issues to be addressed in any community, but such potential too. We sense a beating heart just below the surface of this locality, and we pray as we walk for the realisation of new hope. We pray that the churches would become stronger as they work together, reaching out in the strength of God’s love to all corners of Astley, Tyldesley and Mosley Common.
Soon we are on the road again, and on our way to Southport in the Diocese of Liverpool. We don’t know what to expect, but as we arrive we realise that we are at the seaside. It is somehow unexpected. The pent-up child in each of us is unleashed and we spend an hour just being, well a bit ‘silly’. What JOY, what laughter.
We’ve been told to go to Westminster Café for lunch. Sheila is in charge of our limited funds and orders her lunch… Wow!
Esther seems to be living out the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25 : 14-30), and we learn that investing in ‘two-penny shove machines’ isn’t a wise growth strategy. We console Esther and move on.
The biggest news is that we ALL get to enjoy ice-cream at the end of the pier, and we even manage a half decent selfie there (though we still miss PK!).
The evening turns out to be amazing. We join members of various church denominations for a meal out, and then are treated to a sensational ecumenical evening service at St John Stones Roman Catholic Church. The various churches meet together for prayer on a Tuesday, but this joint service has been inspired by our Journey. So many people have come, and the Salvation Army band and singers are here too. The service is filled with a heady mix of praise, worship, joy and fun. And of course, a demonstration of churches united and working together for one God. Amen to that…
The service is followed by cake and tea in the hall, and a chance for us to talk more about the Journey. Each day takes us by surprise, and this is no exception…
Wed 16th May : Day 7
Day 7 opens in Great Longstone. A much cooler and breezier day today. But before we step out together into the cold morning, I need to share a revelation : I have never seen a ‘Lazy Susan’ before. Why doesn’t everyone have one of these on their breakfast table? I watch as Jonathan misses the point, reaches for the butter and nearly sends a glass of orange juice flying, hey ho. Esther is looking pleased today – she has named a local hill after herself. What a humble group of travellers we are!
We finish breakfast and make our way to the Methodist Church for prayer, stopping off at St Giles Church. Here, we admire the creativity of local people in the shape of their annual flower display on the theme of Nursery Rhymes.
We pray again for this village and locality in the Methodist church and prepare to move on to our next location… Thank you Pat and the people of Great Longstone for your warm welcome and hospitality.
The journey continues, and we arrive at a Community Café in Tyldesley, Manchester and meet members of the three churches of Astley, Tyldesley and Moseley Common over lunch. The café takes food close to its sell by date, provides free meals and acts as a family drop in centre, particularly for young families.
Paul and I head off to different primary schools to take part in assemblies – once again we talk to the children about the Journey, being friends together and friends pointing others towards Jesus. We re-enact the story of the man lowered through the roof – deftness and cardboard-prop gymnastics are back in play(ish). It is such a privilege to be here and able to share Jesus in this way.
We split into three groups and spend time within the three different parishes, at the churches of St George, St John and St Stephen, reflecting, praying / prayer walks. It is clear to us how much the church and local people care about this community, but as ever there are some real obstacles and challenges to be prayed into.
After finding our hosts and dropping off bags we make our way back to St Stephen’s School and church. The church communities have prepared a veritable feast. We enjoy conversation, learning more about the area and sharing about the Journey. A talent evening follows the meal. Whilst we are outgunned by the local talent we are still able to contribute to the evening with stories, poems and testimonies… We thank you all for a wonderful afternoon and evening.
Tue 15th May : Day 6
This morning some of us had morning prayer with the Aston Community, whilst the remainder set off to Aston Parish church to take part in morning prayers there. As ever, we are also so grateful to our various hosts for opening their homes to us, and for showing us such generous hospitality.
This morning we say goodbye to one of our pilgrims, PK, as he remains in Aston preparing to travel to London and then Hungary on Wednesday. It is with heavy hearts that we bid him farewell and re-pack the car. Our load is lighter without PK, but at least we have a giant jigsaw to remember him by, safely packed away and destined for Scargill. Enough said about the jigsaw. We are also reflective – PK was by far the best photographer in the group, and we wonder how we will survive without him.
We reach our new destination within the Derbyshire Dales, and Esther has bravely stepped up to the plate and volunteered to take the group photo…
We miss PK…
Pat is the host, and has bravely invited all five of us to stay in her wonderful house in Great Longstone within the Derbyshire National Park. The group heads up to nearby Longstone Edge to take in the beauty of the local landscape. Whilst there, Paul decides he will try his hand at photography, and he lines up another group selfie.
We miss PK…
Pat has invited quite a few friends of Lee Abbey and Scargill to her home, and we enjoy tea, cake and good conversation in the garden, with a backdrop of beautiful Derbyshire countryside.
Afterwards, we all make our way through the village, stopping to pray at key locations. The village is very vibrant – alive, very much a working village. But there are still some significant areas in which God’s breakthrough and protection are particularly needed.
{Photo 4 – Group prayer walk} Sorry this picture is missing at the moment. Maybe PK has it? – ed.
Our walk eventually leads us to the Crispin Pub, where we tuck in to some wonderful food. After the meal, a pub quiz has been organised. Paul seems to have prophetic tendencies – his table adopts the name ‘Winners’ and beyond anyone’s expectation it actually comes to pass. He’s as humble as ever. We are pleased for him!
The evening finishes back at Pat’s house with evening prayer.
Mon 14th May : Day 5
Some of us forgetting what day it is, or what date, or even both. But we’re pretty sure that this is Day 5, which must make it the halfway point for the Journey.
So, Day 5 begins with a prayer meeting in St Peter’s Church, Kineton. We are so impressed at the creativity of the local community in constructing a prayer tent within the church.
Once again, we are treated to an unexpected but lavish breakfast. We thank our generous hosts once again for their wonderful hospitality which help us so much on the Journey.
A short time later we’re back on the road. We do a car swap as we pass my home near Warwick. It’s also an opportunity to lose some luggage – the hand drill is deposited here, but PK’s unreasonably large jigsaw journeys on. Perhaps it will help us see the bigger picture?
We arrive at the house of the Lee Abbey Aston Community and are made to feel welcome by two of the Community – James and Will. A couple of us go to see the work of the local Foodbank and to chat with the volunteers and clients.
Paul and I spend a few hours at the Salvation Army Youth & Community Centre, where Jo and Paul (also members of the Aston Lee Abbey Community) are leaders. They show us around, and we spend time with some of the local kids as they enjoy some time out and games together.
On our way back to the Community house Paul and I receive a photo of our colleagues enjoying chocolate ice-creams. This is perfect… Or is it?! When we catch up with them, their excuses are contradictory and flimsy – ‘last ones in the shop’ and ‘they’d have melted’. Only an hour earlier we’d acknowledged that nothing is impossible for God, and yet… We will decide later whether to forgive!
After a meal, the Aston Community has arranged a prayer meeting / prayer walk at the local church. We pray for their work here, and for the local area. This is a predominantly Muslim area, and our prayers extend to the Muslim community as they prepare for the start of Ramadan.
Sun 13th May : Day 4
Day four dawned bright and sunny in Oxford. As ever, we are hugely grateful to our hosts for their warm welcome and generous hospitality. Today will be a long day. But, before it begins, we’re treated to a wonderful cooked breakfast in the church hall. Now we’re ready for the day!Between us we’re able to cover four different church services at St James and St Francis Churches in the parish of Cowley, including a Punjabi service (providing a very different cultural and interesting experience for those attending).
During the services, we’re each asked questions about the Lee Abbey and Scargill Communities, the purpose of the Journey and its links to the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ initiative. It’s a great opportunity to share what we’re doing.
And then it’s time to hit the road again. Miracolusly, even PK’s jigsaw manages to find a place in the cars (did we leave something behind?!). Then, we’re on our way, but where?!
We arrive at St Peters Church in Wellsbourne (near Stratford-on-Avon) in time for coffee, cake and an early evening service presided over by Kate Mier. Kate, who’s currently coming to the end of a year in Scargill’s Community served in this church from 2004. Those who came along were clearly delighted to steal her back for the evening. During the service, she takes the opportunity to put us on the spot with some questions. I am prepared as I can be, having memorised key information about last night’s Eurovision Song Contest. But instead, Kate is interested in our experiences of Community, Hospitality and the Journey (probably just as well). One thing we all agree on – the Journey is helping us to see clear links between these three things – and we see God’s heart at the centre of them.
Following the service, we travel to nearby Kineton where we are treated to the most lavish and sumptuous bring and share meal I can remember (the equivalent of slaughtering the fattened calf?!). Not for the first time, we are humbled by such generous hospitality.
It has been a long day, with many different and fruitful encounters, and late in the evening we finally make our way to the homes of our various hosts… Tomorrow is another day…
Sat 12th May : Day 3
The third day of the Journey began where it left off last night – at Lee Abbey London… We awoke refreshed and ready for the day ahead.
We reflect on the difficult work undertaken by the Community here. The students who stay in this accommodation are young. Many are international, and faith isn’t generally so high on their agenda. When we join the Community for morning prayers we pray for the Spirit of God to fall anew on this place, supporting the Community in their valuable Kingdom work. As ever, we are hugely grateful for the hospitality we’ve been shown.
We reach Oxford, and join a church plant sale at St James’ Church, Cowley. We’re made to feel very welcome, and enjoy conversations about the Journey with many who are there. Paul’s former barrow-boy skills are soon in evidence, and we’re impressed by how easily he had the punters eating out of his hands – queuing up for chili plants, rhubarb and other garden delights.
Having become slightly obsessed by the amount of baggage we have, my plea for us not to fall for anything in the sale is quickly forgotten in the excitement. Firstly by PK as he succumbs to an unreasonably large jigsaw, and then by me as I find myself in possession of an old fashioned hand drill – all within the first five minutes of the sale. More luggage!
As the day winds down, we enjoy prayer time in the vicarage, and plan our involvement in Sunday’s church services. Despite the impending rain clouds, some go out in search of the largest ice cream they can find – and find it…
We are hugely grateful to our various hosts for their hospitality this evening… Before close of day we reflect on what we have each learned so far on the Journey. Highlights are:
· Community is not a place – it’s a people. We are reminded of the vastness and variety of God’s people. Members of both Scargill and Lee Abbey can work together in a ministry of reconciliation between God and fallen humanity.
· The importance of simply being with people where they are – sitting alongside and listening.
· The importance of being in the present moment, which is where God will always be found.
· The power to bless. The people that we visit are changed by us coming and being with them and blessing them. We can make a difference to people and their situations just by being God’s people and presence there.
· That we should set aside our own agendas and trust that the Lord has gone ahead of us on this Journey and then fall into step with the way He has planned for us.
Tomorrow we will spend time talking about our Journey at a number of different churches, culminating at our new destination in the locality of Wellsbourne and Kineton.
Fri 11th May : Day 2
Day 2 began at the Knowle West Community with morning prayers, reflecting on the previous day’s activities, the mission of their Community, and the day and journey to come. And, following a photo call by the front door, we readied ourselves for the journey to ou
We split into two groups – one striding out with Esther for South Ealing Tube Station, to continue their journey to London by rail. The other, (Tim and Paul) had been invited to do two morning assemblies at a local school – the School of Christ the King Primary School.
The school assemblies were a real joy – the kids were attentive and well behaved. Paul had created a fantastic prop (aka four card strips, hinged) which was used to help tell the story of the man lowered through the roof of a house by his friends, to be healed by Jesus. Through a series of amazing cardboard contortions, the strip became a bed, morphed into a pair of legs, then a window, a door, a figure ‘4’, a pitched roof, flat roof and a rope. The kids seemed to really enjoy it, learning in the process about the Scargill/Lee Abbey journey, the importance and value of friendship, and how friends can work together to help point people towards Jesus.
We eventually all gathered at the next destination – Lee Abbey London. Another warm welcome awaited us, and wonderful hospitality.
The Lee Abbey London Christian Community provides accommodation for students of all faiths or none. The evening was spent mingling with students, following which Christian Comedian and Magician, Tom Elliott, provided the evening’s entertainment. Jonathan was clearly keen to be involved – why else would anyone sit on the front row?! And involved he was, much to our great delight. A wonderful evening had by all, good conversations and good fun.
Lee Abbey Devon to Lee Abbey Knowle West Community in Bristol
Thu 10th May : Day 1
After meeting last night to discuss the itinerary, (and an insight by Esther about wine bottle tops), the intrepid group (Paul, Sheila and Tim from Scargill and Esther and Jonathan from Lee Abbey) prepared for the off.
The cars were loaded high. Should we have brought a trailer and some roadies? We’ve agreed not to talk too much about the sizes of our individual bags in case we lose our sense of shared harmony (a diplomatic way of avoiding reference to the size of Paul’s suitcase). This must be how it was for the disciples – only I thought they agreed not to carry bags?
The send off from Lee Abbey was amazing. We, and another mission team destined for South Wales left at the same time, with the Lee Abbey community praying for us as we prepared to leave. Amidst a fanfare, party poppers and bunting we finally left.
The sun shone brightly and the coastline was amazing. 15 minutes later the decision was taken to stop for lunch at a coastal beauty spot – the sun beaming. And 3 minutes after that it rained. Paul’s shorts?
The Lee Abbey Knowle West Community in Bristol was our first proper ‘journey destination’. ‘PK’ (who has previously served at both Lee Abbey and Scargill) joined us here. Having flown in from Budapest this morning, he will now travel with us to Derby.
