Discovering the Spiritual History of North England

---

Last week I moved like a wandering vagabond up from London to Sheffield, where I stayed one night. From there I spent the weekend in Northumberland with the Northumbria Community and a small jaunt on Lindisfarne Island.

It's really cool travelling around places and hearing different people's stories of their locality. I stayed the night in Eastern Sheffield where the houses were apparently built during the Victorian era for factory workers. All the terraced housing is quite an eye-opener as it seems to stretch for miles. Looking at the skyline seems surreal - rows upon rows of identical architecture with their brick chimneys. Contrast this with NZ where a lot of homes have their own back gardens and are very separate to their neighbours.

The purpose of Sheffield visit was to have some talks with the Church Army research team. Whilst it was a productive meeting with wonderful food for thought, I think I left a tad more confused than when I arrived...

My stay with the Northumbria Community was pleasant, but not long enough to really get into their rhythm. I arrived on the Friday, left on Sunday after lunch and spent most of Saturday on Lindisfarne Island. It was a great opportunity to get a little feel for the North nonetheless. I'm thankful that the crazy man with a rifle in Northumbria town had been apprehended before I arrived. That would have put a bit of a dampner on my trip!

Lindisfarne Island aka Holy Island is supposed to be a "thin place" - where the distance between Heaven & Earth is small. Ok, that's nice. With swarms of sandflies in our faces & hair, I didn't quite feel that way! Nevertheless it's a beautiful place and I can see why the early monks retreated to certain parts of the Island to find solace. It's amazing to think that over 1000 years ago men & women of faith established bases on Lindisfarne and in Northern England which helped bring the gospel to much of Britain.

It's also fascinating to learn a bit more about Celtic Spirituality and it's natural flowing interaction with the natural and spiritual world. Will need to make another trip up to these parts I think!

---

Photos

Church Army HQ
Currently under renovations, so alas, I could not talk business in that building.

Duke of Darbyshire's home
The Duke of Darbyshire lives in Devonshire (or something?) i.e. Sheffield.

A moment of divine inspiration
We were in one holy garden on Lindisfarne. I decided to join in with the rest of the Nativity folks.

Northumbria - Hetton Hall
The stairway to my room. See the cross of St Cuthbert.

Good times
Cleaning up after a meal at Northumbria

New friends
Had some fascinating discussions with this couple over the weekend.

Comments

[arab bros]

Tour de Spiritual
Hey Jen, nice blog :) what's with the holy garden on Lindisfarne? p.s. nice hair style ;) - Mo

[Jenoz]

Re: Tour de Spiritual
Thanks Moe. It was a beautiful little garden with a bunch of carvings arranged like the nativity. I thought I'd add a bit more colour to it. Lol.