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):

Wed 20 March – Voiceless

Thu 21 March – Huddled

Fri 22 March – The New revealed

Shaun Lambert has been writing for the Baptist Times on ‘the upwelling of the Holy Spirit’ – you can see his article here:

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.

Day 1 – Sun 14 May – Placed

Day 2 – Mon 15 May – Pulling up the tent pegs

Day 3 – Tue 16 May – Enabling the work of God

‘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.

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.

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.

Our very own Jo Penn is guest writer of the daily reflections for Sanctuary First this week.

Check out the first three here and follow for the rest of the week.

Sunday 13 March 2022 – Consider the stars

Monday 14 March 2022 – Banging on God’s door

Tuesday 15 March 2022 – Walk with me

We live in a world of information overload and where knowledge is easy to find online. What is more difficult to access is wisdom. Intentional communities have accumulated wisdom since the early church and the days of ‘all the believers were together and had everything in common.’ (Acts 2:44)

Part of the oral wisdom here at Scargill that appeared in morning prayers a while back was, ‘not what do you want to do, but what sort of life do you want to live?’ This is a profound question, and one whose time has come. One of the most common experiences we have heard from guests during this COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown is an amplification of loneliness. Perhaps your answer to the question, ‘what sort of life do I want to live?’ might be, ‘not a lonely one.’

We have been created for relationship, and yet community and the sense of belonging is a scarce commodity in this uncertain new world. Perhaps your answer to the question about the sort of life you want to live, is ‘one lived in community.’ This goes against the flow of our individualistic and materialistic society, where even more we have learnt to live in little bubbles, on our own, or with just a few others.

Intentional community is a place of shelter, but as one of our members of community put it, ‘it is not all jelly babies and peace!’ In community we live by the accumulated wisdom of others who have wrestled fiercely with the theory and practice of living a common life together. If you are to live in community then you need to give something up. In our culture we are taught that freedom is found when we are not beholden or bound to anyone else. The truth is freedom is only found with each other not separately from each other.

One answer that Jesus offers to the question, ‘what sort of life do I want to live?’ is ‘life in all its fullness.’ (John 10:10) I believe life in all its fullness is found in community. If you are asking a new question in your life which isn’t about doing, but more about being, then perhaps it is a whisper from God to consider living in community. We would love to hear from you.

There’s a series of videos on our Join Community page entitled Life in Community which are various community members sharing some of their reflections and experience of being part of the Scargill Community.

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 1^st to 12th November 2021 is the UN’s 26^th 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.’

See for further information:

https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/COP26-Explained.pdfhttps://arocha.org.uk/rising-to-the-moment-meeting-young-peoples-concerns-about-climate-change/

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:

Sunday 12th September: Wisdom in the ordinary

Monday 13th September: We sing ‘Alleluia’

Tim is interviewed by fellow community member Jacob about his summer spent as part of the Community at Scargill House.

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 8^{th 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.

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 24^th May to Friday 28^th 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.’

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.

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. 

Follow Allchurches Trust on Facebook and Twitter @AllchurchesT

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.

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.

Sunday 17th January: The Curious Incident of God in the Night-time

Saturday 23rd January: Freedom Calling

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.

If you would like to connect with us during this period, then we also have: hello@scargillmovement.org.  For all booking related correspondence, please do continue using admin@scargillmovement.org

Audio recordings of our Morning Prayers and Sunday talks are now on our website (available for 7 days)

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

Strong Foundations, New Beginnings

‘Rooted and Grounded in Love’

The order of the Holy Paraclete and Scargill Movement are delighted to announce that we are joining hands to create and support a new charity – St. Oswald’s Community.
St. Oswald’s House, nr. Sleights, Whitby (currently St. Oswald’s Pastoral Centre) has been a place of prayer, rest and retreat for many years; lovingly looked after by sisters from OHP. Both communities are excited about the birth of St Oswald’s Community.

Paul and Jackie Reily, who have been part of the Scargill Community for the last five and a half years, will be leading the new ecumenical community. They look forward to welcoming visitors, old and new. We are thankful for all that has been and are excited to see what God will do in a new season of St. Oswald’s life. The beautiful and challenging prayer of Ann Lewin comes to mind:

Flame dancing Spirit
Flame-dancing Spirit, come,
Sweep us off our feet and
Dance us through our days.
Surprise us with your rhythms,
Dare us to try new steps, explore
New patterns and new partnerships.
Release us from old routines,
To swing in abandoned joy
And fearful adventure,
And in the intervals,
Rest us,
In your still centre.
Ann Lewin, Watching for the Kingfisher

St. Oswald’s Pastoral Centre will close at the end of September 2020 and after a very short pause, St. Oswald’s House will open to receive visitors at the beginning of November 2020.
We value your prayers at this time.

See the St Oswalds Community website…

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.

We hope you enjoy reading it below.

David Runcorn scargill key note

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

The rest of Audreys Blog can be read here

The Lord is My Shepherd

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)

Staying close to the Good Shepherd, Audrey.  🐑

Read Audrey’s second installment here:

https://old.scargillmovement.org/join-community/sabbatical/what-in-the-world-are-we-doing-here-part-2/

https://old.scargillmovement.org/join-community/sabbatical/sabbatical-part-1/

Sat 19th May : Day 10

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…

Reflections numbers 3 & 4 from Jo Penn

http://www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk/daily-worship/laughter-maker

http://www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk/daily-worship/surprise-visitor

Next in the series from Jo Penn

https://www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk/daily-worship/no-hidden-agenda

Guest blog here from our very own Jo Penn written for Sanctuary First

https://www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk/daily-worship/strength-to-rise

Scargill, (and God’s Great Colour Palette…)

A Guest Blog by Working Friend Tim Proudler

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.

Lent without plastic

Lives Shared, Lives Transformed

A few words about Barrie Renwick.

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.

P Stone

Phil shares some thought provoking insights this week on going where it hurts.

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.

Scargill Movement has a new website!

As well as a new look, the site will adapt better if you’re viewing it on a mobile or tablet device, as so many people do now.

We’ve given the content an update at the same time, though much of the information from the old site is still there too.

We hope you can find your way around the new site; do drop us a line if you spot a bug or have a problem, and we’ll do all we can to help. Bear with us especially in the first few days after launch if you have any issues, but we hope it will be plain sailing!

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