We received a warm welcome and met with some of the people closely associated with this Community, which represents a beacon of light within the locality, working hard to bring new hope to the area. We gained a greater understanding of the locality and work of the Community through guided prayer walks, and were able to offer our own prayers of blessing and hope.
We’re so thankful for the wonderful hospitality – food, conversation, insight and learning at Lee Abbey Knowle West, and for being made so welcome.
And tomorrow, after helping out at two school assemblies, we travel onward to the next leg of the journey : Lee Abbey London…
After a long journey across a grey landscape on a dull and damp day, I finally arrive back at Scargill. It’s been a few months.
The decorators are in – a few dedicated Working Friends are there too, all busy, hard at work. The smell of fresh paint fills the place. Dust sheets all over the floors. The Old House is enjoying a little bit of TLC. What is it about this place that makes it so special? The new paint on the walls is light in colour, but there’s another palette being used at Scargill too. Somewhere, seemingly in the very fabric of this place, is something quite remarkable – I think of it as ‘God’s great colour palette’. It’s always overflowing with colours and it’s always in use. Everyone has access to this resource – even guests.
There are many colours to choose from, but the main ones go by the names Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness and Self-control. I should warn you – the last one, Self-control can sometimes be a bit tricky and it does catch people out. For some reason it often results in a lot of laughter. Community (and Scargill’s extended Community of Friends and Companions) all have their preferred colours – the one’s they’re good at using. But there are also the ones that they’re less practiced at, and are trying to learn how to use. The colours can also
be combined to create some wonderful shades. When properly blended you can achieve compassion, a listening ear, care, understanding and acceptance to name but a few. There’s one mix that everyone here is keen to create – it’s a shade called ‘Hospitality’. It’s hugely popular, so much so that it’s now become Scargill’s ‘House Mix’. There’s a lot of Love poured into that one. But all God’s paints are good, however mixed. This place is so full of colour. It can get messy at times, but this is God’s art room, God’s picture, and there’s ‘work-in-progress’ everywhere. There are paintings containing laughter, others display understanding, reconciliation, forgiveness and even healing. They are simply stunning. Some people use paint rollers to apply God’s colours, others thick brushes. Some splash colour, others select fine brushes and focus on intricate detail. Some of the children add colour with stickers, felt-tips and
even thick crayons.
The guests tend to get a lot of colour on them while here – it’s inevitable. Some are a little reluctant or shy at first, but so many seem to end up leaving like walking graffiti art, but so often smiling too, even if they weren’t when they first arrived. Messy? Perhaps. Beautiful? Yes, and amazing. After a few days I have to get in to my car and drive back, outside the gates of Scargill. After a while I reach the motorway where I get cut up and shown the middle finger by a white-van driver. (Hang on – it was you that cut me up?). I reach some drab services and stand in a grey line of largely silent people, to get a rather sad, overpriced and somewhat flaccid sandwich. Not many people laughing here. It’s also a bit devoid of colour – a world containing mainly shades of grey. But now I’ve got my eye in, I’ve noticed one or two people who also seem to have some of God’s colour palette, and they’re splashing it here, into this grey environment. I watch what’s happening. It’s surprising what even a small speck of colour achieves, even if it’s just a kind smile towards another person. Usually well received, brightening up a few surprised souls. Some people are just looking on, not responding – well, not yet anyway. I’m really beginning to see that we should ncourage those who step out to paint a little of God’s colour palette into this world. And perhaps we can join them, painting God’s colours in to our own communities, and into any environment in which we find ourselves?
By the way, did I mention that these colours can be taken away from Scargill? And the more you use, the more they will replenish. But, even if you did find yourself running low, you can always come back and get more. It’s funny – it seems to me that even the ‘white-van driver’ might find himself knocked sideways by one or other of the shades – there is a shade called Grace that God fully perfected through his Son, Jesus Christ. And of course there’s that simple
but timeless primary colour called LOVE…
Follow Helen’s journey through Lent as she attempts to eliminate plastic from her life.
Here at Scargill we really do mean it when we say our home is your home, here you are welcome. Sometimes we meet a person once, they have a lovely stay, we serve them as best we can, and they go on their way. More often though we have the joy of welcoming our guests back through our doors time and again. And it is often this extended relationship which gives us an opportunity as Community to form deeper friendships with our guests. Barrie Renwick was one such guest and sadly when we heard the news of his death in the New Year it was only natural that we would want to be a part of his send off as we had so often had the pleasure of welcoming him.
Despite many other commitments Michyla and I were able to go to Barrie Renwick’s Thanksgiving Service last week.
It obviously was an occasion filled with sadness, and with great thanksgiving for Barrie was a lovely man who loved God.
I was given the opportunity to say a few words in tribute to Barrie, and below is what I said:
Since Scargill re-opened, back in 2010, Barrie became a regular guest. And when I say a regular guest, I mean at least 8 visits a year. We enjoyed his visits and Barrie in many ways became an extended part of our Community. I was told that he loved the silliness and fun. He enjoyed Community life and being part of it. Barrie was one for banter, and I would foolishly take him on, and often lose. Last year Scargill did a Railway week and it was to Barrie almost a heavenly combination. All we needed was some singing and a bit of cricket and it would have been totally sorted.
And talking of cricket, Bishop Chris Edmondson also wanted me to pass on his love and appreciation of Barrie: Chris having known him first as a guest at Lee Abbey (where Chris was Warden), and then Scargill, and would sometimes bump into him at cricket matches at Headingley!’ Barrie would often speak to Chris saying that Scargill and Lee Abbey were like a ‘home from home’.
Barrie was a great encourager, he often came to listen to me and generally speaking you always knew what Barrie thought or felt. Barrie and I would laugh together often.
What Barrie loved was friendship. And friends were very important to him. In that friendship he was kind and warm, and would often take a fellow guest out to visit a local attraction or tea shop, if we weren’t feeding them enough cake.
It was a privilege to know Barrie and I counted him as a friend coming back home to visit. We will miss him dearly. And of course, Barrie was not just a good friend to us, he was a friend of Jesus. He entered wholeheartedly into worship. His prayers were honest and sincere; he was open about his struggles. I am reminded of those words from Jesus that we find in John’s gospel, saying ‘I no longer call you servants but I call you friends’. Barrie and Jesus were and are good friends. I would imagine that they are now enjoying heavenly banter together. I am not sure who will win! Perhaps Barrie has met his match.
It has been a little while, but here is the latest Blog from Director Phil Stone, and it is well worth the wait!
Today we have said goodbye to David, one of our young community members who has been with us for a year. He has taught us much about gentleness. He has been one of the best community members we have at interacting with guests, helping them to feel at home. One of the things he loved doing was making himself available to carry people’s bags as they arrived, with a welcoming, smiling presence. Francis de Sales said, ‘it is wonderful how attractive a gentle, pleasant manner is and how much it wins hearts.’ This could have been written about David.
Gentleness is a beautiful gift, so here are some thoughts about it. We can learn a lot about gentleness from Jesus. He says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you find rest for your souls.” Jesus gets tough with those who should have known better yet shows fundamentally that his Kingdom is radically different from that of society around us. On that first Palm Sunday Matthew, quoting the prophet Zechariah, speaks of the Messiah “gentle and riding on a donkey”. Jesus comes not in power but in peace, vulnerably riding on a donkey. It reminds us that Jesus is gentle and humble in heart.
St Paul, at times not really known for his gentleness, realises that this godly characteristic should be practised in the Christian community. In Ephesians 4:2, ‘Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.’ I love Paul’s realism in showing love by ‘bearing with one another’. How true is that when living in community!
So how do we grow in gentleness? What I think Jesus does is instead of giving us overwhelming feelings of warmth, especially towards those who get up our noses, he gives us opportunities to practise gentleness – that is how it works. There is no doubt that living in Community is an apprenticeship in becoming like Jesus! A lack of gentleness often betrays our inner feelings, our frustration with a situation or someone (sometimes justified), as well as our anxiety. It is often in Community we learn to live not just with each others gifts but with each others limitations – the easy way out is to be dismissive of one another.
Gentle, patient encouragement is the way forward, speaking words and actions that bring life – to build people up. Max Lucado writes, ‘Choose gentleness… Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.’
At Scargill we have a beautiful walled garden, it is stunning at this time of year. There are many delicate plants and flowers which are both beautiful and fragile. They are a picture of our own fragility and vulnerability, and if not treated carefully, gently, and patiently we break, yet if treated gently we flourish and grow.
Living in Community is one of those places where we can become the people Jesus wants us to be, where our gifts are celebrated, where we can face our limitations and find ways to grow through them with the gentle patience of each other. As we learn to be gentle with each other we can learn to be gentle with ourselves. This helps us on our road to wholeness, not allowing the old inner critic to whisper harsh and unyielding words about ourselves.
‘It is wonderful how attractive a gentle, pleasant manner is and how it wins hearts.’ Thanks David. Let’s choose gentleness.
BREAKING NEWS…
Our aim has always been for Scargill’s Community to fully reflect God’s kingdom, and we’ve warmly welcomed into Community Christians from all denominations and, importantly, from all around the world. From June 2017 we’re making a few changes to consolidate the processes for welcoming international volunteers within Community. It also means that we’re making a few changes to some of the terminology we use to describe how we all fit together here at Scargill…
In future, our Community will be made up of Community Members supplemented by International Community Volunteers. Those wishing to become Community Members must have unrestricted rights to work in the UK. Typically they’ll be UK nationals, EU nationals or those with visas allowing unrestricted working (such as the international ‘Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme’).
The International Community Volunteer Programme
We’re also delighted to announce the launch of a new International Community Volunteer Programme. This will provide placements of up to 12 months to those living outside of the EU with certain UK immigration restrictions. They will typically shadow our full Community Members and will still remain fully immersed within Community life. They will also continue to share their faith and hospitality with guests, and to make an important contribution towards meeting our charitable aims. Our International Community Volunteers have always brought with them a huge wealth of new experiences, culture and stories which have been shared within Community and with guests. They have been such an important part of life here at Scargill and we look forward to welcoming the first of our International Community Volunteers through the programme very soon.
Changes to how we fit together…
Scargill couldn’t function without its many volunteers, Friends and Companions. However, to remove the potential for confusion in the immigration processes, we’re going to be ‘re-labelling’ our external volunteers as ‘Working Friends’. But don’t worry – we’ll be gentle in the transition and no volunteers (or should I say Working Friends?!) will be harmed during the transition. We just wanted to make you aware that this change will be taking place.
A special request for prayer from our Chair of the Scargill Council, Bishop Chris Edmondson.
Dear Friends and Companions,
May I please ask for a special covering and support in prayer for Phil and Di Stone, and the community at Scargill, as, for at least an initial period from mid October to early December 2016, Phil and Di will be at Lee Abbey, Devon, during which time, Phil will be the Acting Warden there.
The reason for this is that back in July, Simon Holland, the recently appointed Warden in Devon was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Following surgery, he now has to undergo a minimum of seven weeks of radiotherapy in Exeter, starting on the 17th October. Simon’s necessary ‘absence’ from the community also coincides with a significant shortage of people on the chaplaincy and pastoral team there, though a new senior Chaplain has just arrived, which is good news.
Phil was recently speaking in Devon, and while there. had a strong sense from the Lord that, given Scargill’s relative strength currently in Leadership and chaplaincy provision, he should offer to ‘step into the breach’ while Simon has his treatment.
Phil shared this conviction with Simon and the Chair of the Devon Board, James Denniston, who described it as a ‘remarkable and wonderfully generous offer’. In addition to my personal support from the word go, this offer has subsequently been unanimously endorsed by the Scargill Council, as well as having the full support of the leadership team and community at Scargill.
All of you who know the story of Scargill’s ‘resurrection’ in recent years, are aware that we wouldn’t be where we are today, had it not been for Lee Abbey’s generosity, both in terms of finance and expertise that was offered in those early years. To be able now to ‘give back’ in this way,takes to an even deeper level the the ever-growing partnership in the Gospel, which the two communities, their leadership and councils, are sharing.
So, please do pray for Phil and Di, for our Operations Manager Dave Lucas, as he becomes Acting Director at Scargill, and for others in the community, especially members of the Leadership Team as they take on extra responsibilities during this period. And of course, please also pray for Lord’s healing and peace for Simon and Anne Holland as well as for everyone involved at Lee Abbey, Devon.
Thank you so very much.
+Chris Edmondson.
Bridget and Adrian Plass talk to Patrick Baker about their involvement in bringing Scargill House back to life
Hello – I have been musing about the church festival celebrated today which I love. Today is the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, often know as Candlemas and it ends the Christmas and Epiphany season, and you can read all about it in Luke 2 22-40.
One reason why I love this festival, is that it’s a wonderful excuse again to go over the top with candles, to fill the church with candle light as we celebrate the one who is the light of the nations. It is good and proper to go over the top!
The encounter of the holy family with Simeon and Anna is deeply moving and the long wait for them to see the Messiah is at last fulfilled. Simeon, in the Orthodox Church, is referred to as St Symeon the God-Receiver, as the Greek text indicates that he receives Christ into his arms. It is a beautiful and vulnerable encounter. Simeon in the fraility of his old age receives in his arms the vulnerable, totally dependent Christ child. Simeon’s arms are open to receive Jesus, there is a willingness to receive, to hold close, the “consolation of Israel.”
