Finding Northumbria and Its People

Returning to the United Kingdom, I realized that I was in place that I shared the language. In France, I had become accustom to not understanding most of what people around me were saying.  This inability to understand has an isolating effect.  Now in Great Britain, though sometimes I had listen very closely due to regional accents, I do understand most of what is being said.  Yet, even with this ability to understand the language, I recognize I am still in a different culture.  The expressions folks use are different, and I just have not been here before.  Helen and I got a little lost for a bit on our way north.  We found our way to Lindisfarne and Northumbria, but not without some wrong turns and a bit of trepidation whether we were on the right road. Perhaps this is similar to how we travel through life, wondering if we are on the right road, especially when entering new territory.

As we came to Northumbria, all the big cathedrals, old abbeys, and impressive castles impress me. History seems present in the buildings I walk by in the streets of each city, town and village.  The old market town of Alnwick with its impressive old castle, village square, and old stone buildings is a case in point.  Helen and I stopped there on our way to the Northumbia Community. Traveling around the country it is so easy to feel like going from one set of old, sometimes ruined buildings to the next is what the traveler is invited to do. So when we arrived at Northumbria to find a tastefully done, newly remodeled facility, I think we knew something was different.

 

The staff at Nether Springs, as the place is named, meet us warmly.  We immediately met Kathryn, a Presbyterian Minister from Tennessee.  She helped us feel at home. Once we were settled in our rooms, we were invited us to take part in evening prayers. Then, after dinner the first night, one of the members of the community gave us an orientation to life at Nether Springs.  We were encouraged to take part in the life of the community particularly the prayer/worship offered four times daily:  Morning prayer at 9 a.m., Midday prayer at 12 noon, Evening prayer at 5:30 p.m. (except on Wednesday when a communion service is offered at 5 p.m.) and 9:30 p.m. for compline.  These worship/prayer times, or daily offices, punctuated our time at Northumbria in a way we only truly appreciated once we left.  The moments of silence, spoken prayer, read scripture, and sung liturgy stayed with us and reminded us of our time there and our relationship to such wonderful God.  As part of the morning office states,

 “One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life;
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek Him in His temple.”

 

Northumbria introduced us to the history of Celtic Christianity. Christianity came early to Ireland, perhaps in the 300’s.  Certainly by the mid-400s, monastic enclaves formed.  A rich history of Celtic Christians spreading across Ireland, then Scotland and Wales, connects these places to an unbroken thread of Christian practice and faith.  The Northumbria Community is a place that reflects an appreciation for this rich history, continues to practice a deep Christian spirituality and looks to the future and how to bring the joy of Christian faith and practice into the world. The leader of the residential community and one of the leaders of the dispersed community is Peter. Peter sat down with Helen and me to discuss what some call a new monasticism.  He suggests this new monastic approach wants to take the wisdom of the monastic tradition and use it today in Christian communities. Northumbria recognizes the monastic use of a rule of life as an important discipline.  Peter suggest we all have ways of understanding the world we use in our decision making each day.  In community, they decide on rule intentionally which then gives them a guide as a community to live out their faith together.  They talk about being alone and together as followers of Christ and sharing the rule of availability and vulnerability and this rule binds them together as a community. 

 

We felt fortunate to have ten days at Northumbria in which we experienced the rhythm of daily prayer, noticed the hospitality central to the community, and began new friendships with workers and retreatants. I experienced the wonder of the historic Christian community on Lindisfarne, the Holy Island, and at Northumbria the importance of the rhythms of prayer and relationships in a living community. We again found leaving the community to be hard and wished we could have had more time.  However, Helen needed to flight back for Ames graduation from Seattle University and we needed to move on to our next phase of this sabbatical journey.  I again think about how grateful I am for a congregation that so joyfully supported me on this journey. 

 

My thoughts and prayers are with each member and friend of the First Presbyterian Moscow.

Grace and Peace,

Norman