The Community

Community photo April 2018 — The Community (April 2018)

‘How good and pleasant it is when people live together in unity’

The Society of the Salutation of Mary the Virgin at Mucknell Abbey is an Anglican Benedictine community of monks and nuns based in Worcestershire.

We live a contemplative life under the Rule of St Benedict, our primary work being the Opus Dei, or the praise of God in liturgical worship. The community gather together seven times a day to say or chant the traditional monastic Office and to celebrate the Eucharist. The rest of our day is spent in work, study, private prayer, pastoral support, and in offering hospitality to those looking to share in our life here at Mucknell.

As a community we seek to respond openly to the challenge of a changing world and the promptings of the Spirit. Founded to pray for the Unity of the Church, we continue to be deeply committed to ecumenism. We also hope to witness to our unity in Christ through being, uniquely, a mixed community of women and men. In more recent times we have also sought to respond to the growing ecological crisis in our world with an on-going commitment to living sustainably.

Community pilgrimage to St Albans — The Community on pilgrimage to St Albans with Rev Berkeley Zych

Edible community — Marzipan community, featuring Br Philip and Bertie the cat

Who’s Who

The Community currently comprises seven members in Solemn Vows, three in Simple Vows, two Novices and an Alongsider.

Rt Rev’d Br Thomas (Abbot; elected 2017)

Very Rev’d Br Philip (Prior)

Rt Rev’d Br Stuart

Br Anthony

Rev’d Br Ian

Sr Sally

Rev’d Sr Alison (Novice Guardian)

Br Patrick

Br Michäel

Br Aidan

Br Adrian (Novice)

Sr Jessica (Novice)

Some Frequently Asked Questions…

What do you do all day?

Daily life in a Benedictine monastery is structured around prayer and work (Latin: ora et labora). Click here to see our Summer timetable.

What is your work?

Most of our daily work is made up of normal domestic tasks, only on a larger scale: laundry, cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. Members of the community are assigned tasks on a weekly rota. In addition to this most members of the Community have some specific, stable responsibilities, such as infirmarian, sacristan, beekeeper or webmaster. Click here for some random facts!

Are you a silent Order?

No, although our day is punctuated by formal periods of silence. Greater Silence, as it is called, runs from the end of Compline through to the end of Terce on the following day. There are also periods of lesser silence in the morning, mid-day and afternoon. Once a month we have a Quiet Day, in which the Community keeps a corporate silence throughout the day, and twice a year the Community has a silent retreat. But our aim is to maintain a quiet atmosphere throughout the day as an aid to developing a quiet mind – although these do not necessarily coincide!

Do you ever get out?

Most of our life together is spent on-site, but we are not enclosed. Members of the Community might be asked to lead a retreat or attend an outside meeting, and then there is the normal business of living: visiting the doctor or taking the car to the garage. We are also given one Rest Day a month, which can be spent outside the monastery, as well as an allowance of holidays.