Dear Friends of Scargill,

We are delighted to announce that our new Programme and latest Momentum magazine is launched today (3rd November)– going live in the morning (during office hours).

This publication opens bookings for new events from March 2026 to the end of  August 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 (November 2025 to February 2026) that still have space – we would love to see you!

Our online events allow you to join us from the comfort of your own home:

Also check out below Di’s latest reflection on being real, and living out of a heart of love. Enjoy!

Yesterday, morning prayers were focused about love. Later that afternoon sitting in my office, looking out the window (a rare occurrence), I was faced with this sign that has been there for years and I said to myself ‘I have had enough, for now, of sitting quietly with Jesus, of resting with God, the time for action has come!’. Now, I haven’t moved completely away from embracing contemplation and marching around being busy isn’t on the agenda either, but BEING REAL IS.

This sign encompasses much of what I believe God is asking of us. This is a ‘way of life’, a pathway to follow, with ‘WE’ at the centre!  Challenging perhaps the me, myself and I culture that stops us from looking out to others, looking out for others. And although Christian families can be a base for extending hospitality and supporting other families and individuals in need within their community, this sign is for all and it seems to sum up the Stone family, the very extended Stone family and I pray always will.

I can fully embrace many of these statements. Maybe allowing myself to have FUN and be REALLY LOUD is a little less natural to me. I am very happy to embrace the noise and fun of others – in fact it’s good for me to do so. And to be honest HUGGING has not been a favourite pastime of mine although over the years, dare I say it, I have begun to ’almost’ enjoy giving and receiving them.

Have you noticed WE DO FAMILY, WE DO LOVE lie at the bottom of the list, have you noticed all these words are in capital letters and have you noticed LOVE is the largest word on the sign? Is this because love encompasses all that has been written or is it because, as I heard the other morning, LOVE must be in all we do and say? – probably both.

At the beginning of 1 Corinthians 13 we read the very familiar words: ‘If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.’                                                                                                                                                  
We go on to read, ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.’ And I would like to add ‘love asks us to be real, to accept our and others’ mistakes, to say sorry and give forgiveness, to have fun and be loud, to do hugs and to be family to others.’

Now, no one wants to be a clanging cymbal or a resounding gong, so let’s get out there, let’s meet our neighbours, lets draw them into the love of God, let’s be real and let’s extend our families with LOVE.

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

We do hope this finds you well as we navigate through these challenging, and sometimes confusing, days.

We are very thankful to God for being able to be open since the beginning of June and the feedback has been wholeheartedly positive. It has been lovely to watch how God has gently worked in people’s lives.

We are now readying ourselves for Summerfest with reduced numbers yet open to all that God has for us and hopefully with plenty of fun and laughter!

Our livestreamed Evening Prayer services will resume this coming Wednesday 4^th August at 4:30pm and they will continue through Summerfest.

We are delighted to say that the new Programme will be released today. It covers events through to February 2022 and we are very pleased with the variety of events and speakers you have to choose from. You can obviously find it on the website, and those of you who signed up for a paper copy will have one coming through your letter box.

The Programme is not as full as it has been in the past as this reflects the size of the Community, which remains small, but also the desire to care for our guests and Community as we continue to navigate through the Pandemic. We look forward so much to welcoming you again through our doors.

We still long for new Community members so would you continue to pray for us and spread the word. Thank you! Details of how to join Community are on our website.

Below is Di’s reflection on Friendship. Enjoy!

Diane writes:

Do you remember playing with your shadow? I still enjoy playing shadows with our grandchildren, and I particularly enjoy those shadows that make me look tall and willowy. 

I first met Cathy in 1975 when I started my SRN training at Charing Cross Hospital. Since then we have remained firm friends. This week we met Cathy and her husband for the first time in 18 months at Nostell Priory. In many ways nothing had changed, we looked much the same, yet so much had changed and not just due to COVID but also because life goes on regardless. We stood for a while just ‘being’ together, no words, no action, just being close.