When thinking about Simeon’s encounter as the God-Receiver it led me to consider my prayers and my willingness to be open to Jesus, to hold me and receive him. I’m not sure I’m that good at it. Henri Nouwen in his book “with open hands”, says that prayer is no easy matter, and that the first challenge we face is to open our hands which are often clenched (metaphorically and literally). It is difficult, if not impossible, to receive when our fists are clenched. So why do we have clenched hands? Well for all sort of reasons, we could be holding tightly to jealousies, resentments, anger, our ambitions, failures, perhaps our need to be in control. Whatever we are holding tightly, seem indispensable and they begin to shape our lives.
When we dare to open our hands we are making ourselves vulnerable, as we begin that long journey of trust that all Jesus has for us is unconditional love, for as he gives himself in this love it is vulnerable, generous, self-giving and transformative.
I pray that you and I might be like Simeon, a God Receiver, hands and arms open to receive all that God has for us – I think we will be joyfully surprised! And as we are to able receive we will begin to shine his love to those around us, yes perhaps like a flickering candle, vulnerable and inviting.
So, one final blog on 2 Kings 5. It is a story of healing, grace, unexpected unsung heroes, and a surprising answer to a tricky situation. Check out the story if you haven’t read it yet.
The story so far – Naaman has gone down to the River Jordan, swallowed his pride, (and who knows what else!) and dipped himself seven times. He comes up cleansed from his skin disease, grateful, with a changed heart, acknowledging Elisha’s God ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel’. And of course, it was this exclamation from Naaman that made him realise the difficult and complex situation he was going to have to face when he went back to Aram.
He tentatively and apologetically asks for forgiveness for when he goes back he will have to go with his King to the house of Rimmon and bow down while the King leans on his arm. Poor Naaman, having just experienced and realised the truth about God he finds himself in a place of compromise where he would be outwardly going against his earlier emphatic declaration. Adrian Plass, who writes on this wonderful passage, says, “Well is it OK to do that? Or not? Or what? Have I got to make a stand?”
Elisha’s response is surprising, liberating, and gives hope to all of us faced with on-going difficult times or impossible situations, ‘Go in peace’. Not exactly the response he expected yet what beautiful three words they are! Adrian goes on to say, “that was all Elisha said and it seemed to be all that was needed on that particular occasion. Through a prophet, who is more interested in hearing the authentic whisper of the Holy Spirit than blindly following patterns and pre-conceptions, God was cutting Naaman a little slack, and this new follower of the one true God was probably even more grateful than before, don’t you think? How lovely to be told that you can go in peace when you are expecting a thick ear or a thunderbolt.”
The wonderful truth about these words ‘Go in peace’ is that it gives us opportunity to have a dynamic, life-giving dialogue with God. These three words are not closed but are open and spacious words.
Elisha cut Naaman some slack, and Jesus cuts us slack too. Our community promises has the response – “with the encouragement and guidance of the brothers and sisters who share this pathway, we will try our very best to follow the example of Jesus”. Each night I reflect on my day and sometimes I realise how my relationships or attitudes has not lived up to the promises I have made. I have messed up, and I can’t quite get it right at the moment. Jesus forgives, he says have a good night’s sleep, lets work together on the difficulties, ‘Go in peace’. And he says this with affection and love.
Elisha begins to give us an understanding of God’s compassion and Jesus shows it to us fully. I pray that we will learn to live and move in it. In the All Age services during SummerFest we sang our Naaman song – words by Bridget and Adrian Plass, sung and produced by Anna Andersson on the attached music file – enjoy! We had three weeks of it!
I love Summerfest! I love the variety of ages (grandparents, grandchildren, teenagers, parents, singles, babies – in fact I love the lot). I love to see people being able to express how they feel. I love the laughter and silliness. I love the sense of community with Jesus at the heart that grows within a few days. And now we have finished Summerfest 3 and it has been a wonderful time.
Our theme has been Naaman’s story from 2 Kings 5 – check it out it is a good read. It is the story of Naaman’s healing of his skin disease that came in a very unexpected manner, it is a healing, which was far more than skin deep, it was conversion of his heart. It was a radical and life-changing experience.
We read that Naaman arrived outside Elisha’s house with all his soldiers and chariots, and mules laden with gold and silver. Naaman’s identity was bound up in his wealth, his position and his success. He came to Elisha displaying how powerful he was, desperately wanting to buy his healing. You can imagine that Naaman was well put out when Elisha would not come to greet him as he felt his rank deserved and, adding insult to injury, he is told by Elisha’s servant to go down to the murky Jordan and dip himself in it seven times if he wants to be healed. Naaman was besides himself with anger. He was a huffy old Naaman! Yet with the courage and love of his servants he is persuaded to go down and dip himself in the Jordan. Isn’t it good that we too can have friends who are able to speak the truth in love, to save us from messing up?
It is very significant that Naaman ‘went down’ into the Jordan. He had to make himself small. He had to give up his identity that meant so much to him. He went down as a proud and successful general with a serious skin disease and came up with the skin of a young boy, with a childlike heart, declaring, “there is no God in all the world except in Israel”.
It is a story peppered with grace, yet it is grace that could only be received if Naaman was willing to go down. John Stott writes, ’Pride is your greatest enemy, Humility is your greatest gift’. It is true for us all that if we want to discover the grace God has for us we have to make ourselves small, we have to go down. If you are ever privileged enough to go to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity you have to bow down to get through the doorway.
So like Naaman when we go down, bow down or make ourselves small we understand a bit more of who God is, and what He is about. As it says in the Jerusalem Bible, “The fear of Yahweh is a school of wisdom, before there can be glory, there must be humility.” Proverbs 15:33
Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at Summerfest with good friends from St Stephen’s – great fun!
Summerfest joyfully invades Scargill during August which is our 3 week all age fun-packed arts festival where about 100 guests join the community. Along with the rest of the Community, I love it!
Every year we have a different theme from the Bible and this year we have been looking at the story of Naaman the Aramean General seeking healing for his leprosy. It is a great story – why not check it out in 2 Kings 5.
It is a story full of surprises and unknown heroes, with kings, prophets and servants and it is one of these servants I want to focus on. The story tells of a servant girl captured by an Aramean raiding party. We don’t know her name, or where she came from, but we can only imagine the heartache and trauma she must have felt being literally trafficked from her family to a foreign country and culture into servitude. Yet she does not allow herself to be defined by this part of her history and is gracefully able to offer words of hope into the household she is now serving which just happened to be Naaman’s. She knew from her own country that there was a prophet who would be able to help Naaman in his desperate need. I am not sure that I would be able to offer such words of hope if I had been held captive. I reckon I would be full of resentment. Sheridan Voysey, a recent speaker at Scargill, commented ‘the greatest tragedy is not the broken dream but being forever defined by one.’ This gracious attitude was within this slave girl and she truly is the unsung hero in this story of restoration.
What is also remarkable about this story is that Naaman listened. Perhaps there was something in this slave girl that made people listen – people who are grace filled are attractive. St Paul says ‘be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.’ Colossians 4:5-6. Perhaps this grace filled attitude lived within this young slave girl.
Being channels of grace will at times be costly and may go against our better judgement and yet Jesus would call us to be people of grace in our words and actions. The little slave girl ,who had a conversation with Naaman’s wife, led to restoration in Naaman’s life beyond his wildest dreams.
Martin Luther King said that anybody can be great because anybody can serve. He goes on to say, “You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
A bit of All age Summerfest worship in the Chapel
This last week Di and I have been in London and Canterbury, where we have experienced a cocktail of emotions.
On Wednesday we were in Canterbury where it was a privilege and an honour to be at the consecration of two women bishops, one of them being a good friend Rachel Treweek. It was very moving and a truly joyful occasion.
On Friday, we were at the funeral of a close friend, Malcolm, and I was given the privilege of giving the address. Malcolm and his wife Caroline had been great friends of ours while I was vicar of their church in London, and since we have been at Scargill. The service was a celebration of a life well lived, with grief at the loss of someone we loved dearly.
You may ask, “What does a consecration and a funeral have in common?” Unsurprisingly, yet joyfully, we caught up with old friends and had time to share laughter and tears, but most importantly the tale of these two friends is a tale of hope.
Rachel is now the Bishop of Gloucester – the first woman Diocesan Bishop in the Church of England! It has been a long struggle with a great deal of patience and perseverance, often much heartache, which has now culminated in this most joyful celebration – and it is full of hope. Having worked with Rachel, when she was our archdeacon in London, it is wonderful to see that her gifts, and the person she is, can be experienced within the Episcopate. There is hope for the Church as Rachel and other gifted women are called by the Holy Spirit to become bishops. It will be so life giving for the Church!
Malcolm, who was 60, struggled with cancer over the last eighteen months, and through his illness was such a person of hope. Malcolm lived in the knowledge that he was deeply loved by God, and however dimly or partially he saw it, he believed that he would know it fully. Malcolm died in this hope, being literally “sung into heaven” by those he loves, and those who love him.
And the hope in which Rachel lives, and Malcolm died in, is the hope that is gifted in the person of Jesus Christ. Paul’s words to Timothy (1 Tim 1 v1) ring with truth for whatever lies before us, “Christ Jesus our hope”. Shawshank Redemption (a must see film!) is full of great hope quotes – “hope is a good thing, may be the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” So the Risen Lord Jesus is our hope, that we live, move and have our being in, and it is this Hope that longs to make his home in our hearts for eternity.
One thing about living in community, that we have been learning here at Scargill, is to live generously. And what I mean by living generously is being willing to forgive, to go the extra mile, and have a desire to serve. A godly hospitality will be generous and open-hearted.
The life of Jesus was always abundant and extravagant, a generosity that never stopped at what was strictly necessary. For instance, a meal time with Jesus was wonderfully over-the-top such as the wedding at Cana with the miracle of turning water into wine, these six stone jars full of water would have been equivalent to 900 bottles transformed into the best red wine ever. How mischievous and wonderfully outrageous is that! Jesus picnics with 5,000 and there are 12 baskets left over. The resurrected Jesus, who not only cooked breakfast on the beach for his friends, preceded this by a miraculous catch of fish that was so big that they were unable to haul in the nets. Just 3 examples!
In Luke 15, we read the parable of the ‘Lost Son’ which could be better described as the parable of the ‘generous Father’, who is extravagant and lavishes his love upon the homecoming of his son. Jesus shows us an aspect of the Kingdom of God, which is one big heart of generosity – nothing stingy here!
And it is this that we are caught up in at Scargill, that in all our fragility and weakness, and at times getting it wrong, our desire is to reflect this generous heart of God to those who come through our doors. So what does generosity look like at Scargill? Chocolate on the pillow, beautiful flowers round the House, well kept grounds and gardens, a variety of cake on arrival, willingness to have a conversation as to how we can make a guest’s visit the best it can be, care taken over special diets, food made with love, willingness to carry suitcases on arrival and departure and an invitation to our guests to make our home theirs while they are with us.
Walter Brueggemann, in his inspiring book ‘Journey to the common good’, writes that the Church has been given a different narrative to that of the culture and society around us, which often speaks of scarcity. He says, “ that journey from anxious scarcity through miraculous abundance to a neighbourly common good has been peculiarly entrusted to the church.”
Living as Kingdom people, people of faith, creates a mindset of generosity. Let us remember what Jesus said, “freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8
And, of course, being generous is not about what we can get back, as Piero Ferrucci says, “Generosity is, by definition, disinterested.” Think about it.
Last Sunday afternoon, I was invited to preach at the service at Manchester Cathedral launching the Peregrini Community, on the Festival of the Baptism of Christ. Peregrini draws inspiration from Irish wandering monks and the Anglo-Saxon saints St Cedd and St Chad, who continued the tradition of moving from place to place sharing the love of Christ. Both were sent from Lindisfarne.
What excites me about the new Peregrini Community is their commitment to live by the unforced rhythms of grace (Matthew 11:28 from The Message). As they say in their little booklet, ‘it denotes a series of aspirational statements that, when embraced, will nurture spiritual growth, foster Christian discipleship and enable missional encounter.’
So, here are the 5 rhythms which all begin with ‘By God’s grace….:
– I will seek to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
– I will be open to the presence, guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.
– I will set aside time for prayer, worship and spiritual reading.
– I will endeavour to be a gracious presence in the world, serving others and working for justice in human relationships and social structures.
– I will sensitively share my faith with others: participating in God’s mission both locally and globally.
Aren’t these just brilliant?
I have been thinking about The Message’s wonderful translation of Matthew 11:28 – living by the unforced rhythms of grace. I love it – but what does it mean?
I think we get an idea of what it means when we look at the baptism of Jesus as we glimpse the wonder of the Trinity. It is by God’s grace we are called to join in with the glorious love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is a community of self-giving love and joy. The early Christian Fathers used to describe the life of the Trinity as a round dance – a sort of Godly Celidh! It doesn’t matter if we have two left feet for we are all invited to participate. Thank goodness we are not talking ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ expertise here. As David Runcorn says, “it is a dance that is wholly possible because the life of the Trinity is one of pure giving. Nothing is claimed, nothing is demanded, nothing is grasped”.
It is this unforced rhythm of grace that you and I are called into. It is creative, full of self-giving love, and fun. Let’s do it!
There is a lot of talk about immigration, and it will be a major factor in next year’s general election. I find the rhetoric, that we hear from the politicians from all sides and most of the media, very disturbing. No doubt the election in Rochester this week will be partly decided with this issue in the forefront. In the Observer this last Sunday a survey by the thinktank British Future, speaks that there is more openness towards the stranger, “rather than being overwhelmingly hostile to immigration and immigrants. Most people appear to hold far more nuanced views.” If this is true, thank goodness. Yet what we hear often is such a hardened view.
