On Tuesday 10^th June, 8-9pm we will be having a livestreamed Community Praise and Prayer in the Chapel which will be available for you to journey with us online and take part through the chat comments.
https://youtube.com/live/YyoWObwXYug

In this Praise and Prayer we will be thanking God for his generous provision and we will be looking forward to the next Phase of our building project. We will also be thanking God for the ministry of Scargill and praying for new Community members to come and join the costly, yet joyful, adventure of Community life.

The Community are doing really well but we are stretched so please do continue to pray for us and our ongoing need for new members.  If you know of anyone you think would like to join Community for a short or long time, then do point them to our website here.

Below is Di’s latest reflection.  Di and I will be moving on from Scargill to ‘retirement’ next year in June 2026. We would very much value your prayers as there has been a lot of thought about succession planning. We will be advertising for a new Director in the late Summer into September with interviews in late November, and are praying that someone will join the adventure at Scargill at Easter time 2026, where there will be a transition period before we leave.

Di and I would value your prayers as we have yet to discern where God is calling us to live. Here is Di’s reflection. Enjoy!

As many of you will know Phil and I have begun thinking about where we might live when we retire; which seems to be quite a daunting task. Hence, I was pleased to find this painting ‘Springboard’ by Charlotte Evans who puts pools–and especially the ladders that go into them–front and centre of her delightful canvases’ (Jeff 2016 ‘Oh, By The Way’ blog). You see the task does feel a little like stepping off the top diving board!  But oh, the sheer joy that comes later.  

Now I only ever dived from the top board once or twice at the most but I still remember that slow climb up, then standing on the edge, trying not to look down, willing myself to dive because I knew what was to come – exhilaration, a sense of achievement, freedom – followed by the determination to reach air!   But if you don’t mind, we will not mention how the actual dives went, possibly ‘nil points!!’ I would though still love to have the courage to do it again.

Courage is required because stepping out in faith and doing something that God has called us to do can be scary. When you step out into the unknown to do what you believe is God’s will, He may not give you a blueprint to work with, you might need to make that decision to climb to the top board, not knowing how the dive will go – are you going to fall crisply into the water or not? Does it actually matter? No, not really, the only thing that really matters is are we following God?

Now that is the million-dollar question to which I do not have the answer. In fact, it often feels like I am wrestling with God repeatedly asking the questions When? Where? Why?  Maybe help can be found in the word ‘wrestling’ – wrestling can lead us to resting which in turn leads us to rest. Now that’s worth noting. Perhaps I need to remember to stop, and intentionally or un-intentionally create a space and invite God in. Not to wrestle with him but for a few minutes to still myself and quieten my restless mind and listen for the still, small voice of God and like Augustine of Hippo allow ‘God to speak to me in the great silence of the heart.’   

One of our prayers says:
’Like the sun that is far away, but still close at hand to warm us,
so God’s Spirit is always present around us. 
We live breath, work, rest and have our very being in You God.
Open now the windows of our souls so that we can see you.
And when we can see God, we are free to truly love.
Free to truly live.’                             
Amen

As we seek to understand out next adventure, Phil and I will walk in faith, which is one of the greatest treasures that we possess. Whether we make the wisest decisions or not I do not know but I do believe God will be walking alongside us all the way. As I have said many times before,’ if God is not elsewhere then that means God is here’; here with us now, today, and tomorrow – wherever that will be.

With love and prayers from Phil, Di and the Scargill Community

We are delighted to announce that our new Programme and latest Momentum magazine is launched today (28th April)– going live in the morning (during office hours).

This publication opens bookings for new events from September 2025 to the end of February 2026, as well as having lots of lovely articles and updates from the life of Scargill. 

Our website events pages are now live, coinciding 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.

Also do look at our website for online and in-house events (May to August 2025) that still have space – we would love to see you!

We would like to highlight the following upcoming on-line events for you to join from the comfort of your own home:

Wed 21 May – Online Quiet Day

Sat 7 June – Online Quiet Day

Fri 20 to Sun 22 June – More humour, more wholeness, more healing? Adrian and Bridget Plass

Thu 17 July – Online Quiet Day

With love and prayers from Phil, Di and the Scargill Community

Images though speak volumes and I recalled a beautiful painting by Jim Norton. Jim Norton is a great friend of ours and Scargill, he frequently visits nearly always bringing a few new paintings to display in the Dining Room. Recently he brought this one, quite simple but also powerful, which I hope will be displayed outside the chapel, on the landing. I asked him about this and discovered that many years ago Jim saw a chained Bible under a plain glass window in Barnsley. It made a profound impression which stayed with him.  Jim wanted to capture ‘the simplicity of the light through a window onto the Bible’ and here we have a red Bible sitting on a lace cloth with light streaming through a village Church window, Jim writes, ‘It’s a simple demonstration of the eternal power of God through the written word… a simple but profound message, and to me the painting embodies that through the power of light.’

I also love the lace, it adds a sense of caring, reverence and love drawing us in. The addition of a candle waiting to be relit reminds me that the Bible can rekindle my faith and with the light pouring in through the windows I am reminded of Jesus’ promise that those who follow Him will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12).  

Our visit to London has encouraged me to look and look again at the scriptures, to learn to dawdle and linger with the words as long as possible, because God’s word is full of treasures for each of us, now, today, for this very moment and every moment.

In Psalm 119 we read. ‘Open my eyes to see wonderful things in your Word’ Yes Lord! Amen

With love and prayers from Phil, Di and the Scargill Community as we begin this new year.

Dear Friends,

We wish you a joyful and peaceful Christmas, through the celebration of Immanuel with us.

Thank you so much for all your love and support this year, it means a great deal to us.

Tomorrow, the residential Community disperse  for their Christmas break, and will return ready to welcome guests for the New Year House Party which begins on Sunday 29th December. Our next livestreamed Sanctuary service will be on Wednesday 1st January from 4:30pm.

With love and prayers from Phil, Di and the whole Scargill Community.

Here’s is Di’s latest reflection:

Last weekend, I was visiting All Souls Church in Leeds and for most of the morning I found myself comfortably sitting in front of this altar table.

I was repeatedly re-drawn to its gentle depiction of the nativity story. It was the curve of cloths uniting the Magi with Mary, then Jesus and finally Joseph which held my focus. In this world of war and conflict, fear and pain, Jesus came in all simplicity to save and to serve. 

Here I also saw humbleness and respect flow between the Magi and the Holy family, perhaps asking the same of us but also reminding me that Jesus came to bring peace and healing.

After a while I became aware that the curve continues with the candlesticks, forming perhaps a cup or a chalice reminding me that this is also the place to come before God and receive both bread and wine. A place where we can commune with God and God with us. A place where forgiveness is given, and love is offered.

I pray that you will have, allow yourself, the time to stop and rest, just for a few moments and sit before this altar table.

I wish you all a God-filled Christmas. 

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.

September online events for your diary:
Our livestreamed Sanctuary service resumes from Wednesday 4th September (4:30pm)
online quiet day on Wednesday 11^th September (free/donation ticket to join via Zoom) led by one of our Pastoral Team.
‘On earth as in heaven’ running Monday 23^rd to Thursday 26^th September (£50 ticket – to join via Zoom) where we welcome back Andreas to work with me (Phil S) as we explore the Lord’s prayer.

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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 13^th 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 have any questions then please email hello@scargillmovement.org

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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

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.’

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?

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…

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.

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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

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