Reflections on Northumbria: Part I

Today, I am taking vulnerability very seriously. I have recently returned from a two plus weeks pilgrimage to England, but on returning, we got into a tangle with weather related issues so that instead of being home on Friday evening, we finally made it back on Monday afternoon. I'll spare my readers the details of storms and cancelled flights, but the end result is that I got exhausted, and so now I am sick. I went to the doctor yesterday with asthmatic wheezing and a fever. Now I'm sitting in the recliner resting, and I am finding myself experiencing vulnerability because I think I could be doing so many other things. Yet, sitting still, resting, and taking the opportunity to listen to God while taking the advice of my health professional is the only thing really necessary.

While attending an introductory retreat at the Northumbria Community June 11-15, I learned that vulnerability can be a lifestyle. Intentional vulnerability includes being teachable, and it includes spending time alone with God. So, today, I picked up Celtic Daily Prayer and said the morning office at 6 a.m. I would have gotten around to the saying the office at some point, but beginning my day with prayer, knowing I needed to just sit and be for a while was a much better approach than something a little more random.

The stop at Nether Springs was the second one on the pilgrimage made with my husband, Michael, and close friend, Pam. We met up with two other good friends, Bill and Jeri in Edinburgh. They live in Europe part time, but when they are in the States, they worship with us in our house church. The five of us spent the four days with community members and other guests as we explored the rule of the community: availability and vulnerability. Being available to God and to others seems simple enough, but in retrospect, I now believe it takes a lifetime to learn how to "be" this way. All the while one is learning availability, one is, in fact being available.

As a trained spiritual friend (or anamcara, if you will), I have made it part of my own rule of life to practice openness and hospitality toward others on the journey. That's part of being vulnerable--and it's an important aspect when the other is seeking that place where he or she can be honest and hopeful that someone is listening. That's part my understanding of the rule and the experience of the Northumbria Community. I felt like I was listened to when I spoke to a particular community member. And I want that for people who come to me to talk as well.

I am particularly touched by the rhythm of the community that is expressed in the rule. The rule embraces both silence and service; being alone with God and being available for hospitality; being comfortable in both the cell of one's heart and coracle when sent out on mission. It's the best expression of contemplation and action that I've ever run into either in community life or in the literature of spirituality. I think so often in modern churches, we are either focused on being spiritual and attend Bible studies and classes on religious topics OR we are mission-oriented and volunteer countless hours serving in soup kitchens or shelters of one kind or another. The Rule expresses a balance. It expects one to be present to God and present to others. As Celtic Daily Prayer says, living this way "is not something to be entered into lightly!"

A prayer attributed to St. Aidan sums up these thoughts, I believe:

Leave me alone with God
as much as may be,
As the tide draws the waters
close in upon the shore
make me an island, set apart,
alone with You, God
holy to you.

Then with the turning of the tide,
prepare me to carry
Your presence
to the busy world beyond,
the world that rushes in on me
till the waters come again
and fold me back to You.
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Photograph by Margie Nea