So what should be a Christian view towards the strangers and those who come into our midst? Have we something positive to add to this debate? In the Old Testament we get some commands from God himself who in my understanding should not be messed with! In Leviticus 19 it says that we should treat the foreigner as if they were a native born Israelite, and love them as we love ourselves. It also says in Deuteronomy, “you shall love the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” And in the New Testament St Paul in Romans speaks about extending “hospitality to strangers”. And of course, Jesus, as well as many other Biblical heroes, was a refugee, displaced and living in exile.
I wouldn’t want to be a politician, what a nightmare job, but it does seem clear to me that treating immigration with a hardened heart, indifference and resentment is not the way forward. There does needs to be fairness for all, and understanding that is peppered with a great deal more compassion.
The rhetoric such as ‘let’s get tough…’ and a hardened attitude I feel is motivated out of fear. For when we are fearful, walls go up, our lives shrink in every way and we become less open to those around us. Someone said that “fear is the darkroom where Satan develops our negatives” and the media feeds our fears until there is no room left to welcome the stranger. St John reminds us in his letter it is that perfect love that casts out fear. We live by a different attitude.
So Christians have a prophetic voice, a different message to what we are reading in our newspapers. A message that is based on fairness and compassion but also honours the stranger among us. I wonder what honouring the stranger would look like in our churches and communities?
Not that we have got it sorted here at Scargill, far from it, we are a work in progress. Our Community Promises say, that with the help of God, and with the guidance and encouragement from one another we will try our very best “to welcome the stranger as we would welcome Jesus himself, putting their needs before ours and treating each one as a royal guest.” It is deeply challenging!
St Paul puts it succinctly again in Romans – “Welcome one another, then, just as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God”. Christians are working from a different script from the loud, fearful rhetoric that we often hear around us.
This week, in what has been a mini heat wave at Scargill, we encountered a six foot Bore (tidal wave), which came down the River Wharfe, the aftermath of an old dam bursting up near Great Whernside. It actually made the local news!
At the time we were pumping water from our spring, which runs close to the river, and this swept into our water supply making it undrinkable. We had brown water with bits in – not nice. And, of course, we then had the challenge of having no drinking water for 70 people. It made me realise just how dependent we are on water, this life giving stuff, and we soon found ourselves down in Skipton buying out all the 5 litre bottles of water. We got through 40 of these in one day. We take clean water for granted but, of course, for many in our world it is not so easily available.
On the Wateraid website it says that “every minute, every day, people suffer and lives are lost needlessly because of a lack of safe water and sanitation. This daily reality is for 748 million people.”
One of the things we did at Scargill during our Summerfest programme last year, which was great fun, was to raise money to twin our toilets to provide safe and clean loos across the world (see www.toilettwinning.org).
One of our pathway promises is about speaking out for those without a voice ‘ will you speak up bravely for people who are rarely heard, helping our heavenly Father to fulfil his dream of seeing the hungry fed, the sick looked after the naked clothed and victims of injustice release from their chains.’
This week made me think that perhaps there is more we can do to help our brothers and sisters across the world. Wouldn’t it be good if we all twinned our toilets? It only costs £60 and it would make a real difference.
Back to our water. The Estate Team worked hard pumping out our reservoir – cleaning it out. Today our water is running nice and clean, and tomorrow we will be able to start drinking it again.
We love our Estate Team, and we also love our spring water – and we are grateful to God for it.
When I was thinking about all this, I was reminded of Jesus’ words from Matthew 10 v 42 ’And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.’
Not a bad incentive!
Hey I’m back! In fact we have been back just over a month from our travels to Australia and New Zealand. You will be hearing about our trip – plenty of interesting things to talk about. But those who have been following my blog will realise that it was no mean feat that we managed to get on the right plane on the right day at the right time!
Back at Scargill , we have just said goodbye to our Easter houseparty. An amazing week where we journeyed with Jesus through Holy Week to the joy of Easter Sunday.
One of the things that struck me is how Jesus went out of his way to show people who he was through his actions. A good example of this is Palm Sunday where Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey, and the significance of entering the city from the Mount of Olives. Jesus didn’t speak a word yet he was saying so much through his actions. He was saying, ‘Look, I’m your King!’. And, of course, the Resurrection is the amazing sign of who Jesus is and what he came to do, but yet even though some his closest friends didn’t get it. Just look at Luke 24 and the story on the road to Emmaus.
So some of the questions I have been asking myself are, “how do I recognise Jesus today?” and “is my life dulled to the presence of Jesus or preoccupied with self-interest ?”
On another point on the same subject, I challenged the Community recently to think how people could recognise Jesus just through our actions, through the way we treat and serve people? Loving actions, a welcoming smile, to be kind, a willingness to say ‘yes’, to go the extra mile can say much more about God’s love than words that are divorced from action. And, of course, Jesus longs to show his love through us even though we are weak and fragile. St Paul reminds us: ‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ 2 Corinthians 4: 7
I heard a lovely story about Rowan Williams when after they had walked the stations of the cross he rhetorically asked the question, ‘Why is there no stations of the resurrection?’, which he answered, ‘we are the living stations of the resurrection’.
So, how do people recognise Jesus? Through you and me.
Well we have made it safely to Australia. – no dramas. We managed to get on the right jets at the right time in the right place. Thanks for asking (if you do not understand read my last post).
So this January we are concerned about having enough sun screen rather than thinking of shovelling snow which has been our usual occupation at Scargill. It is nice and warm in Brisbane, and tomorrow we travel down to Sydney for a week. Such hardship!
With more time to reflect, one question I have been asking is how thirsty am I for God? King David has such a desire to know more of God in his life and in Psalm 63 he speaks of this yearning.
“God – you’re my God! I can’t get enough of you! I’ve worked up such hunger and thirst for God” (The Message)
Can’t quite remember when I last felt like that. One thing for sure though is that I would like to have David’s desire. The sentiment “I still haven’t found what I am looking for” resounds often deeply within me. St Paul in Ephesians 5:18 speaks about go on being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is constant asking and probably should be a daily discipline. For without the Holy Spirit I am stuffed (hope you like my profound theological vocabulary). How can I know Jesus, how can I have a blazing love for him? How can I be inwardly transformed and therefore a lively witness to all that Jesus is and all he has done in my life? Where do I get the desire to read scripture and hopefully make sense of it? Through the grace and love of God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Simon Ponsonby, who recently spoke at Scargill, speaks of how we settle for less, when there is so much more to experience and know of God. He quotes Billy Graham who says “the desperate need of the nation today is that men and women who profess Jesus be filled with the Spirit.”
Jesus says “let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As scripture has said, ‘out of the believers heart shall flow rivers of living waters.'” (John 7)
Come Lord Jesus pour out your Spirit on us today
Not sure how this happened but this blog has gone missing – so here it is again….
Traveling can be bit of an ordeal. Di and I are on sabbatical, having a break from Scargill, and today we were hoping and expecting to fly to Australia only to find we had got to the airport a day early. Oh yes! I’m obviously not that good with dates…And not only being a day early, I thought I had lost my wallet only to find that I had left it in my daughter’s car back in Milton Keynes. It had all the usual cards which, without, would have made traveling very difficult. All a bit stressful, particularly to my long suffering wife.
What I have achieved today is to be an embarrassment to my daughter and caused a lot of laughter and head shaking. But no harm done, we will try again tomorrow with tickets checked and wallet safe.
Traveling though can be exhausting even straightforward trips. The bible are full of journeys many that are very hazardous.The Israelites in the Old Testament journeyed for forty years in the wilderness, full of trails and difficulties, learning huge life lessons on the way. In the New Testament we read of the the holy family’s trip to Bethlehem, (Mary on a donkey = virgin on the ridiculous. You can thank Adrian Plass for that!). A couple of years later fleeing for their lives as refugees to Egypt, an enforced journey. Jesus identifies with refugees and we keep in our prayers all who find themselves along way from home. Their plight makes my experiences insignificant and yes, ridiculous.
Yet the “inward” journey is also never straightforward, far from it. Christians, often speak of their walk with God, or their desire to discover God, with phrases such as a desert experience or walking through a valley, or mountain top experience. The inward journey for the majority of us is exhausting and hazardous. St Augustine wrote in one of his prayers, “our hearts are restless until they rest in you”. Very true. This is the journey which will bring life, love and hope, and like the younger son in his parable, we stumble along in the hope of coming home to the unconditional love and welcome of our Heavenly Father. The road can seem long and tough but let us not be discouraged, as Jesus promises to journey with us, speaking to us, and that “if we listen carefully we discover we are already home while on the way” (Henri Nouwen).
Will I make it to Australia, will I journey more into the love of God? Both journeys are keenly on my agenda – I’ll let you know.
This last week we have had a lovely time at Scargill. We have had a Community retreat, which was led by good friends of Scargill – Ken and Liz Whiteway. They were very gentle, warming and encouraging of us.
It is lovely when we have people who know us well and come with love and blessing. And talking of blessing, they shared that often blessing does not come through life being easy or our prayers being answered in the way we would hope. There was a wonderful song from Laura Story called ‘Blessings’, which they shared with us. The chorus is:
‘Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise’
There are a lot of ‘what if’s” in the chorus, and the song is asking the question, does God bless us through the disappointments and difficulties of life?’
Many guests who visit us at Scargill are living with very hard and stressful situations, and it is difficult to see where God is in it all, but what if that somewhere, somehow, in the darkness our compassionate God wants to bless us with His love? I wonder if Romans 5 v 3-5 echo something of what this song is saying?
‘And not only that, but we also boasting our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.’
Just what if?
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Laura Story: Link to the explanation and link to the song itself on YouTube
Thank you very much to those of you who take the time to read my blog over the last year, and I am sorry that I haven’t written anything for a while. Life here has been hectic and I have been waiting for some inspiration to encourage the perspiration to write. Now I’m back!
Someone, after their second visit to Scargill, said that it was like coming home. We often hear that from people, when referring to their visits. I love it and I am very appreciative that people feel this way about Scargill.
I love the bit from the ‘Last Battle’, the final book of the Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis, when the Unicorn cries, “I have come home at last, this is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I’ve been looking for all my life.” Not everybody feels as over the top as this when they visit Scargill, but for many it does feel like Home.
I was questioned recently, ‘Are you a Christian hotel?’ I was surprised by my strong reaction to that question. “No way!”. Of course we have many marks of a hotel (food cooked, bedrooms prepared) but we are definitely not a hotel! I have been to some fine hotels, some of them Christian ones, and they are very different from Scargill. You sit and have your meal, not usually with other people, and you don’t have prolonged conversation and share your lives with the staff, however nice they seem to be. And that raises the first big difference between Scargill and a hotel: we don’t have staff, we are a community. That means that we have a very different model of hospitality. We eat on shared tables where Community serve and eat with guests. We have conversations and relationships that at times go deeper than superficial. Scargill Community are very much about inviting people into our home. It’s a hospitality that is relational and can be transformative in a deep way.
Scargill at its heart is ‘lives shared – lives transformed’, with Jesus at the centre. So Scargill is a place of sharing, mutual laughter, a place where we are encouraged to be open to one another and particularly to those who may be very different from us. A safe place where people can meet and be open to the love of God through His Holy Spirit.
Every week we welcome another group of guests, some of them come on their own and by the end of the week we have grown into a community of mutual respect and love. At our best (and of course we are not always at our best) the words of Jesus have a truth and reality, ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.’ John 13 v 35
J.R.R. Tolkien describes Rivendell in ‘The Hobbit’ as the ‘last homely house, which is a sanctuary and refuge for the weary.’ Not a bad description of Scargill.
Jorgen Moltmann said that, ‘when others look at us in a friendly way, we feel alive and vital. When others recognise us just the way we are, we feel fulfilled. And when we feel accepted and affirmed, we are happy for we human beings need acceptance as the birds need air and the fish need water. Acceptance is the atmosphere of humanity.‘
Acceptance has to be an important characteristic of life at Scargill for guests and Community. The Community here is so diverse. We have people from different countries, languages, and different experiences of God. Community life is dynamic and it most definitely stretches us, yet what enriches our life is the acceptance we try and offer one another. Interestingly our particular spiritual flavour or denominational backgrounds never really come to the fore, as what is so important to the Community is to offer an accepting safe place which allows people to encounter the living God. As someone once said after a visit to Scargill, ‘It’s a safe place to say dangerous things.’
Of course, accepting people can make others think that we agree to everything they believe in, that we have the same world view or theological understanding, and that may not be the case. Accepting isn’t the same as agreeing. Bishop Chris Edmondson, in ‘Leaders Learning to Listen’, writes: ‘I believe we often confuse acceptance and agreement, or, to use a road sign analogy, giving way and giving in….acceptance and agreement are not the same.‘
I suppose what’s key for me about life at Scargill is not trumpeting a particular theological, or ethical stance, but being a place of love and acceptance, and to allow space for the Holy Spirit to do His renewing work in the lives of all who come to us. We want to be about ‘lives shared – lives transformed’ with Jesus at the heart. As Anne Lamott puts it, ‘God loves you as you are, and far too much to leave you as you are.’
I want to talk about eating. It is something that we do a great deal of at Scargill: three times a day we sit round table as a community with our guests.
We have found here that eating together has been the place where lives are most shared, where joy and laughter can be freely expressed and opportunities to behave in a childlike way are encouraged! I think that eating together is one of the special gifts that Scargill offers to guests as we share our lives and welcome them into our home.
Eating together is one of the best of things. It stretches us, and I am not just talking about our waistlines! Eating together is not about entertainment or show. Eating together is about creating community.
