A still point in a turning world…

One of the (many) perks of being a minister is the expectation that we will spend a week each year on retreat…. indeed such is the expectation that many churches, including mine, contribute to the cost.

I was supposed to have the first week in January as for a retreat but my general inability to do anything well ahead of time meant that when I eventually got around to calling some retreat houses everywhere was full. As it turned out this was no bad thing as the weather being what it was there would have been little possibility of me getting there anyway.

Finally last week a combination of space in my diary, rapidly melting snow and spare beds at a retreat house saw me heading way up north to the mother house of the Northumbria Community.

I first came across the community at Greenbelt where they were running morning prayer in Soul Space. I fell in love with their liturgy and their community ethos and so welcomed this chance to go and experience it first hand. In fact so eager was I to go there that I must admit I turned up knowing little more than the title of the retreat “A still point in a turning world” – was there going to be organised sessions, guided prayer, spiritual direction?

The answer to that was no… what there was was the warmest of welcomes, evident in the pile of wellies, scarves, hats and gloves in the front hall available to be used by those daft enough to come to the wilds of Northumbria without and by the fact that there was always a kettle ready to boil on the aga in the kitchen.
what there was was the feeling of being totally at peace with the world. This house is really in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the most beautiful and rugged countryside. There are comfy sofa’s, roaring fires, companionship or solitude as desired, and a gentle rhythm of community prayer.

What there was was freedom to just be. There are no expectations, no requirements, no obligations, just the company of fellow travellers.

And most importantly what there was was the chance to just stop.
I am 99% of the time a total Martha, always busy, always having a to do list a mile long and always feeling guilty that I am not doing more. Indeed I went on retreat with a pile of theological books I “needed” to read and several projects that “needed” planning…. and you know what I didn’t do any of it. Instead I drank endless cups of tea, had long conversations with wise and generous members of the community, lost myself in the beauty of the Celtic liturgy spoken out in their beautiful wooden chapel in the woods and allowed myself time to just breath…. it truly was a still point in my turning world…

We often talk about thin places, those places where the veil between God and mankind seems almost transparent – The Northumbria community is most definitely one of those places, and I thank God that I had the chance to experience it.