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

It was Mary Oliver the poet who wrote ‘attention is the beginning of devotion’ in her collection of essays, Upstream: Selected Essays.[1] One of the things she does is say hello to individual trees, flowers, butterflies, because she knows them as friends. She has walked by them many times. She names them as well. This seems to echo St. Francis when he says hello to Sister Moon and Brother Sun. I think this recognizing and naming is the beginning of devotion, being attentive to the creation all around us.

Many of us are devoted to Scargill, something here has caught and retained our attention. Perhaps, we have had an epiphany, a moment of meeting with God, an experience of wonder. Wonder is a form of attention, sometimes something captures our attention, occasionally we train ourselves to wonder at even the most ordinary of things.

Next time you visit us say hello to your favourite bench, or view or tree. Find out its name or give it a name with the same sense of wonder creatures must have been named in the Garden of Eden. The estate bears repeated considerations of its beauty.

Devotion is an interesting word, and although it is used less and less in literature it is an important word. We should reclaim it. It implies loyalty, selflessness and an act of consistent attention toward something. Originally it had the strength of making a vow or promise. I have seen devotion in the community, devotion amongst working friends, devotion from guests. One thing I have noticed is that this devotion is freely given, not begrudged. It doesn’t seem to come out of a sense of duty, but because somehow the place, the people have caught the attention of our heart.

[1] Mary Oliver, Upstream: Selected Essays (New York: Penguin, 2016), loc. 166 of 1669, Kindle.

We pray that you had a wonderful Easter Day.

We are glad to announce that the new Scargill Programme (covering new events both in-house and online from September 2023 to February 2024), combined with our latest Momentum magazine, will be available to book online from Monday 17th April (from after morning coffee) – please place booking requests via the website if possible, as our ‘phone lines will be busy. 

Our lovely Admin Team will be working their way through your requests in order, and will respond to specific requests as soon as they are able. We hope that you enjoy our new publication as you read,  browse and start to make plans to come to visit us. 

We very much value your prayers as also on Monday 17th April Phase 7 of our building work begins, the main focus being the Marsh Lounge.

In the Programme, there is one weekend that we would love to highlight – that is the Coronation Renew Refresh Restore weekend (Friday 5th to Sunday 7th May). We had a group booked for this weekend, that subsequently cancelled,  so that gives us an opportunity to open our doors to anyone who would like to come for a relaxing weekend – to watch the coronation, enjoy the Dales and share in the life of the Community. We would love to see you.

Here is a prayer that I wrote for a church weekend, which I have now adapted for us all:

Risen Lord Jesus,We bless you that you have come to bring us transforming life,Brimming over, generous, a life that cannot be contained.Come Holy Spirit and fill us afresh with this lifeSo that together we can live the love and compassion of the Father.We ask this in your glorious name. AmenWe look forward to welcoming you through our doors or seeing you online.

With much love and prayers

Phil, Di and the Scargill Community

Search for new Scargill TrusteesExciting opportunities are arising for you or people you know to join our group of trustees on Council. 
Most of you will know that the Trustees are legally responsible for Scargill and, with Phil (the Director) and the leadership team, set the strategic direction of Scargill. Trustees are not involved in the day to day operations except maybe as working friends. Over the next 6-9 months it is likely we will have at least 6 vacancies covering the following areas of skills we need: 

– Urban ministry

– Inclusion

– Environmental issues and planning towards zero carbon emissions 

– IT and Social Media

– Building maintenance and estate management  

We need to enhance our balance of gender and ethnic representation on the Council. 

So if you feel able to offer your skills in any of these areas and would like to be part of walking with God as he leads us through the next few years of life and ministry of Scargill – or if you can encourage others you know who might – please get in touch by sending a CV to the secretary of the Council Sheila Thompson (council.secretary@scargillmovement.org) outlining the areas you think you can best contribute.

Or email Phil (phil@scargillmovement.org) to arrange a phone conversation if you’d like to discuss it first!

We look forward to hearing from you!

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

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!

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.

So this January we are concerned about having enough sun screen rather than thinking of shovelling snow which has been our usual occupation at Scargill. It is nice and warm in Brisbane, and tomorrow we travel down to Sydney for a week. Such hardship!

With more time to reflect, one question I have been asking is how thirsty am I for God? King David has such a desire to know more of God in his life and in Psalm 63 he speaks of this yearning.

“God – you’re my God! I can’t get enough of you! I’ve worked up such hunger and thirst for God” (The Message)

Can’t quite remember when I last felt like that. One thing for sure though is that I would like to have David’s desire. The sentiment “I still haven’t found what I am looking for” resounds often deeply within me. St Paul in Ephesians 5:18 speaks about go on being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is constant asking and probably should be a daily discipline. For without the Holy Spirit I am stuffed (hope you like my profound theological vocabulary). How can I know Jesus, how can I have a blazing love for him? How can I be inwardly transformed and therefore a lively witness to all that Jesus is and all he has done in my life? Where do I get the desire to read scripture and hopefully make sense of it? Through the grace and love of God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Simon Ponsonby, who recently spoke at Scargill, speaks of how we settle for less, when there is so much more to experience and know of God. He quotes Billy Graham who says “the desperate need of the nation today is that men and women who profess Jesus be filled with the Spirit.”

Jesus says “let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.  As scripture has said, ‘out of the believers heart shall flow rivers of living waters.'” (John 7)

Come Lord Jesus pour out your Spirit on us today

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.