Jean Vanier writes: ‘Meals are celebrations where we meet each other around the same table to be nourished and share in joy.’ And he goes on to say, ‘you cannot build community without wasting time together.’ There is nothing more spiritual and more human than the activity of eating together around table.
Jesus obviously enjoyed eating and it would seem that he had a particular gift at cooking fish. Being creative in finding time to eat with others is such an important part of what it means to be human. In fact, self-service could be one of the worst inventions ever with our own sachets, trays and prepared meal (Vanier says it could be like spending every meal on an aeroplane). Eating together, within a warm, accepting atmosphere, allows us to be real and vulnerable. Where mutual laughter can be shared and, through each other, we encounter Jesus.
In Latin the word companion literally means ‘to break bread together’. Whatever our tradition is to do with Holy Communion it is full of power and wonder as Jesus is both our host and our life-giving food. Jesus calls himself ‘the living bread’ (John 6:51). It is important to us that Holy Communion is the central act of worship as a community.
Whether we live alone or in a family, or as we do in community here at Scargill, let us dare to create space to eat with others; to share lives; to celebrate laughter and joy; fragility and tears; and share good simple food which will create community and transform lives.
Then I will begin…
I have just returned from an inspiring couple of days at Greenbelt where Scargill were privileged to lead an act of worship. What inspired me about Greenbelt was the passion and commitment from many young people to God, and to see His Kingdom worked out on earth. Justice, peace and reconciliation are themes that run through much of Greenbelt. I was reflecting, after hearing an inspiring talk from someone a lot younger than myself, ‘where has my passion gone?’ Being passionate and angry about injustice in our society is not the prerogative of young people. I think it is fair to say for most of us that as we get older, when life can become more comfortable, we can loss that cutting edge. Complacency can settle in. Perhaps when we get older we lose the fire within our belly that calls us to be radical and, instead of being passionate about what we do, we strive for a balanced life. Beware of balance!
Mike Yaconelli [once a Greenbelt great] wrote, ‘Balance is a dangerous, illusionary characteristic and a seductive temptress. Disguised as normal and sensible, it is silently destructive crashing the unbalance of giftedness, taming the extremes of passion, snuffing out the raging fire of a genuine relationship with Jesus. Jesus and his disciples were constantly criticised for being unbalanced.’
We are never too old to be passionate about the things that are close to God’s heart. As an well known saying goes: ”the Holy Spirit comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable”. Lord get disturbing…
I found this prayer the other day which invites God to challenge us:
May the God who dances in creation,
who embraces us with human love,
and shakes our lives like thunder,
bless us and drive us out in the power of the Holy Spirit,
to fill the world with his justice,
this day, and always.
Amen
Today we remember that amazing speech by Martin Luther King Jnr. If you haven’t listened to it yet, there is a modern recording on the BBC Radio 4 website where the original speech is overlaid with modern voices speaking those same words, voices of those who have also campaigned for justice and peace.
This inspirational speech, which I feel must have been inspired by God, began to change American society. But how did it all start?
It started with an act of defiance from Mrs Rosa Parks, a 42 year old Montgomery seamstress, who refuses to relinquish her bus seat to a white man – and then is arrested. I doubt if Mrs Parks though her act would gain the momentum that would lead to the march on Washington and the amazing speech that we celebrate today.
She says, “At the time I was arrested, I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in.”
Rosa with her quiet eloquence, her commitment to her faith, was a role model of courage. God often uses “small” acts of courage to bring about change. I doubt if many of us will become like Dr King: charismatic and powerful in speech and a leader of many people. But we can all be like Rosa Parks where we can make a stand for courage against what is wrong around us. It could be something in our community; it could be at work or at home; and even in our church! It will often make us unpopular and there may be uncomfortable consequences to being courageous.
Someone said, “don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is”, and as Edmund Burke said, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing”
Courage will never be easy, its risky. But as the speech proclaims,”No,no, we are not satisfied and will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Wet and Wild at Scargill Summerfest
These last 2 weeks we have been enjoying Summerfest at Scargill. Summerfest is an all age arts festival where we have guest artists, all age teaching, a myriad of activities and a chat show every evening. It’s full on!
These last 2 weeks I have doing quite a lot of speaking and succumbed to ‘foot in mouth’ when trying to quote Jackie Pullinger. It is funny that when we are tired when brain and mouth sort of come disconnected. I found myself saying she had lived for many years in the Walled Garden, and yes, we do have a beautiful Walled Garden at Scargill but sadly this is not where we will find Jackie Pullinger. For those of you who don’t know, Jackie spent many years working in the Walled City area of Hong Kong, bringing ‘cups of life giving water’ to prostitutes and drug addicts.
The verse from Matthew 10 that speaks about giving a cup of cold water to one of these little ones….has been resonating in our hearts and minds. There is nothing so refreshing as a cool glass of water. It is worth spending some time thinking about those who have been living water to us, those who have shown us kindness and compassion, who offered us ‘a cup of water’. It is good to give thanks for those who have brought us to life by their generosity and their belief in us, and, of course, not all these people will be Christians. I was remembering my primary school teacher who encouraged me and helped me believe in myself when education was such a struggle. Who are those who have offered cups of water to us, that have made a difference to our lives?
But, the challenge then is how can we be living water for others?
We are privileged to have this living water within us and we are called to give it away, not to hold it for ourselves. I’d like to encourage you to think about who you could give a ‘cup of living water’ to this week. It could be a word of kindness, it may be a ‘phone call to a friend we have not spoken to for some time in order to show them how we love them, it may be a listening ear. It will be an act of love that will bring life. Jesus brought life to the woman at the well (John 4) and we too have this opportunity to give Jesus to others, as the source of living water. Isn’t this just a wonderful gift that we can offer?
A friend posted this wonderful prayer on Facebook.
Holy Trinity, Well of love, Refresh us with your presence. May we drink of your life-giving water, Filling us with you, Overflowing to all those around us.
Although it might seem like old news, I was delighted that Tony Robinson was given a knighthood for his work in politics and in the public arena. It also made me smile when I think of Tony Robinson playing Baldrick in Blackadder. I love that programme, with Baldrick and his ‘cunning plan’, love of turnips, and clueless nature which often made me laugh out loud.
Baldrick, who was valued less than a garden slug (he would like to eat them – hmmm yummy), was often undermined. I can’t help think that most of us have Baldrick-type tendencies and feel as though we are pretty worthless. The Bible tells us something different as it speaks of God who honours us, who loves us, and says that we are precious in His eyes (Isaiah 43). Jesus views us very differently to how we feel about ourselves, and what we think others say about us. Jesus is not like Edmund Blackadder.
There is a wonderful song we have been singing quite often in Chapel in the last few weeks:
‘I will change your name,
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid.
I will change your name.
Your new name shall be,
Confidence, joyfulness, overcoming one;
Faithfulness, friend of God,
One who seeks My face.’ [D.J. Butler]
God has a marvellous plan, which is far from cunning, that in Christ we are new people. In fact, we are elevated to being heirs with Christ, with all the privileges as well as the responsibilities that go with that. For me, it is a lifetime journey to fully understand that I no longer have a ‘Baldrick status’ but a ‘Beloved status’. Yet it is in this truth that I am to live and move have my being.
As Brennan Manning wrote: ‘Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.’
What has your experience been of coffee (and refreshments in general) after a church service?
I am glad to say that church communities are waking up to the truth that good coffee is not just peripheral to their life together, a sort of tagged on extra, but says something important about valuing people.
I wonder if it is too bold to say that good coffee is as important as an inspiring and thought-provoking sermon. The smell of percolating coffee is inviting and the aroma is as enjoyable as the drinking.
As I said, decent coffee at the beginning or end of the service, is saying an important truth about how we value people. When you go to places and you are offered a weak, instant coffee in a plastic cup, which is almost impossible to hold, with rich tea biscuits (and then with a little bowl asking for a donation) – what are we saying?
When we moved to Scargill to begin this adventure one of the first things I decided is that we were going to have decent coffee. This was not just for my own benefit, but was hopefully saying something important to our guests: they matter. Being generous with the quality of our refreshments reflects God’s generosity to us. God is not stingy! He wishes the best for his people and of course good refreshments also show our heart of hospitality.
Jesus shows us what our gracious God is like. In fact, Jesus could only do what he saw his Father doing (John 5 v17) and we see a God who gives abundantly in turning water into wine (900 bottles of the stuff, and the best). We see how Jesus treats people with respect. Jesus treats as first class citizens those who are particularly broken or forgotten by society, and we as his followers, who share his generosity and love of people, are called to do the same. And so, even the coffee matters!
This, of course, can be Fair Trade or Rain Forest Alliance certified which will make the experience of coffee drinking even better.
Over the last week, or so, life has been very hectic: We turned Scargill into Narnia which was such good fun, then I was at Lee Abbey speaking on ‘Laughter and Lament’ with David Rowe, followed swiftly by my son’s wedding which was an amazing occasion.
There is a huge amount to be thankful for.
Psalm 111 says: ‘ I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.’ Meister Eckhart once said,’if the only prayer you say in your entire life is “thank you” that would suffice.’ Gratitude is a crucial spiritual discipline to foster in our lives for it is the great antidote to cynicism which has the capacity to suck the life out of us. Gratitude, I think, is the gateway to playfulness and childlikeness.
Mark Yaconelli in his book ‘wonder, fear and longing’ writes, ‘It is good to give God thanks not only because God has given us so much, but perhaps more importantly because of what gratitude does to us. It is hard to be anxious when you are grateful. It is difficult to keep you guard up, to be cold and defended when you are overcome with thankfulness. Prayers of gratitude open the gates of the heart so God’s love can enter in.’
A good friend of mine, who I worked with on the Lee Abbey Youth Camps, taught me the importance of gratitude even when life can seem so tough and difficult. He encouraged us to think of at least 5 things we could be thankful for, like the taste and smell of good food, the love of friends, the pleasure of sunsets, the beauty of flowers, the freshness of toothpaste, the nourishment of sleep, and the sugar rush obtained from jelly babies. Wouldn’t it be good if we could just open our eyes to give thanks daily for all of God’s grace and love that we see around us.
Giving gratitude isn’t something that comes easy to us. It is a discipline.
Joan Chittester says, ‘As he was dying, Abba Benjamin taught his disciples his last lesson,”do this,” he said,”and you will be saved: rejoice always; pray constantly; and in all circumstances give thanks.”‘
This coming week, I’m going to try my very best to be grateful. Would you like to join me?
This last week the House has been full of young people with their parents as we put on our ‘Back through the Wardrobe 3’, another wonderful opportunity to explore the truths about God in the Narnia Chronicles written by C.S. Lewis. Scargill became Narnia for the week as rooms were decorated to reflect the story.
We were focusing particularly on the Last Battle which is the last of the books and covers important topics like: deception; identity; judgement; courage; the end of the Old and the beginning of the New Narnia; and homecoming and it is this that I want to talk about briefly.
Jewel, the Unicorn, when he arrives into the New Narnia exclaims, “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…..Come further up, come further in!”
For many people home has been a difficult experience, something that people don’t want to remember. If, though, we were going to look at coming home as an experience that brings life what would it look like? These were some of the comments that people said during one of our sessions this week:
‘belonging, safe place, acceptance, love and laughter, finding my true self, sometimes challenging, good food, and space to be who I am ‘
It would seem to me that there is a longing and a yearning to experience coming home, and the church community should be a place where people can experience this generous homecoming.
Sister Stan writes in Gardening of the Soul writes, ‘Home is the place where we discover who we are, where we are coming from and where we are going to. It is where we learnt to love and be loved. It is where our needs of the body, mind and spirit are first recognised and met. It is where we learn to be whole, stable and yet always open to change and surprise.’
The parable of the prodigal son, or perhaps it should be called the parable of the prodigal father, highlights the generous attitude that we are invited to show when people come home, ‘but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and was filled with compassion…’ (Luke 15 v20)
Some of our guests, who come back to Scargill, describe it as a home from home. I like that…
I have been reflecting over the last couple of days on St Paul’s words, “I have become all things to all people.” (1 Cor 9 v22)
His reason for wanting to do this is his longing for people to know the wonder and joy of the saving love of Jesus. This was his agenda. Paul’s words are very challenging to us as he is asking us to put aside our own judgements, and sometimes the desire to show the error of others – It would be so nice if others could have the same understanding as us!
Accepting others and journeying with them, to be their friend and their servant is at the centre of Paul’s heart. I love the way the Message version puts it: “I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, non-religious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated and the demoralized – whoever…I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life.”
Paul is not saying that by accepting people we are agreeing with them, but his longing is that through his life, in word and action, they would experience the love of Christ. This ability to accept people as they are comes from a growing understanding of our own identity in Christ, that we are his beloved, and that our lives are about showing others that they are God’s children and deeply loved. Our security is rooted in our relationship with Jesus.
We want this attitude to be at the heart of our life here at Scargill. We want to accept people who come through our doors even though they may not fit into our tidy theological understanding and this can obviously be disturbing.
Yet, however uncomfortable it may sometimes feel, our hope is that we show the warmth and accepting love of Jesus. I am sure many of us have been into churches where there have been such strong theological statements about God and life, that have felt so rigid and unyielding that it leaves very little space for dialogue or movement – It can be suffocating.
Scargill is about offering a safe place where the transformative love of God can do its mysterious work. As Ann Lamott says, ” God loves you exactly as you are and far too much to leave you as you are”.
Loving and accepting people for what they are can give us permission to adopt a different narrative if that is what is required.
Guess what? The letter is going to be Q!
