Roy writes:

It was a triple blessing. Firstly, I grow deeper in my appreciation of the friendship with my Collective associates. They’re good friends in whose company it’s easy to be. We share, learn, laugh and enjoy each other’s company.

Secondly, I love Scargill, a community that I have had strong connections with over many years. The people, place, (the location in Upper Wharfdale is stunningly beautiful) the community’s welcome, hospitality, friendship, and working together with Scargill’s host team was also a great blessing.

And thirdly, the opportunity to share the fruits of our Collective aims of listening well, thinking deeply and living authentically with a full retreat of people, many of whose lives were deeply touched last week. It was a privilege and a blessing to be part of.

The diversity of people attending from different backgrounds, traditions and experiences life, each one engaging with the theme of contemplation in the midst of chaos.

Of many things that I take away is the memory of how people responded so positively to the insights that we shared but also by the way in which we shared together as a team. A short presentation by one of us was followed by a conversation among another two associates. Each one bringing their own perspective, sometimes different, contrasting perspectives. Modelled what disagreeing agreeably looks like and respecting and valuing the contributions each one made. That made a deep impact upon those we were listening and participating retreatants.

Another thing is the heightened sense that our aims of encouraging people to listen well, think deeply and live authentic are life-giving, not only for individuals but for their relationships with others, in their churches, workplaces and other spheres of influence and connections. 

So, I’ve come away from our time together, very grateful, triply blessed by the triune God. As we sang, in our morning liturgy introducing each teaching session, the Peruvian Gloria, – Glory to God… Glory to the Father, Son and Spirit.

And from Craig:

After decades of relative stability, we now find ourselves in the middle of an unpredictable and challenging era – but it seems important to me to recognise that much of the world rarely enjoyed the stability that we have taken for granted for most of our lifetime. 

As we ponder the meaning of the signs of these times I find myself especially grateful that the experiment we call the Northumbrian Collective came into being when it did. It is more important than ever that we reflect on how we can model the values embodied by Jesus in times such as these. For if we cannot learn how to become the people of God when the chips are down, I’m not sure what the hope that is the central core to our faith is all about.

Our retreat at Scargill was an attempt to listen to the Scriptures, to the Spirit, and to each other. The highlight for me was the opportunity I had in advance of the retreat to put into words thoughts that had been in my head for a number of years. Ever since I watched the powerful BBC documentary series The Century of the Self back in the early 2000s, the trajectory we are now on always seemed to be a distinct probability. The opportunity to craft an optional session based on my reflections, alongside a summary of Neil Postman’s book Amusing Ourselves to Death, brought me great satisfaction. The fact that some participants found it to be one of the highlights of our retreat, despite its challenging content, is a further challenge to me to think deeper still.

I love working with people who are different to me. And the opportunities we have had this year to interact with each other have been a real joy.