Taking time to breathe

I have wanted to spend some time at Hilfield Friary for some time, and this was my chance to spend some time there. When I inquired all they had was the Tuesday to Thursday of this week in the time I had available. It was sooner than I hoped but took it. And I arranged my time in Cornwall to fit.

Hilfield is one of the roots of the Society of Saint Francis and particularity the brothers - the main Anglican/Episcopalian expression of vowed Franciscan orders. Today Hilfield Friary is a retreat centre that welcomes guests from all over the world to Dorset. The Franciscan brothers of SSF are joined by men and women—young and old, married and single—who together constitute the Hilfield Friary Community who share in a rhythm of daily prayer, look after the Friary land and buildings, and offer hospitality to guests and visitors. I had heard so much about this place from Br. Sam SSF who had been the Guardian for some time, and had been instrumental in its discernment of its vocation for promoting justice and reconciliation in a troubled world.  They proclaim a wise ecology in the face of our culture’s environmental foolishness. You can read more here.

I arrived in time for mid-day Eucharist and then a shared meal in the refectory. I was made to feel very welcome. I knew the now outgoing guardian - Br. Clark Berge, who I had met in 2007 at my first ministers provincial meeting at Little Portion Friary on Long Island, and then had reconnected several times during his time as Minister General. As an introvert I have always struggled in new social settings and had enjoyed my time alone pilgrimaging my way around Cornwall. But in these settings there is no avoiding talking to people, and they are well used to welcoming people like me. While I was there the Bishop came to install Br John as the new Guardian - as really interesting service. They use the service for installing a new vicar, complete with an oath of allegiance to the King, as a way of ensuring the Friary is given its place in church life.

After lunch Br. Hugh offered to show me and some other guests around some of the work they are doing to address climate change and make the place more sustainable, including their heating system and sourcing sustainably farmed wood chips, and retro-insulating the stone buildings on the outside. And he warned us about ticks and Lyme's disease. It was a delightfully wet start to my time, and I got a feel for the layout of the grounds. I took time to find the graveyard and to farewell Br. Kentigern John who had been guardian out here when I began as MP, and who died in 2019, and to Br. Colin Wilfred who had played an inspiring role in my life, and I enjoy using the SSF Daily Office book which he played such an important role in putting together.

These were wonderful days of resting, preparing for IPTOC, sorting out some of my photos and catching up on putting up Facebook pasts about Cornwall, and most importantly joining the rhythm of prayer that undergirds the life of this place. I usually struggle with silence, but was amazed at how easy it was to be silent and still for nearly 30minutes in the presence of others in their chapel. Although I knew it was coming I was surprised each time the Angelus was rung, and was never prepared. The words are in the Office book.  I was refreshed by the rhythm of prayer, food, people.

On the days I was there the timetable was:

07.00 Silent Prayer in Chapel

07.30 Morning Prayer

08.00 Breakfast (in silence)

08.45 Meeting for Community Members only in the Guest Common Room

10.15 Tea break in the Courtyard (even in the rain)

12.00 Midday Prayer and Eucharist

13.00 Lunch

16.30 Afternoon Tea in Refectory

17.15 Evening Prayer

19.00 Supper (in silence on Thursday)

20.00 Night Prayer

And one of the other gifts was meeting Br. Micael Christofer the MP for the European brothers (from Sweden) and Br. John, the new guardian at Hilfield, and Br. Laurence Hauje from PNG and Br. Francis from the Solomon Islands. This time helped me heal, and it helped me turn my attention to the next part of the pilgrimage - the Inter-Provincial Third Order Chapter with the Joint First Order Chapters, at High Leigh Conference Centre. But first - back to London