First up – Quantity. One of the great joys of being part of the Scargill community is the amazing variety of people that you meet. Each week we welcome various groups and individuals and each person brings something unique and something that is life giving. Then of course there is the community we are bundled together with, all from such a variety of backgrounds and experiences of God. It’s a rich, sometimes challenging, but always growing and stretching experience.
Secondly – Quality. Joining community is an opportunity to witness and be part of the unrivalled excellence of the Holy Spirit working in the real world with real people. One of the delightful aspects which keeps us on our toes is seeing how God’s loving spirit moves and works, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. The Holy Spirit is most definitely ingenious. Being on community here at Scargill inspires an openness to what our gracious God is doing and having the courage to join in.
Finally – Questions. Many people come, as guests as well as community, with an array of questions. There is space and opportunity to ask and discuss and perhaps even solve some of the burning questions that are important to your personal walk with Jesus. As one visiting clergy said ‘This is a safe place to say dangerous things.’
And of course as one community member just enthusiastically said to me, ‘I hope you got quirky in there!’ Hmm, will have to think about that!
So quantity, quality and questions and even quirkiness… all good reasons to consider joining community. QI don’t you think?
Forgiveness is never easy. It’s a process and can take a long time. I hope I’m not the only one who, thinking I’ve forgiven someone magnanimously, wakes up in the night a couple of days later, seething with resentment. Forgiveness is hard work, and yet it is the cement of community life. Jesus, who shows us the heart of our gracious and compassionate God, calls us to be a forgiving people. Forgiveness is part of the nature of God – and Jesus shows it: for him it was a crucifying experience, and for many of us it may feel like it. Without forgiveness there is little hope of transformation and new life, yet I know from painful experience how easy it is to get stuck in the pit of resentment. Nelson Mandela puts it succinctly, ‘Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.’
In the Scargill Community we learn about the liberating and humbling nature of forgiveness. There’s nothing more humbling than being forgiven when my weaknessess and failings are brought into the light of this grace. Community would become a very narrow place if there was no forgiveness. Our rule of life speaks of keeping our relationships open, honest and loving; a tough call, yet liberating.
Professor Jonathan Sacks, once the Chief Rabbi, says we need forgiveness as it ‘helps us sustain relationships, build marriages that last, stay close to our children and faithful to our friends. We say things that hurt and do things that harm. So do others to us. The mere fact that we can apologise and be forgiven is one of the blessed gifts of humanity, and it isn’t simple at all. It is underwritten by a certain view of the universe, the belief that God forgives’.
This last week we have been confronted with atrocities in the US, unresolved and (understandable) resentments over Mrs Thatcher’s life and death, and the ongoing relational struggles that go on in our churches and communities. A lot to process, a lot to struggle with – with God, ourselves and others as we dare to climb the ladder of forgiveness, even if we’ve only reached the first rung.
Forgiveness is not an optional extra, it is a process that brings healing to communities and ultimately to ourselves. If we want a future, then an attitude of forgiveness will be working its way into our hearts.
Loving Jesus give us your mercy and grace!
This week I’ve been reflecting on Thomas, that well known doubter of the New Testament. I actually have great empathy with Thomas, and I often wonder where he was when Jesus first appeared to the fearful disciples in the Upper Room. Perhaps he was the only one who had the courage to go out to that 1st century Co-Op to buy provisions. It can be really irritating when I meet people who speak with such enthusiasm about an incident or event that I should have been at and somehow, for one reason or another, I missed. I can imagine that Thomas was thinking that the risen Jesus, who had conquered death, could have managed to arrange to turn up when he was in the room.
Thomas’ response, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe,’ is the response of a person who is both frustrated and feeling rejected. “What’s the matter with me?” could be a fair description of how Thomas was feeling. “Have I not been just as loyal, if not more so, than my fellow disciples? So why I did I miss out?” He had missed out on the this life-changing encounter, and the shiny eyes and smiles of his fellow disciples would do very little to comfort the distraught Thomas.
He had to wait a whole week before Jesus came amongst them again, and this time Thomas was there. He was offered the most remarkable, life giving, transformative encounter: the invitation to put his hands in the wounds of the risen Lord. The wounds of love that had changed the world, that had showed us the depths of God’s love: Thomas was invited to put his fingers in them. Now that is a bit of a ‘Wow’!
Yes, Thomas was a bit of a doubter, as John’s account portrays. But Thomas’ encounter with Jesus gives hope to all of us who feel that we’ve missed out, that we’re in some way rejected, that God has passed us by, that we were “out of the room”. For the risen Jesus truly wants to have a ‘one-to-one’ with us.
Perhaps Bruce Cockburn’s words in his wonderful song “Somebody touched me”, can be our prayer this week – great song, great lyrics. Thomas was surprised that he had a one-to-one with Jesus: may we also be surprised by the risen Christ this week.
Somebody touched me
Making everything new
Somebody touched me
I didn’t know what to do
Burned through my life
Like a bolt from the blue
Somebody touched me
I know it was you
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeuVJ_A0CoE
And on another note, I am sure that I’ll be out of the room if and when my team Spurs score a winning goal…
Emptiness does not usually thrill us. An empty fridge for that late night snack frustrates, getting in the car and finding it running on empty is annoying. We like life to be full, and we comment with satisfaction when our days are busy with activity; as a society we are quickly bored if there is seemingly nothing to do to keep us amused or busy. Full is good, especially in my opinion, when it comes to an english breakfast. Jesus himself, commented that he had come to bring life in all its fullness. Empty is bad and boring, fullness is good and satisfying.
The resurrection though gives us a another view – a full tomb is a bit of a disaster! Empty is liberating and life giving, Jesus is risen, the tomb is empty, death has lost its sting, sin and satan are defeated. God has had the last laugh.
When thinking of the resurrection I think of Psalm 18:19; “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me”. Jesus is risen, the tomb is empty, life is to be lived in that spacious place, and we to are to leave our “tombs”, to leave them empty, and move into the spacious place that our generous God has won for us in the resurrected Jesus. It does take courage and a fair amount of trust. Our tombs whatever they may be, come with all sorts of names, unforgiveness and bitterness, fear, feeling useless just to mention a few.. We live in these tombs they become our home, they are familiar, and disturbingly comfortable. Scargill is about “lives shared, lives transformed” and hopefully with Jesus right at the centre he will loving lead us out of our caves that we have uncomfortably conformed to live in.
The challenge is to leave our tombs, and move into that spacious place, and breath in that resurrection air.
A blessed Easter to you all.
This week Phil Stone gives us a challenge to bless, to say good things..
We have just finished our Palm Sunday service here in the Chapel at Scargill. Many a sermon has been given on this significant day in Jesus’ life. What struck me afresh is the adulation that welcomed Jesus from the crowd as he entered Jerusalem, and then in a few days time the same crowd will be shouting insults and wanting him dead. The crowd move from blessing to cursing with unnerving ease. Henri Nouwen says that to bless is to simply says good things about another. How crucial this is as we live in a world that gives out curses so liberally. If we bless one another our understanding of who we are in God grows and deepens. Curses destroy, blessings give life.
How important it is to bless, never more so than in Community which is full of relational challenges! There is nothing like living and working together to realise the need to bless when at times there is a deep desire to curse. Our community promises speak about building community for which we will need to be ‘consistently, transparently, constructively, unsentimentally loving’. People making their promises say, “We can learn and improve in our efforts to strengthen the bonds of love in this community. Sometimes we will get very cross with people and find it difficult to love them. Sometimes they will feel the same about us. We will not say anything about others that we would not say to them directly if love and wisdom required it. With God’s help, and with encouragement and guidance from the brothers and sisters who share this pathway, we promise to try our very best to follow the example of Jesus.”
As we begin to understand that we are called ‘beloved’, what a joy it is to enable others to find that truth for themselves. Henri Nouwen goes on to say that there are many ways that we can bless people:
“Therefore we have to be reminded of our belovedness and remind others of theirs. Whether the blessing is given in words or with gestures, in a solemn or an informal way, our lives need to be blessed lives.”
So may Jesus Christ richly bless you as you journey with him this Holy Week.
Sadly the towering trees which used to line the long driveway up to Scargill House have had to be cut down. At this melancholy time Scargill’s Director Phil Stone reflects on community, culture shock and how sometimes seeds need to die if they are going to live…
This last week has been sad and significant for Scargill. Our treasured avenue of horse chestnuts, which has been part of the landscape for the last 50 years and more, have become diseased and dangerous and have had come to down. Interesting and surprisingly what has been left is a new vista where the surrounding hills look even more inviting and attractive.
We are gradually becoming aware that the rhythm of life involves some small and some significant deaths so that God can bring new life and new beginnings. The rhythm of cross and resurrection are central to our lives. Scargill itself was resurrected, but not before it had to go through a death in 2008. The whole estate was up for sale and the long ministry of Scargill had finished. The place was dead. God though had not wiped the slate with either the place or the ministry.
When Di and I came to Scargill to grow and develop the ministry at the beginning of 2010, we were excited about the new adventure, but after a while I was wondering what we had done. From being a vicar in a large inner city parish, an area dean with responsibilities, I had come to Scargill where there was just a handful of us and 10,000 sheep. However lovely those sheep are, they are not great conversationalists, and regarded me as a sort of mint sauce threat (probably rightly so). After a couple of months of this I was feeling diminished, and well out of my depth. I went to see a wise friend who listened and shared a verse from John 12: “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit”
Something had to die in me, for something new to come alive – never easy, often painful, but necessary. We can never jump to resurrection until we go through our own cross. Three years on Scargill is alive and thriving. The place is beginning to bear much fruit, but what is most significant is that I have deepened my understanding that I am loved by God, that I am called “his beloved”. Sometimes God has to strip away old securities so he can help us find again our true identity.
This week we begin Passiontide, with the invitation to journey with Jesus through Palm Sunday next Sunday, onto the Cross, and then onto the joy of Easter Sunday. As we journey with Jesus may we also know that he journeys with us as we face our crosses We need to ask him for courage.
This week new trees will be planted down our avenue at Scargill.
Our resurrection life continues.
The community at Scargill is always warmly welcoming new members and wishing a fond farewell to others as each person’s contract is staggered so that as we grow and change we can maintain consistency. If you are interested in spending some time as part of our community or know someone who might be interested then click here (especially if you/they have professional catering experience!). Feel free to use the contact information in the link to get in touch and start a conversation going to work out if Scargill is the right place for you to explore more about life, community and God.
This week Phil Stone Director of the Scargill Movement discusses conflict.
Last week I was down at Coventry Cathedral attending a conference entitled Faith in Conflict. It was full of quite important influential people, I had to behave like a grown up! One of the things that we discovered (which isn’t rocket science) is that conflict is normal. You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief and I know that from my experience here at Scargill we have had to work through quite a bit of conflict over the last few years. Just because we are followers of Jesus doesn’t mean we are going to get on all the time.
What is really important is how we deal with conflict. Often we are either confrontational and shout with a ‘come on if you think you’re hard enough’ attitude or the other equally unhelpful attitude is to go into silence and avoid confrontation at all costs. But what we are encouraged to do and the way forward – is to speak and to listen. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow says, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
Of course living in community this is essential if we are going to grow and become a place of reconciliation. The quality of our relationships is an authentic witness of God’s love. This is the heart of the Gospel. In fact one of the speakers at conference said that reconciliation is not the warm up act to hearing the Gospel – it is the Gospel.
Whenever we are reach out (and I’m not talking about with a fist!) to somebody we are in conflict with we are doing the Gospel. St Paul reminds us in 2nd Corinthians 5 that Jesus has reconciled us with God, our relationship with Him has been put right. We are called to be ambassadors of reconciliation.
It’s not an optional extra.
If you are on Facebook click here to Scargill’s page.
This week cheer on Diverse United with Phil Stone the Director of the Scargill Movement as he talks about how through community we can overcome insular boundaries and open ourselves and others to the love of God.
At Scargill we are about lives shared – lives transformed with Jesus hopefully right at the centre of everything. Within our community I feel there is both a high degree of unity and a wonderful diversity that needs to be celebrated. Our youngest community member is 10 and our eldest is 70. We have members from Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Nepal, Brazil, Germany and Scotland, we have someone who is about to arrive from Latvia as well as locals from Halifax and Bradford. As well as being an amazingly international group of men and women of all ages we are diverse in our understanding and experience of God within the Christian faith. We are truly ecumenical, representing many different strands of tradition. It is an incredibly diverse bunch of people all somehow bundled together to share God’s hospitality to those who come through our doors.
One of our challenges is to celebrate the diversity of one another which means learning, listening, sharing, and sometimes going beyond our own boundaries, which can be uncomfortable. It is when we mix with the ‘other’ with a heart of hospitality that we can truly begin to see our lives transformed. This is always a challenge for any community because when tired we often gather around those who we feel comfortable with, speak the same language as, who share the same food, and who tell the same jokes. At Scargill there is such a wealth and richness in our community which we could miss out on if we keep our relationships within those we feel ‘comfortable with’.
Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt in their book Radical Hospitality, Benedict’s Way of Love say this, ‘As a spiritual discipline, Benedict understood the importance of encountering those who are different to ourselves as it stretches us; it dislocates stiffness and opens us up to new possibilities. He meant for the monks to do so intentionally.’
Is not God’s Kingdom the invitation to grow and be transformed by God’s love? One way we can do this is celebrating our diversity in the unity that we share in the love of Jesus.