Later as we stood on a bridge I saw our shadows – a good photo opportunity perhaps?  I took the photo, rather hurriedly before we moved on, using my phone – oh how I miss holding the old camera up to my eye! Anyway, the shadows began to represent our friendship.  You see shadows are always there whether we can see them or not, as are good friends. The weather being extremely hot found us seeking out shaded areas to provide relief from the direct heat of the sun. The shadows of the trees provided a cool place to rest and as we sat and talked I began to think about Psalm 91 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”  Later I read that the word “dwell” means, “to take up permanent residence in.” The psalmist is reminding us to stay in God’s presence. Ephesians also reminds us that God is constructing a new Temple, a Temple not of stones, arches or pillars but of human beings because God seeks to make his home in the hearts, lives and communities of his people. And if that is the case whatever each day brings we can “rest” in the very “shadow (the very presence) of the Almighty.”   

Our daughter Ruth is watching once again the sitcom Friends. Friends is a 90’s Comedy TV show, based in Manhattan, about 6 friends who go through just about every life experience imaginable together; love, marriage, divorce, children, heartbreaks, fights, new jobs and job losses and all sorts of drama. The show starts off with each character in their 20’s, and expands over a 10 year period, as each character tries to find happiness, success and what the true meaning of a “friend” really is. What they discovered can be seen in a few short quotes from the programme

Friendship is another word for love. – …

It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. – …

The only way to have a friend is to be one. – …

A friend is what the heart needs all the time. – …

The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it. –

Just recently two very different friends have responded to two very different concerns, both have encouraged me to rest in God’s presence, to trust, to have hope. Both have blessed me more than they will ever know. Their shadows have been long, they have supported me from afar. Our friendships are secure. Our friends whether present in person or in shadow, whether new or old, will often help us to ‘rest in the shadow of the most high’, if would only we let them!

I’ll finish with a tweet from Conversation UN Women: ‘On Friendship Day (30^th July), and every day, let’s support each other, lean on each other, believe in each other & encourage each other.’

With love and prayers from

Phil, Di and the Scargill Community

This comes with much love and prayers to you all as we move into Holy Week, journeying with Jesus to the Cross and then to the wonder and joy of his Resurrection on Easter Day. We pray that during this disorientating and difficult time we will all know the joy of the Risen Lord amongst us.

Please do check out our website for our Holy Week reflections and other livestreamed Easter events, if you would like to journey with us. On the website there is also information of events for Families and Young people, including a cook-along!

We will be having our usual Tea Party on Tuesday 30^th March, and a special Tea Party on Easter Sunday 4^th April – both from 3:30pm on Facebooklive.

The week beginning 5^th April, the whole Community will be having a week of holiday therefore the Office will be closed during this time and re-open on Monday 12^th April.

On the website you will see some post-Easter events for you to book onto: with Bridget and Adrian Plass; and (Zooming in from Sweden) we have Anna and Andreas Andersson. There is also an Enneagram 1 course (available to book now) led by Margi and Di, and on 24^th April there will be a Zoom Quiet Day (watch out for further details to be released).

Here is Di’s Holy Week reflection on washing feet – enjoy!

Diane writes:

Over the last year in my reflections, I have written a number of words and included many paintings and poems but today I leave the words to a woodblock by Sadao Watanabe called, ‘Christ Washing the Feet of St. Peter’ and a poem entitled, ‘I Wash Your Feet Just Because’. Both surprised and challenged me – in a good way! I hope they will do the same for you.

This woodblock is said to be one of his best and reminds me of mediaeval book illuminations. The print, with its ‘harmony of colours’ has been described as ‘a bold and impressive rendering of John 13:6-11’. The strong lines, the elongated hands, fingers and toes plus the large eyes of Jesus highlight the importance of this symbolic act.  For me, the surprise is the hovering Holy Spirit up in the corner – is Jesus being honoured and blessed as he honours and blesses others. I’ll leave you to find the surprise in the poem.

I WASH YOUR FEET JUST BECAUSE                                                                             
In the middle of the meal –
not when they came in the door
not before the meal –
but in the middle of the meal
 
Jesus fell on his knees
and washed their feet,
not even looking up
to see which foot goes with which face!
He washed them all, one by one.
 
