Moving into the unknown as well as the known, wandering for the love of Christ (wondering for the love of Christ too) aware that our God is a God of surprises. Our life may involve pilgrimage and peregrinati in a physical sense and this is certainly part of our Community’s vision but for us all – the tide is in, the tide is out, the coracle is on the sea – speaks of the inner journey of faith expressed differently for all of us in obedience to the Spirit’s nudges. Mission is a mixture of going, staying, moving on, doing, being, excitement, mundane in the home and market place. Finding God at work in the everyday ordinariness of life as it is. Worship is all that we are and all that we do, both inside and outside the structures of the church. All of our lives is a search for God so that everything we are and everything we do is an offering of worship to God. Spirituality is the whole of our lives because it is not about doing but about being. So that whatever we ‘do’ – we do it as the person we are, our personhood (mind, emotions, body, spirit, will) is an integrated whole. This is our being – the same person going to work, cooking a meal, reading the Bible, mowing the lawn, shouting at the kids, saying our prayers, watching the TV, laughing, crying, bored, excited, angry, sad whatever – spirituality touches and influences every part of our lives and every part of our lives touches and influences our spirituality – the life of the whole person in relationship with God. Relationship is not static but dynamic, it is alive and growing, developing, ‘reaching out’ in a constant movement toward change and transformation. Not western filofax mentality of ‘every second counts’ in 100 mph living. Time was a sacred dimension and had to be used wisely and well. They understood that when God created time he made plenty of it. We all have all the time we need to do anything we want to do – the problem is not ‘I don’t have the time’ because we all (Prime Minister, Pope or pleb) have all the time there is – 24 hour day, 60 min hour etc. The problem is in what we truly value which of course can be see in our prioritising. Is there a Northumbria retreat house in Australia, like Nether Springs or the other Community Houses? Firstly to be available to God in the cell of our own heart when we can be turned towards Him, and seek His face; then to be available to others in a call to exercise hospitality, recognising that in welcoming others we honour and welcome the Christ Himself; then to be available to others through participation in His care and concern for them, by praying and interceding for their situations in the power of the Holy Spirit; then to be available for participation in mission of various kinds according to the calling and initiatives of the Spirit.

These retreats are for anyone interested in finding out more about Northumbria Community including those actively exploring admission to our Way for Living, who we refer to as Postulants. Community Introductions are usually held at the Nether Springs, our Mother House, over a weekend or during a four day mid-week gathering and run approximately bi-monthly. If this Compline is being used in a group setting the * notation indicates a change of reader; words in bold are said all together; words in bold italic are said by each person in turn; and + indicates where you might make the sign of the cross. Rather it has a central emphasis on ACSESIS = to live, which is relational and personal. It is the ‘come and see’ of John 1.43. It is seeking to be ‘at Home with Jesus’. It is asking the questions, ‘Who is it that you seek?’ and ‘How then shall we live?’ Shall we say Compline tonight?’ Compline is used in the Northumbria Community as an optional extra to the Daily Office, but brings a perfect end to the day. Many use it on a regular basis, usually just before retiring to bed. On retreats it can be used to bring time together to a close as the whole household goes into quiet until next morning. These prayers are not lengthy and can be offered in just a few minutes.

Family Week

A deep love of the Scriptures as God’s memory book of relationships and encounter. To listening & learning from the Scriptures, with both the prayerful reading of Lectio divina and studied research of the Bible encouraged. They had a great love of learning but it was a yearning for wisdom not necessarily knowledge. They had a wonderful balance and were known as Saints and Scholars. They wanted to learn how to live, how to follow Jesus as Lord as a way of life.

Magnus Magnussen put it well when he observed that Roman Clergy said ‘Do as I say and expected to be obeyed, the Celtic clergy said ‘Do as I do’ and hoped to be followed.’ That’s why Soulfriends were encouraged – Anam chara. I feel very drawn to the Northumbria Community. How can I pursue my interest and connection to the Community here in Australia? It was a “holy worldliness” to use Bonhoeffer’s phrase where a holistic approach to life was expressed daily in the real incarnational ordinariness of life as it is. There was no false divide between the sacred and secular. Where an integrated life, of body and soul, work and worship, wonder and ordinariness; prayer and life are the norm. A sacramental outlook that because it sees God in everything, encourages a reverence for God’s creation and a respect for the care of his world. An everyday spirituality of ordinariness accessible to all. Never anti –intellectual it was an earthed spirituality that met people where they were. People did not have to climb ecclesiastical walls or learn ‘holy God speak’ to encounter ‘a thin place.’

Creativity & Interests

To discover and explore our spirituality, our way of life is a journey. Not as is often depicted as a straight line from A to B but a maze of criss-crossed lines beginning at W or P or C and going via X and S. It is dynamic, moving, changing, often mundane and routine, often scary and uncertain and most of all messy. Mike Yaconelli put it well in stating that ”Spirituality is not a formula, it is not a test, it is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency, it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection, it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality, not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the One who is present in the tangled-ness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixed, it is about God being present in the mess of our unfixedness.” If you have young children, Compline can be used as bed-time prayers with them or over them, substituting the child’s or children’s names in the boxed sections whenever they cannot say the prayer for themselves. E.g. ‘In peace will Martha lie down, for it is You, O Lord, You alone who makes her to rest secure.’ New monasticism, as in any expression of Monasticism, stands in the wisdom tradition – which is not an accumulation of knowledge for its own sake, but a constant application to life actually lived. ‘A wise person does not gather and dispense insights, but rather has the heart to live those insights.’ Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9