If you are interested in finding out more about getting involved in community life click here to see a list of current vacancies. In addition we are looking for people with backgrounds in administration or maintenance to join the team. If this sounds like you then don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Phil Stone, Director of The Scargill Movement (an intentional community of Christian men and women in North Yorkshire), talks about the fragile nature of community.
Community, wherever it is, whether or not you’re wearing a monastic habit – always has fragility in it. A community is not a strong place or at least not strong in the way the world tends to think of strength, it will always be a fragile enterprise.
We each take our weaknesses as well as our strengths to communal life. It is important that we are very loving towards each other, we need to carry each other. Out of our weakness God does something beautiful, if we allow it. Community life is not polished, it is not neat and tidy. For it is a place where we can dare to be truly ourselves, accepted and loved for who we are, and yet also challenged to be transformed by the love of God we experience together. Therefore the willingness to express our fragility and vulnerability is at the heart of who we are.
The more I live in community the more I understand that the key is the willingness to love not in a sentimental way but a love that is compassionate, self-giving and vulnerable. St Peter talks about love covering a multitude of sins and the script that Jesus asks us to play out in our lives together is one that is simple but tough and can feel extreme. In John 13 Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Brother Roger of Taize sums it up wonderfully, “Many people ask themselves ‘What does God want of me?’, when we read the Gospel we understand. God asks us to be a reflection of his presence in every situation. God invites us to make life beautiful for those he entrusts to us.”
In only half an hour I will be sharing fun and eating pancakes with my friends. There will be a great sense of belonging and togetherness.
Tomorrow will be Ash Wednesday and Lent begins! I think this season could be a good opportunity not so much for giving up but taking up. Taking up and thinking of how to be good friends. Which of course might mean, not rushing around ‘doing’ all the time. In a sense more ‘being’, taking stock of who we are with God and who we are with each other. Lent is a time for self-examination and an opportunity to open ourselves up again to the love of God and sorting out our priorities.
I have just returned from London having been down to see the church where I was vicar for 13 years. It was a bittersweet experience. It was sweet to experience such love and warmth from many people who I have not seen these last three years. But bitter because although it was lovely to meet up with many good friends, we knew we had to leave them again to head back up North, realising it would be hard to maintain that depth of friendship over the distance. Having friends is so important, they keep us alive, keep us truthful, help us experience the warmth of God! We needs friends, we need to foster our relationships. Perhaps Lent can be a time where we can decide to see some friends, restore some relationships and deepen our love. Saint Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive…” and having friends is a wonderful way of this becoming true. Our friendships help us embrace life and embrace God. As Irenaeus goes on to say “…and to be alive consists in beholding God.”
I am always staggered when I read John 15 that Jesus calls us his friends. Perhaps Lent is a time to deepen that friendship and love for him.
Phil Stone, director of Scargill Movement, talks this week about the graffiti we get on our hearts and what is obscured underneath.
Out of interest the other day I was looking at a job description (don’t worry Scargillites I’m not leaving!) and I saw in the spec that having a theology degree was essential. It raised within me some of the internal struggles I have had to deal with in my journey with God and as a human being. I left school at 16 with only a handful of O levels to rub together. Academic achievement seemed a world away. It was a huge leap from there to being called to ordination at the age of 21. It almost felt impossible as so many clergy had degrees in theology and understood so much.
As a young man my perceived lack of academic abilities was beginning to shape my life and my identity. It has taken several years of prayer and people who have encouraged and supported me for me to discover that I was not as thick as I thought I was and that I could manage the theological training that allowed me to be ordained. I remember my first day at Ridley hall at Cambridge when we were introducing ourselves. When most people were quick to share their doctorates and master degrees and all I had was my two O Levels! It begs the questions where do we find our identity? Since then I have dabbled in some further study.
The deep seated thinking, that I was thick, had become, as a good friend describes, ‘graffiti on the heart’. We’ve all got some. This is an area in which God has had to work on with me. It makes me think that negative graffiti on people’s hearts which shapes their identity stops them from hearing God’s call upon their life.
When I heard God calling for me to be ordained I said to myself, ‘I thought I was thick.’
The question we need to keep asking ourselves is – what is the graffiti on our hearts that God wants us to deal with? And will we allow him? For we have to remember that what God wants to write on our hearts, and is already there if we can get rid of the rubbish, is this – ‘You are my child, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased.’
This week Phil discusses community life and what his dream and heart is for Scargill.
I am under no illusion having now lived community life for three years that while it is an incredibly rich experience it is also a very intense one. I can feel great joy and unity one day and later that same week can feel despair and disunity and I’m wondering if this is the same community it was at the start of the week! It is not without reason that the phrase lives shared, lives transformed is central to our rule of life with Jesus right at the heart of this process. We rely on this sharing and transforming. Living in community has a sort of Star Wars feel about it, in the sense that one soon realises that the ‘dark side’ is in all of us.
I was reminded recently of Carolinne White’s introduction to The Penguin Classic of The Rule of life of St Benedict, where she described St Anthony and others like him making the love of God into an ‘extreme sport’! There is no doubt that living on community feels a little extreme. As we are often asked to face difficult situations and some of that is often from within. Yet our community life also gives us the means to grow together. I can probably sum up my dream and heart for Scargill with the words of St Augustine, ‘Love and live it with your life.’ What would that love look like? It would be generous, welcoming, forgiving, accepting with plenty of laughter. The possibility of discovering child-likeness over childishness. A community where people feel included and part of.
In the next couple of weeks some of us will be going to Bose, an ecumenical monastic community of men and women in north Italy. It is set just south of the Italian Alps. When we were last there three words came to our hearts which we experienced through the welcome, food and accommodation. And they were quality, simplicity and beauty. My dream and hope for Scargill is that we may live and move in these gospel words and that our guests would experience them.
Scargill is always in a place of transition and change and we are currently looking for new community members to join the rich, intense, wonderful Scargill adventure. We get a lot of feedback saying the food is brilliant at Scargill and those of us who have been here a while are showing the proof of that! We are currently looking for a new kitchen team leader, who loves Jesus, and would love to experience living in community and of course, loves food. We are also looking for someone to take on the role of administration team leader as well as someone to develop our work with young people and to make use of the wonderful 90 acres we have.
As I write this I wonder if you are the right person for one of these posts or do you know someone who might be interested? For more information you can go here, it would be great to hear from you. Scargill is an adventure and we are looking for pioneering people who are seeking adventure, with a desire for community, with a big heart for Jesus and for people.
This week Scargill’s Director Phil Stone is thinking about the generous love of God.
Those of you who follow the Anglican lectionary will know that today’s gospel reading was The Wedding at Cana. I love this story. It must have been wonderful to taste the wine that Jesus made. Think of the best red wine you have ever drunk and imagine something even better than that! This miracle of water into wine speaks of the God who wants to transform, and the God who does so generously. At Scargill we are all about ‘Lives shared – lives transformed’ with Jesus right at the heart, it is central to our walk with God this acknowledgement that our lives need to be changed. This is a life-long process.
This miracle is about generosity. Those 6 stone jars that are mentioned, we are told, hold 20 to 30 gallons of water. That is a lot of water to be turned into wine. In fact I worked it out that it was approximately 900 bottles – how crazy and how intoxicating! One could sensibly argue that Jesus was being very irresponsible and way over the top. And yet we read that this miracle was the arch sign that revealed his glory. What is thrilling and exciting is that it is this generous love that we get caught up in and are called to give away. A generous God prompts and calls us to be a generous people, generous with our love, forgiveness and our lives. So what might this look like? Well – it might be giving someone some quality time, sharing a meal, an act of kindness or a phone call to a forgotten friend. It could be treating your work colleagues (those you like and those you don’t) to a bag of jam doughnuts and some quality coffee (that would make my day!).
As the wine is poured out at that wedding, enriching the lives of the people, so we too are poured out to be a generous offering to the communities where we live to be a sign of God’s Kingdom.
And talking of glory, just last week we had some glory at Scargill. As the sun was setting I managed to take this picture of the chapel reflecting the sun off its windows – I love this photo, it reminded me as I have been writing this how we are called to reflect God’s generous love to all those around us. I reckon this could be very transforming…
For more details of events and holidays taking place at Scargill check out the programme here which now goes up to December 2013.
As a New Year begins Phil offers some advice on a good way to start your year…
Today is January the 6th, the Feast of Epiphany, the Wise Men have turned up and how are you doing with those New Year resolutions?
It seems to me that New Year resolutions are in general just a good way of pouring guilt upon ourselves. But perhaps what we can do this New Year is make sure to focus on those main priorities and make sure we get them into our life. The things that are most important to us, the things that give us life. Get those things in! I know from bitter experience that if you don’t do this it is hard to fit them into a life busy with a lot of schedules.
So if I was to give any advice, and this advice is as much for me as it is for anyone else – get those main priorities in first before any other well-meaning plans. For us as a community at Scargill at the start of this New Year we will be having a retreat this week. It is an opportunity to reflect, to pray, to rest and hopefully have some fun together. An opportunity to take stock and ask the big questions to talk about what gave us life this last year as well as what drained us and what have we learned from that.
At the start of this New Year we celebrate the Wise Men’s devoted, dedicated journey to Bethlehem to find the Christ-child. It was their main priority. It was what they wanted to do. Let’s make sure that in the same way we have got our life giving priorities at the top of the agenda. It could be working out holidays, days off, retreats, watching a film every Friday night with a glass of wine. Whatever it may be let’s get those life giving moments in early and everything else can fit around them.
Scargill is on Twitter! To check it out click here.
As 2012 draws to a close, Scargil’s Director Phil Stone reflects on the Christmas narrative and what we can take from it into the New Year.
It has been wonderful to welcome old and new friends as Scargill fills with people for our New Year House Party. Over the last couple of days I have enjoyed being able to give a couple of reflections on the Christmas narrative in the context of the coming year. Something we have been exploring is the various aspects of the ‘traditional story’ that don’t actually feature in the biblical narrative. For instance there is no donkey, no Three Wise Men (there are Wise Men but of an unspecified number) and no innkeeper. Despite there being no innkeeper in the biblical text it can be useful to consider the role of innkeeper as it opens a new angle on the story. I was struck by the BBC Nativity a couple of years back which I felt offered a new insight into the reason why the innkeeper had ‘no room’ at the inn. The programme suggested the reason why the couple could not find lodging was that the unexpected pregnancy of Mary would bring disgrace on anybody associated with them. Mary and Joseph were not just vulnerable because they could find no room they were vulnerable because people didn’t want to make room. Mary carried shame and people didn’t want to catch it!
When thinking about the gift of hospitality it is good to be reminded of the challenges God gives us to welcome those on the edge of our communities who are far from respectable. For us to be truly hospitable to those on the fringes it requires a conversion of the heart. Let’s be honest, sometimes being hospitable can be really tiring, difficult and annoying but it is also incredibly life giving. As the Bible says, ‘Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.’ (Romans 15.7)
This year I am struck once again by the sheer vulnerability and fragility of the Christmas Narrative. It is not for the fainthearted. If we were truly to get into the reading it would make us feel uncomfortable. It involves a great deal of risk on behalf of God and of the main characters of the narrative. J Oswald Sanders said, ‘The frontiers of the Kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution.’ I think we often put Health and Safety criteria into our journey with God and of course looking at the Christmas narrative and other biblical stories that’s laughable!
And finally isn’t Bruce Cockburn absolutely brilliant? If you have the time you should check out his track Cry of a Tiny Babe. These words from the chorus send shivers down my spine, ‘Redemption rips through the surface of time in the cry of a tiny babe.’
So I wish you all the best for 2013 and that we all may have the courage to be risk takers for God and share his generous hospitality.
For more information about what is going on at Scargill in the New Year check out our online programme.
Henri Nouwen says, “Christmas is the renewed invitation not to be afraid and to let him (God) – whose love is greater than our own hearts and minds can comprehend – be our companion.”
Di and I wish you peace, joy and love this Christmas time!
This week at Scargill we have been hosting a group who have been attending the local Grassington Dickensian Festival. Accordingly our food, entertainment and reflections have had a Dickensian theme. One of the most readily identifiable aspects of the great author’s work is his interest in and empathy for the plight of the poor. From Oliver Twist to Great Expectations he wrote unsentimentally but tenderly of the struggle many people have to face as they make their way in the world. Dickens’ solidarity with the poor is one of his strongest legacies – telling true to life stories that expose cruelty and oppression and rejoice in the simple pleasures of life. This week Phil talks about something he uses to keep himself ever mindful of the needs of poor people all over the world.
Some years ago I was on sabbatical seeking to discover God in different Christian traditions and spiritualties. My journeying took me to Brazil to a place called Recife. Many of the ministers there wore black rings made from the hard shell of the seed of the Tucum Palm tree. Wearing the rings symbolises identification with the poor and a desire to live a relatively simple lifestyle. There’s a story of a bishop who presented his gold ring of power and entitlement to the indigenous Tapirapé people as a gesture asking for forgiveness for the church’s complicity in the oppression of their people. He wanted the church to no longer represent taking but instead giving. In return he was given a Tucum ring as a gesture of forgiveness. This ring was an altogether different kind of status symbol – not epitomizing high status but displaying empathy with low status.
It meant a lot to me personally because of the work Di and I undertook with single homeless in London’s East End and 22 years of being an inner-city parish priest. I was very moved when the priest who I was staying with gave me his ring and it’s not left my finger since. It has always reminded me of my desire to live a simple lifestyle and have an identity with and speak for the poor and downtrodden, those on the fringes of our society. In our Pathway Promises which make up our rule of life we promise to … ‘speak up bravely for people who are rarely heard, helping our heavenly Father to fulfill his dream of seeing the hungry fed, the sick looked after, the naked clothed and victims of injustice released from their chains.’