He washes the feet of all of us,
believers and unbelievers,
old and young,
saints and sinners,
women and men,
rulers and ruled,
rich and poor,
filled and hungry,
dressed and naked.
 
Can it be possible that Jesus washed                  
The feet not because they were dirty
but just because …
 
”I want to wash your feet                                          
because I want to wash your feet.
For no other reason except
that I love you.”
  
[Author unknown, seen on A-MUSED]
 
We pray you have a blessed Easter.   
With love and prayers

Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community  

So what should be a Christian view towards the strangers and those who come into our midst? Have we something positive to add to this debate? In the Old Testament we get some commands from God himself who in my understanding should not be messed with! In Leviticus 19 it says that we should treat the foreigner as if they were a native born Israelite, and love them as we love ourselves.  It also says in Deuteronomy, “you shall love the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” And in the New Testament St Paul in Romans speaks about extending “hospitality to strangers”. And of course, Jesus, as well as many other Biblical heroes, was a refugee, displaced and living in exile.

I wouldn’t want to be a politician, what a nightmare job, but it does seem clear to me that treating immigration with a hardened heart, indifference and resentment is not the way forward. There does needs to be fairness for all, and understanding that is peppered with a great deal more compassion.

The rhetoric such as ‘let’s get tough…’ and a hardened attitude I feel is motivated out of fear. For when we are fearful, walls go up, our lives shrink in every way and we become less open to those around us. Someone said that “fear is the darkroom where Satan develops our negatives” and the media feeds our fears until there is no room left to welcome the stranger. St John reminds us in his letter it is that perfect love that casts out fear. We live by a different attitude.

So Christians have a prophetic voice, a different message to what we are reading in our newspapers. A message that is based on fairness and compassion but also honours the stranger among us. I wonder what honouring the stranger would look like in our churches and communities?

Not that we have got it sorted here at Scargill, far from it, we are a work in progress. Our Community Promises say, that with the help of God, and with the guidance and encouragement from one another we will try our very best “to welcome the stranger as we would welcome Jesus himself, putting their needs before ours and treating each one as a royal guest.” It is deeply challenging!

St Paul puts it succinctly again in Romans – “Welcome one another, then, just as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God”. Christians are working from a different script from the loud, fearful rhetoric that we often hear around us.

This week Scargill’s Director Phil Stone is thinking about the generous love of God.

Those of you who follow the Anglican lectionary will know that today’s gospel reading was The Wedding at Cana. I love this story. It must have been wonderful to taste the wine that Jesus made. Think of the best red wine you have ever drunk and imagine something even better than that! This miracle of water into wine speaks of the God who wants to transform, and the God who does so generously. At Scargill we are all about ‘Lives shared – lives transformed’ with Jesus right at the heart, it is central to our walk with God this acknowledgement that our lives need to be changed. This is a life-long process.

This miracle is about generosity. Those 6 stone jars that are mentioned, we are told, hold 20 to 30 gallons of water. That is a lot of water to be turned into wine. In fact I worked it out that it was approximately 900 bottles – how crazy and how intoxicating! One could sensibly argue that Jesus was being very irresponsible and way over the top. And yet we read that this miracle was the arch sign that revealed his glory. What is thrilling and exciting is that it is this generous love that we get caught up in and are called to give away. A generous God prompts and calls us to be a generous people, generous with our love, forgiveness and our lives. So what might this look like? Well – it might be giving someone some quality time, sharing a meal, an act of kindness or a phone call to a forgotten friend. It could be treating your work colleagues (those you like and those you don’t) to a bag of jam doughnuts and some quality coffee (that would make my day!).

As the wine is poured out at that wedding, enriching the lives of the people, so we too are poured out to be a generous offering to the communities where we live to be a sign of God’s Kingdom.

And talking of glory, just last week we had some glory at Scargill. As the sun was setting I managed to take this picture of the chapel reflecting the sun off its windows – I love this photo, it reminded me as I have been writing this how we are called to reflect God’s generous love to all those around us. I reckon this could be very transforming…

For more details of events and holidays taking place at Scargill check out the programme here which now goes up to December 2013.