Thursday, December 4, 2014 (Nicholas Ferrar and Little Gidding)

Thursday, December 4, 2014 
(Nicholas Ferrar & the Community of Little Gidding)

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

 But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love. (1 Thessalonians 3:6)

Today’s reading, full of encouraging news about the state of the community of Thessalonian Jesus-followers, is complemented by our commemoration of Deacon Nicholas Ferrar and the Community of Little Gidding of which he was a part. 

Ferrar was a businessman working for the London Virginia Company. Things fell apart for the company, but this seems to have spurred Nicholas and his family to creative action. Within a year or so Ferrar, along with his mother Mary, and his extended family moved to Little Gidding, an area that had been abandoned since the Black Plague. The family lived simple lives of Christian faithfulness, serving the wider community and engaging in constant prayer. Each morning and evening the family gathered to pray. Throughout the day there was always at least one person praying in the chapel. 

In the mid 16th century Henry VIII had closed all of England’s monasteries. Formal religious communities would not make a comeback until the 19th century. But here in the middle of the 17th century we find this amazing experiment in Christian community. It seems so very Anglican: not many rules or structures; just a devotion to corporate and individual prayer. 

Both our Book of Common Prayer and Book of Alternative Services include prayers and even whole liturgies for use by families. Morning and Evening Prayer can also be said by families. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that this is uncommon. For a number of years I have been very interested in monasticism and other forms of Christian community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, inspired by both Anglican and Roman Catholic monasticism, and the Anabaptist Bruderhof community, oversaw the underground Confessing Church seminary like a monastery, in some ways. Christian Base Communities in South America are the loci of grassroots theology and service. And all over the world, neo-monastic groups are forming. These ‘intentional communities’ are usually ecumenical groups where people live or come together to support one another in their lives and faith journeys. Like Little Gidding, they are inspired by the monastic way of life, but are a little less rigid. 

For Christians Sunday, the day of the resurrection, has always been the important day to gather as a community. However, this emphasis on one day can lead us to compartmentalize our spiritual life, and separate it from our Monday to Saturday existences. Moreover, the way things are now, many people, especially younger folks, work on Sundays. So they don’t even have that day free for worship. My hope is that the Church, including our own Anglican Church, will find spiritual renewal through the rediscovery of regular prayer. Little Gidding has much to teach us on this. This could take lots of forms: 

• Gathering, maybe even with coffee and dessert at a parishioner’s home for evening prayer. 
• Opening our church doors through the week for the daily office, perhaps led by volunteers. It is a shame that our often quiet and beautiful worship spaces are often shut during the week, when they could serve as a place of contemplation and prayer for those who need it most.
• Seminarians, postulants, and the newly-ordained commissioned to oversee small residences near colleges and universities. I think a lot of parents (and maybe even some students!) might find such an arrangement appealing. I think these 'chaplains' would be a great help to students, especially those adjusting to post-secondary life. I see this being a dynamic, 'missional' ministry that could work to link up students with the wider Anglican community, through worship, social events, and mentorship. 
• Moving past our congregationalist preoccupations, and joining together with other churches in our neighbourhoods or in our deaneries for times of prayer. There are four Anglican churches in Kitchener. What if St. John’s held evening prayer on the first Thursday (or whatever day) of the month; St. Andrew’s the second; Holy Trinity the third; and St. George’s on the fourth? 
• A group of five or six members of a parish, attracted to the idea of praying together, commit to come together at a mutually convenient time -- in a church, home, or other location -- and spread the word. 

I hope to further explore these ideas, and hopefully turn these dreams into reality some day. I believe that prayer, and gathering together, especially for the Eucharist, need to be at the centre of our lives as Anglicans. If we want our (Anglican) Church/ (parish) church to survive, we need to come to an understanding of our faith as more than a thin religious layer of butter on top of the popcorn of the rest of our lives. Maybe if we put it at the core of our very being it will radiate outward into every area, every decision, every part of who we are. And maybe then people will notice us and want to know what we’re about. Maybe then our buildings will become vibrant and sustainable centres of mission and prayer. Remember, Little Gidding was deserted when the Ferrar family first moved in. God can work with humble beginnings. Little Gidding, and our scriptures, testify to this (a lot!). As we begin this new Church year and soon enter into a new secular year, I hope that as a community we take advantage of the many different opportunities that exist at St. John's to come together in prayer and service. 

- Matthew Kieswetter

Also of interest: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/pages/chemin-neuf-at-lambeth-palace-.html