01 Oct September 2026 Digest
Welcome back to Mucknell Abbey, and another chance to see what we’ve been getting up to. As the year turns, we’ve all noticed the change in the weather, the slight nip of autumn as September gives way to October. We’ve been harvesting more produce from the kitchen garden and orchard, enjoying the bounty of the natural world. Things are definitely slowing down on that front, however, which gives us a bit of time and space to start work on things like jams, chutneys and pickles…and blog writing, of course!
A New Novice!
It was with great delight that Abbot Thomas clothed our Alongsider, Jem, as a novice on 3rd September. The clothing took place before Vespers, and following Vespers and our usual Thursday silent prayer, we had a few drinks and nibbles to celebrate. Sibling Jem has been getting used to their new habit in their usual quiet way; please do pray for them as their journey and discernment continues.
Inter-novitiate Study
A little later on in the month, Br. Cassian, Sib. Jem and Andrew, our Alongsider, attended an Internovitiate study week in and around Oxford, led by the wonderful Dr. Petà Dunstan. They explored the re-founding of Religious Life in the Church of England in the 19th Century, visiting among other locations the grave of Marion Hughes, the first person to take Religious vows in England since the Reformation, Pusey House and Ascot Priory, home to Mother Lydia Sellon and her Society of the Most Holy Trinity. A great time was had by all, and as well as the history there was chance to spend time with novices, postulants and alongsiders from other communities too.
Estate Work
On the Estate this month, we’ve been fortunate to have David here laying a hedge on our Eastern boundary. He’s previously worked on the southern boundary hedge, as well as some of our coppices, and it’s been great to have him back practising his craft. I was only dimly aware of hedge-laying as a ‘thing’ before joining the Abbey, and having now seen several examples of laid hedges in situ, they really are works of art, as well as being a very functional and useful tool in our land management.
Wychavon Town
As those familiar with the Abbey will know, there are plans in place to build a new town on much of the land surrounding the Abbey; the proposals are phased but there will eventually be 10,000 homes spread over 5 neighbourhoods, including several new primary and secondary schools, a new health centre, and a town centre near to Worcestershire Parkway Station. We’ve been taking part in various meetings around this for several years now, and generally feel that we are being listened to and taken seriously. The developers see the Abbey as an asset to the town and the local area, rather than a nuisance, and are taking care with what is planned to be built nearest our boundaries. This varies between community orchard and allotment space, low density housing and, on our eastern boundary, a new country park.
Timings are, as ever, unpredictable; one ongoing issue concerns waste water and sewage capacity in the area. For more information about the development, there is now a website: Wychavon Town.
Rocky’s Roamings
Rocky has been stretching his legs a bit further than usual in the last few weeks; on a few occasions we’ve found him curled up on a chair in our sitting room, and one morning he was meowing outside the sitting room door asking to be let in. He is, of course, reluctant to hang around once people start appearing, but I did manage to get a couple of photos of him under a table in there, and then using his scratching post; this lives permanently in the sitting room to avoid him sharpening his claws on the furniture!
And finally…
As we journey into the autumn, many churches and communities will be celebrating their Harvest Festivals, a reminder of all that we owe to the land and to those who work it, and an opportunity to express our gratitude both to them and to God, as creator of all. I hope and pray that we might make gratitude more of a habit as we see the beauty of autumn around us, and that this gratitude will in turn draw us deeper into God and deeper into love for God and for all of creation.