“Reconnecting to Divine in Nature”

This weekend I will be at Hilfield Friary attending a retreat entitled ‘Reconnecting to the Divine in Nature’, something I am very much looking forward to.

For those of you who don’t know, Hilfield Friary is a Franciscan house, situated near Dorchester in Dorset, belonging to an Anglican order of Franciscans. This is different from the, far older, Catholic order. The House was set up in 1921 and converted from a pre-existing boarding school on the site.

Originally, the brothers initiated work as a home of refuge. After the First World War, there were a large number of displaced ‘men of the road’, and the brothers aimed to restore the dignity of some of these men through shared work and brotherhood.

Hilfield is now a retreat centre, an environmental project that aims to demonstrate a Franciscan approach to working with the land, and a project promoting Peace and Social Justice, internationally. The community that lives and work here is unusual, being a hybrid of Brothers who have taken their vows, but also lay people who come and go, though some have been part of the community for many years. The decision to become a hybrid community in 2007 was radical, but has been highly successful, resulting in a vibrant community life, that is able to support an inclusive and inspiring ministry, as well as including vulnerable people.

A picture I took of a ewe and her lamb at Hilfield

The ‘Reconnecting to the Divine’ retreat I am on has four aims.

1. To help participants develop a deeper connection to and love for the sacredness of nature as an expression of the divine

2. To honestly face the environmental crisis with hope, courage and a sense of personal agency.

3. Become part of a wider movement for positive, regenerative change in our society

4. Learn to know, honour and protect mother earth, allowing all life to flourish.

They sound very similar to aims of Joy in Enough!

To learn more about Hilfield, click here.