As we enter into the Christmas story once more we see a God who identifies wholeheartedly with the poor, the homeless and refugees. There’s nothing tinsely about the Christmas story. It’s full of God’s passion for the marginalised in a world that can be so hard and cold. This Christmas despite all my failings (and being honest about my occasional desire for wealth and comfort) this ring keeps me grounded in what Jesus was saying about being good news to the poor.
The community at Scargill is always evolving and looking to welcome new members. For more information about exploring the possibility of getting involved yourself as a community member click here. We are also specifically on the look-out for new community members to take on specific roles, those of Kitchen Team Leader, Deputy Kitchen Team Leader and a Youth Worker who would work in a split role supporting our estate team in developing our 90 acres to become a resource for future generations. If any of these specific roles or generally the idea of living on community appeal then get in touch to find out more.
The nights are getting longer as the shortest day of the year draws near and Scargill’s Director Phil Stone is contemplating darkness and starlight…
Having moved from London to North Yorkshire I can say without doubt that the weather here is real. I’ve never experienced cold, wind or rain like it. Yorkshire Rain is different to any other rain. Yorkshire rain is powerful, hitting the pavement with such force that it shoots up your trouser leg. Then there’s the snow. We have just welcomed our first bit of snow this last week. MY colleague Dave tells me that in the Dales you get six months of winter and six months of bad weather! Of course we do get some absolutely beautiful, crisp, fresh days but there is no escaping that the weather here is real. At the moment it can be a bit of a struggle, life can feel like it is all about survival. It is dark when we gather for prayers in the morning and on a cloudy day it can be dark and gloomy again by three. I have been learning how to cope with that.
But it’s not all darkness. The great thing about the season of Advent is that amid all the gloom of the all too real weather, we have a lot of talk about light. Jesus described himself as the light of the world and says with him we too are to be lights in the world. We are to share this light. It is warming at this time of year to reflect on God’s light as something that is inviting and welcoming. The light of God is hospitable. It’s a bit like when you’ve been out late at night and you come home to find a light’s been left on for you. There’s maybe even a little sign welcoming you home and a tasty sandwich. It’s the sort of thing that really warms you. This light gets under your skin and transforms you. In Isaiah it says, ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…’ One of the joyful things about Scargill is that it is a place where people can experience this powerful welcoming light – the light that Jesus gives. In what can feel like such a dark an inhospitable world it is reassuring to find a light burning and a welcome ready.
Wherever we are we are called to be like lights. In Philippians Paul talks about us being like shining stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life. As it happens, this place here, in the Dales, is a designated dark spot which means there is no light pollution to dim the night sky so we get to see the stars shine beautifully and bright. At this dark time of year we have a wonderful opportunity to see the light that shines, both above and among us.
Keep watching this space every Sunday for weekly updates from Phil. If you are on Facebook click here for more information about Scargill.
As this week is the start of Advent Phil has been thinking a lot about waiting…
Those of us who have or have had children will know that long journeys can be challenging and exhausting. This is especially true when we have to endure “Are we nearly there yet?” after only having travelled a couple of miles of a long journey. If there was a similar phrase in New Testament times I’m sure the early church would have been directing it at God. They had been waiting, praying, desiring The Lord’s return. What was going on? Why was He taking so long? There have been many times in history when Christians must have felt that surely this was the time, surely the Lord was returning and yet we are still waiting. The cry ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ is frustrated and helpless but the waiting Jesus speaks of in Luke 21 is a watchful, expectant, waiting. There is something active about the waiting we are being called into. The Message translation puts it succinctly, – “be on your guard, don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties, and drinking, and shopping”
Hmm – does that not sound like many people’s Advent leading up to Christmas?!
We are not good at waiting. My experience of waiting is that it’s tiring. Queuing for instance is frustrating and boring. I wonder how many times I have seen a queue and have decided just not to bother. And of course waiting can cause anger. Living in community we sometimes experience “Toast rage” during the breakfast buffet.
We live in a culture where waiting is not encouraged or fostered – John Sentamu, Archbishop of York wrote, “We are encouraged to take the waiting out of wanting, cut to the chase and get what we want right away, as though there is nothing worth waiting for.”
This impatient waiting is not the patient waiting that Jesus talks about. Henri Nouwen writes, “The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full belief that something hidden will manifest itself to us. Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere. The moment is empty. But patient people dare to stay where they are. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there. Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her womb” (The Path of Waiting)
Psalm 27 puts it nicely,
“I am still confident of this, I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for The Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
The Advent season of anticipating Christmas is an ideal time to foster the spiritual discipline of waiting. A waiting that is not passive, but expectant, dynamic and active, living in and making the most of the present moment. Not restlessly dashing after something which likely isn’t there, but being attentive to the subtle possibilities of the here and now. This discipline is vital in our walk with Jesus throughout our lives.
Watch this space for more posts and to find out more information about events taking place at Scargill click here to check out the programme.
According to Phil Stone, director of the Scargill Movement, joy and laughter are two subjects one should take very seriously indeed. Joy and laughter are not incidental to the Christian walk – they sustain it as they enrich it. Tricia Hillas and Andrew Corsie, both vicars in London, ran a course here last week entitled ‘Taking Joy and Laughter Seriously’ and while being an absolute blast it has also given us a lot of food for thought. In amongst the clips, quotes and brainstorms, the material covered the health benefits of laughing (reducing pain, stress and even calories), the role of humour in our spiritual development as we become increasingly self-aware and the ability to laugh in the dark – overcoming adversity and oppression. Phil is a great advocate for taking the role of joy and laughter in shared life together seriously.
It was such a joy to have two good friends from London last week leading our course. Andrew and Tricia were inspirational, thought provoking, and there was obviously a lot of laughter. One of the aspects that has encouraged us since Scargill has been resurrected is people have commented that it’s not always the talks or the worship that bring about some change in their lives, but the love and laughter they find at Scargill during their stay. Our community promises conclude with the phrase that we will try to laugh together often. Laughter is healing, it gets in touch with the heart of hospitality, and when we bring a sense of humour into a conflict situation the likelihood is that it can be sorted. If we take joy and laughter seriously it may help us to not to take ourselves too seriously. Perhaps the Church needs to take this medicine at least three times a day!
scargillphil is now well and truly up and running! This is where our Director Phil Stone riffs on all manner of subjects close to his heart while keeping us posted on community life. It’s an opportunity to get a different insight into the Scargill Movement from a unique perspective. You can catch up with last week’s edition here. In today’s post our inimitable director (picture a mischievous Pan in a dog collar) discusses New Monasticism, the movement that seeks to bring elements of traditional monastic life and give them new expression in a contemporary context…
The other week Di and I attended a dialogue between people who represent the old monastic way of life and those who represent the new monastic way of life. It was wonderful to hear from the old monastics and I would say they are very gracious to us who are thinking in a new monastic way. They have made a huge lifelong commitment to a particular way of life whereas those of us exploring a new kind of monasticism are, tongue in cheek, just playing with it really. That said there is a lot of value in taking on board the wonderful truths and lifestyles of old monasticism and reincorporating them into patterns of living today. For instance at Scargill we have a shared ethos, a daily rhythm of prayer and a rule of life, similar to that of old monastic movements, which we call our Pathway. This rule is essential to shaping our life together and links us with many people who become Scargill Companions who follow the same Pathway wherever they may be living. Real hospitality, a key cornerstone of traditional monasticism, is also central to our life together, believing that Christ is in all that come through our doors, treating each one as a royal guest.
I would say that at Scargill we are growing into becoming a new kind of monastic community. For many people labels such as ‘New Monasticism’ are unhelpful, or only have a limited application. Some find these terms useful in order to group together resources and connect new communities while others don’t, finding them limiting or insufficient. Whatever you call it there seems to be a growing momentum in small communities across the world to reincorporate traditional practices of shared living and hospitality in everyday life. One of the things about this kind of lifestyle that young people are particularly drawn to is the sense of authenticity, the opportunity to find an authentic way of expressing their love – their love for Christ. They’re looking for something, for a discipleship that is real and that really does affect their lives. They are looking for a discipleship that goes alongside mission. Really wrestling with Christ’s word, taking Christ seriously in our lives as the one who wants to make his home in our hearts. What does it really mean if Jesus takes home in our hearts? Wow! Incredible, right? That would be really transformative – that would reshape us in a way that is probably beyond our imagination.
Keep watching this space for more updates posted every Sunday.
scargillphil is now live! This is where Phil Stone, our loveable, huggable director, gives us regular updates into the weird and wonderful life at Scargill letting us know what he’s up to and what’s going on. Phil, equal parts loving encourager and windup merchant, will keep us up to date with activities, events and prayer requests and give us little snapshots of community life. There will also be plenty of information about how you can get involved at life at Scargill. To kick things off we asked Phil to give us an insight into the nature of community living…
Di and I have now been at Scargill for three years. I was musing with a group of clergy from Bradford Diocese that it has been the toughest as well as the most rewarding three years of my life. The heart of Scargill is “Lives shared lives transformed”, and at the centre is the transforming love of Jesus. Scargill is a wonderful place, set in the Yorkshire Dales’ commanding fabulous views, and living in community with thirty others from many different countries, cultures, backgrounds, is such a rich experience, where at times there is harmony, with plenty of love and laughter and at other moments discord and dis-ease. Community life will always, and should always have a fragility about it, and it is in that fragility that we can grow and mature.
Keep watching this space every Sunday for more updates from Phil.
There were dances in the village hall, but ladies could not go without a male partner, so I was co-opted. I would turn up with 4 or 5 other members of community and they would dance with the RAF rescue team, handsome young men who danced in their thick woolly socks. They came dressed in their outdoor gear so they could go ‘rescue’ if called out. I found a nice corner near the food table, a long trestle table piled with homemade food – pies, every pie you could think of. The dance didn’t start until 10 o-clock, supposedly after milking, but it was accepted that that was earliest you could get the ‘band’, a piano and a fiddle, out of the pub. It was fun. The thing you needed to be a community member was faith, and energy.
Our friendship has remained strong through the wonderful foundation set with CMM – despite living 250 miles apart! ”
idea to use a 10 second timer on my phone (I’ve seen PK doing something similar). Success! A selfie in which we’re all in the picture.
Primary School. When they arrive, children are playing football and other games in the yard. They find a beautiful chalk design drawn onto the pavement. There is fun and enjoyment all around – a picture of God’s Kingdom: different nationalities, even different faiths all coming together and experiencing God’s love. Wendy (of Scargill descent) is there too. Referring to Samuel choosing David she explains to the children that no matter how clever we might think we are, it’s what’s on the inside that matters to God. Craft activities and a film follow.
Meanwhile, back in Southport, Esther, Jonathan and I are releasing a little of God’s love, in 
the form of chocolates, to the people we meet on the street. This is fun – we share in some great conversations and find opportunities to talk about the Journey. Esther even strikes up a conversation with a real photographer who takes our photo for us (though it’s important to note that we still miss PK!)
mixed feelings. We’re all tired and a little disorientated by now, but we’ve developed such strong bonds together, supporting each and ‘being’ in addition to ‘doing’ Community.
cold morning, I need to share a revelation : I have never seen a ‘Lazy Susan’ before. Why doesn’t everyone have one of these on their breakfast table? I watch as Jonathan misses the point, reaches for the butter and nearly sends a glass of orange juice flying, hey ho. Esther is looking pleased today – she has named a local hill after herself. What a humble group of travellers we are!
Manchester and meet members of the three churches of Astley, Tyldesley and Moseley Common over lunch. The café takes food close to its sell by date, provides free meals and acts as a family drop in centre, particularly for young families.
This morning some of us had morning prayer with the Aston Community, whilst the remainder set off to Aston Parish church to take part in morning prayers there. As ever, we are also so grateful to our various hosts for opening their homes to us, and for showing us such generous hospitality.
made to feel welcome by two of the Community – James and Will. A couple of us go to see the work of the local Foodbank and to chat with the volunteers and clients.
Paul and I spend a few hours at the Salvation Army Youth & Community Centre, where Jo and Paul (also members of the Aston Lee Abbey Community) are leaders. They show us around, and we spend time with some of the local kids as they enjoy some time out and games together.
Day four dawned bright and sunny in Oxford. As ever, we are hugely grateful to our hosts for their warm welcome and generous hospitality. Today will be a long day. But, before it begins, we’re treated to a wonderful cooked breakfast in the church hall. Now we’re ready for the day!Between us we’re able to cover four different church services at St James and St Francis Churches in the parish of Cowley, including a Punjabi service (providing a very different cultural and interesting experience for those attending).
service presided over by Kate Mier. Kate, who’s currently coming to the end of a year in Scargill’s Community served in this church from 2004. Those who came along were clearly delighted to steal her back for the evening. During the service, she takes the opportunity to put us on the spot with some questions. I am prepared as I can be, having memorised key information about last night’s Eurovision Song Contest. But instead, Kate is interested in our experiences of Community, Hospitality and the Journey (probably just as well). One thing we all agree on – the Journey is helping us to see clear links between these three things – and we see God’s heart at the centre of them.
are young. Many are international, and faith isn’t generally so high on their agenda. When we join the Community for morning prayers we pray for the Spirit of God to fall anew on this place, supporting the Community in their valuable Kingdom work. As ever, we are hugely grateful for the hospitality we’ve been shown.
morning assemblies at a local school – the School of Christ the King Primary School.
