01 Nov October 2024 Digest
Welcome back to Mucknell Abbey, where we feel very much in autumn, as the leaves begin to change colour and the nights to lengthen. Most of the harvest is now gathered in, although we are still very much enjoying our own apples, carefully picked each week by Br. Adrian. Our pear harvest has not been so great this year, but we did enjoy some lovely poached pears for lunch recently, as one of the trees of cooking pears had fruited quite well. We’ve also been grateful for the help some of our guests have been able to give recently, including work on the estate, in the kitchen garden, and in preparing fruit for the freezer.
Community News
It’s been lovely to welcome Michael, who joined us on Tuesday 8th October as an Alongsider, having moved down from Cumbria. He’s been a frequent guest over the past couple of years, and we have particularly valued his great enthusiasm for all manner of outdoor work. We look forward to sampling the fruits of his marmalade making skills in due course!
Just before this, on Sunday 6th, I (Sr. Jessica) was elected to Life Vows; the service of profession itself will take place in mid-December. It’s an exciting and daunting time, in fairly equal measure. Both I and the Community welcome your prayers as we prepare.
Cleaning up
If you’ve visited the Abbey recently, you may have noticed the rather unsightly red stains on the west wall of the Oratory. They’ve been there for a good little while now, and recently Br. Jonny was able to consult with someone ‘in the know’, who diagnosed the problem as being a type of algae, and advised on what product would remove it. Br. Jonny and Br. Michaël spent an entertaining hour or so with various chemicals and the pressure washer, and as you can see from the ‘after’ photo, it’s definitely been effective. There are still a few grey-ish marks; this is apparently a type of fungus which lives under the algae, i.e. in the dark. Once exposed to sunlight, these marks too should fade.
Eco-service
On Sunday 13th, I was delighted to join with the local Methodist churches for their annual Eco-Service, held this year at Bromyard Rd Methodist Church in Worcester. I shared some insights from my experience of living here at Mucknell, and how ‘reading the book of nature’, seeking the presence of God in the world around us, has shaped my prayer in this place. Before the service, we had a chance to explore the new garden area at the church, created over the past couple of years. Many of us particularly noticed the ‘bug house’, put together with the help of some of the Junior Church members; they were very keen that it include an access ramp so that all bugs were able to find a snug place to stay!
As part of my talk, I shared about what we have done at Mucknell to improve the biodiversity of our land; this was powerfully illustrated by two satellite images taken from Google Earth, one from 2007 (we moved in here in 2010), and one from this year. On each image, the blue circle marks the old oak tree.
Rocky’s Corner
We have continued to catch glimpses of Rocky here and there; he’s been fairly regular in turning up for breakfast and supper, but I confess that I haven’t quite managed to get any photos of him this month. Rocky is clearly feeling gradually more at ease with us; recently when Br. Philip was feeding him, he bent down to pick up Rocky’s bowl, whereupon said cat used Philip’s back as a springboard as he jumped up onto the counter!
And finally…
In the eco-service mentioned above, I spoke about how I had noticed the various tracks and trails made by all the many creatures we share our estate with; these remind me that, whatever the property deeds may say, we are far from the only residents of these 40 acres we’re blessed to call home. In seeing these tracks and trails, I’m also reminded to keep alert for the ways of God, which are not (often) our ways – the animals go where they will, regardless of our neat and tidy mown paths. As we move into autumn and winter, I pray that we may all stay alert to the signs of God in the world around us..