What is a ‘living sacrifice’? (See Romans 12). Those who first read the letter to the Romans may have been used to sacrificing animals, so the idea of a living sacrifice must have felt very strange. How can you sacrifice something that stays alive? Moreover, given that it refers to our bodies, how can you sacrifice something that you are keeping? Did it come as a completely new idea, or was it a concept that was more current among the early Christians? If you’re looking for s

It would be very easy to assume that Sr Ethel was Irish; she was born in Ireland, as was her father, William Henry Johnston. However, William spent most of his adult life in England, and Sr Ethel seems to have spent very little time in Ireland. Moreover, Ethel’s mother, Fanny Lewis Johnston, was English. Her father, Rev Edmund Antrobus, was for some years curate in Acton, Middlesex; his wife, Frances Margaret Antrobus, was from Northumberland, where her father, Prideaux John

It was an informal meal, where the Sisters each took their food into the dining room, sitting wherever they chose. The meal was silent, but, for those who have experienced it, a silent meal can bring people closer. It was still, very much, a Community time. So why, on this occasion, did one of the Sisters choose to isolate herself? Rather than sitting on the same table as the others, she took herself off and had her meal on a separate table on her own. It was deliberate avoid

We believe in a God of Love; we exist in a world where division and hatred seem to be becoming part of our culture. How do we reconcile...

How does a woman whose family seem very focussed on Leominster, in Herefordshire, end up at a Convent in rural Norfolk? The answer to this question is lost in the midst of time, although, to be fair, few of her siblings seem to have remained in Leominster. But this was where Sarah Louisa Daggs, one of the younger daughters of William and Elizabeth Daggs, grew up; William was a banker, who also had links to one of the local rail companies. I think he and Elizabeth had eight ch

Have you noticed how many of Paul’s letters begin with giving thanks? It’s not all of them, but many start this way; often it is Paul...

There is much to learn when you join a Religious Community; one of the most important is where and when you should be silent. Places and...

Our lives are so much more than the bare facts, which is something that can be most frustrating when researching past Sisters. Take Sr Rosamund, for instance (the first of that name, for those who have known the Community for a while!). I know plenty of information about her: I know something of what she did, and where she lived, but none of that tells me who she was. I have just one line from the Community Diary: “She was the most beloved Sister in the Community”. That is a

Standing at a place of deep history, surrounded by Sand Martins: swooping, diving, fluttering, darting, speeding along above the...

While I have researched many of our past Sisters, and some of those adults who had links with us, in order to give a rounded picture of our Community, it also involves those we worked with. This is a more sensitive area, as I know the Community at the time would do all they could to protect them, and their backgrounds. In telling this story of one of the residents at the House of Mercy, I will only use initials as it feels important to shield her identity, and one of our earl

Peter was the rock, the one on whom Jesus would build his church; he was a leader among the disciples, one of only three to witness the Transfiguration; he was the one who declared that Jesus was the Christ. (See Matthew 16:13 – 17:13). Peter was also the one who got it wrong: he was rebuked by Jesus (Matthew 16:23), and he denied that he knew Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75). He had been warned that he would do this, but had not really believed that he would or could; he had fallen

There are times when I look at the information I have for a Sister and wonder if it is correct. Sr Elizabeth, the second person to take that name, is a case in point. Born Elizabeth Davis, all the information I had for her family was under ‘Davies’, a subtle difference. Was this just a case of misspelling the name, had I got the wrong family or was it my mistake? Further research proved it to be my mistake. The census data definitely referred to ‘Davis’, but for some reason I

I wonder how many of you know that our original work was actually founded before the Community was? Our House of Mercy took in fallen women, trained them in domestic service as well as teaching them to live Christian lives. There were several of these institutions around in Victorian Britain; I know very little about their general history, but our own House of Mercy kept the girls for two years, before finding them a place in Service, if appropriate, and giving them a uniform

Were any of you ever the last to be chosen? School PE lessons were always one place where someone would be picked last. The two captains...

“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” ask the disciples in Matthew 18 (verses 1-4). At the last Supper, they actually argue over...

We’ve had several Sisters over the years who have used the name ‘Winifred’; two who have been simply Winifred as well as Sr Winifred Edith, Sr Winifred Jane and Sr Winifred Mary. Some of you may well remember Sr Winifred Edith, the second Sr Winifred and Sr Winifred Mary; for those of you who have never come across her, Sr Winifred Jane left. Today, I want to introduce you to the first Sr Winifred. Winifred Eleanor Grey Clarke was the oldest child of William and Sophia Clarke

As a Novice in the Community, my work was varied, depending on which Sister I was working with at the time. One of my memories is the frequent weeding of the herb garden, for which I had to learn to distinguish between herbs and weeds. A frequent offender was mare’s tail, I seem to remember. This brings to mind Jesus’ parable on the weeds and the wheat in Matthew 13 (verses 24-30, 36-43), which is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation. It can be easy to read

They were children, quarrelling. Some were playing weddings, but their companions would not rejoice; others were playing funerals, but their friends would not mourn. Jesus says that people responded in the same way, criticising John the Baptist because he was ascetic, living in the desert and eating frugally. Then, Jesus comes, eating and drinking – but do they listen? No, Jesus is a glutton and a drunkard, so say his critics (see Matthew 11:16-19). It strikes me how defended

Decent people did not associate with tax collectors and sinners, so when they joined Jesus for a meal, the pharisees were shocked, asked...

He was an occupier in a foreign land. Although, to be honest, he was not that important, merely one of the ruling forces, and was...