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Barrie
Hutchinson is the Director of the St Cuthbert’s Centre on Lindisfarne,
and reflects on the meeting between power and prayer
Lindisfarne: a
lovely sounding name, with its mix of the Celtic and Old English. The
Normans gave it a Latin name - Insula Sacra, The Holy Island, the island
of the Saints, home to Aidan and Cuthbert and at one time the centre of
a Golden Age of learning, religion and spirituality. Set about a mile
off the Northumbrian coast, opposite the solid defences of Bamburgh
Castle, it becomes an island twice a day as the tide covers the mile and
a half-long causeway. But every year, at Easter, it is the final
destination for pilgrims walking across the ancient kingdom of
Northumbria. Called “Northern Cross”, the pilgrimage is organised in
four “legs”. Walking from Carlisle and Lanark in the west, Haddington in
the north and Bellingham in the south, they take six or seven days to
reach Holy Island, each “leg” carrying a large wooden cross. They meet
on Good Friday morning and cross the sands to the island to witness and
celebrate Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. They learn, as all
true pilgrims do, to know themselves, their fellow pilgrims and the
people who help them as they travel. And as they travel they pray, sing
and share worship and hospitality. The Holy Island has been a focus of
pilgrimage for 1600 years, and the old path across the tidal sands,
marked by a line of posts, is known as the Pilgrims’ Way. The Saints of
Northumbria, the spirits of Aidan, Cuthbert, Bede and Oswald, still call
the pilgrims home as they did in their lifetime. The loneliness and
isolation of the place still seem to meet our need for simplicity and
personal space.
retreats
It has become a
place for retreat and prayer. When the day trippers have gone back along
the causeway and the incoming tide has isolated it from the mainland, an
extraordinary stillness descends and the late afternoon light seems to
glow and shimmer on the water. That is when you begin to feel the sense
of the holy which is the particular gift of this sacred space.
Retreats have
become fashionable. The monastery which was the location for one recent
television series had 10,000 inquiries on its website after the
broadcast and it is no accident that the most famous drying-out and
rehabilitation centre is called The Priory. Holy Island has its retreats
too, but they have a modesty about them which puts them out of the reach
of the fashion-conscious.
The community of
Aidan and Hilda runs the Open Gate Retreats, focusing on Celtic
Spirituality, either in public or personally guided retreats led by Revd
Graham Booth, Dr Ruth Booth and Revd Ray Simpson.
st cuthbert’s
centre
The United
Reformed Church has The St Cuthbert’s Centre, whose Director is Revd
Barrie Hutchinson. He explains their place, purpose and facilities:
“The St
Cuthbert’s Centre (formerly, the St Cuthbert’s Holy Island Project) was
developed during the nineteen nineties within the Island’s 19th century
Presbyterian ‘St.Cuthbert’s Church’. The Centre is surrounded by
pleasant paths and herbaceous borders under gothic arches, sheltered by
ivy and other garden climbers. Statuary by Jean Parker forms an
attractive garden feature. The gardens and the centre are accessible to
wheel-chair users and we have a disabled toilet inside the main hall.
Basing our
ministry upon the Christian qualities in the life of St Cuthbert we
offer to Islanders and visitors a modern, well equipped Centre in which
to meet for worship and fellowship, prayer and sacrament. There is a
light, attractive, multipurpose hall, seating up to 45, easily
convertible from a sanctuary into a workshop area or somewhere to share
food. A spacious gallery is suitable for small group work, and the Old
Boiler House Chapel is a very special place for reflection, meditation
and prayer.
In addition, we
have The Bothy, converted from the former vestry at the side of the
Centre. It is a small unit with living room, bedroom and showroom. There
are two ways of using it, both of which are self-catering: you can stay
free of charge in exchange for stewarding the Centre for five hours each
day, or you can stay for a small fee of £15.00 per night if you wish to
make an “Individually Guided Retreat.”
prayer and
action
Barrie Hutchinson
does not see retreats as a withdrawal from life or Holy Island as a
place where you escape from reality. Aidan and Cuthbert were not
escapists. They were leaders, powerful, spiritual and practical and the
world of Northumbria, including its King, came to their sanctuary for
advice, support and inspiration.
Barrie believes
that prayer and action are inseparable:
“Sometimes people
seem to believe that we need to make a choice between developing a more
reflective, contemplative kind of prayer life and a Christian life of
social activity, for example on behalf of the poor, or the refugees
amongst us or in political circles. Sanctity can then be seen as
residing in either those who do the ‘good works’ or in those who spend
many hours in isolated prayer”. However, the reality is that if our
prayer life is truly leading us deeper into God and thus making us more
like God’s Son, then God will be directing us to be more deeply and more
positively involved in the world around us. Jesus himself depended upon
his times alone with God to direct and empower his activity in his world
and his relationships with all he came into contact with. And the
political activity of the ancient prophets grew out of time spent
listening to God and in responding to the call of God which they heard
through those times.
When we make
prayer life subservient to social action, or if social involvement
replaces a deepening prayer life, then all activity is in greater danger
of becoming less focused, less effective and is more subject to the
whims of political and social theories which may not necessarily reflect
Gospel priorities. On the other hand if we use any form of spiritual
devotion only to escape from the realities of life then we end up in
denial, futility and selfishness. The best and most rewarding (and dare
I say Godly?) retreats, for example, are usually those which end up
developing the character of the retreatant and positively altering their
behaviour in the world.
Trying to
maintain a healthy balance between prayer and action is not easy, partly
because that balance is different for each of us; we almost always err
on one side or the other - but in recognising the need we make it more
possible to avoid some of the pitfalls. “But aren’t there also”, I hear
you ask, “those people who are called purely to a life of prayer on
behalf of the world?” Surely not?
Barrie
Hutchinson is the director of the St Cuthbert’s Centre
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LINKS:
Reform
The Pilgrims' Way
Norman Priory Ruins
St Aidan
St Cuthbert's Centre
The Harbour
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