December 2020
1 December – I promised myself I wouldn’t be quite so tardy this month, so here we are: day one....
01/12/2020
‘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.
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 Jonathan (formerly Br Aidan)
Br Adrian
Sr Jessica (Novice)
Sr Gregory (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.
November 2020
On 8th November we celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of Br Stuart’s profession in monastic life. From the 10th to the...
07/11/2020
Covid-19: Our Response
2 November In light of the lockdown due to come into force in England on 5 November the Community regret...
30/10/2020
October 2020
Saturday 3rd October – From page one of Tolstoy’s Diaries, ed. by R.F Christian: ‘It is easier to produce ten...
03/10/2020
September 2020
Friday 4th – This piece of news strictly belongs in last month’s mlog (monastic blog), but I didn’t want it...
04/09/2020
August 2020
Tuesday, 4th – A few days ago Chapter voted in favour of allowing me to renew my Simple Vows for...
04/08/2020
July 2020
Sunday 5th – I thought I would share this extract from a homily on today’s gospel from John Chrysostom, which...
05/07/2020
June 2020
Above: The wagtail, which has recently been making an aviary of our greenhouse Trinity Sunday – There is so little...
06/06/2020
May 2020
Sunday 3rd – Our last mealtime book was Sr Joan Chittister’s Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, in which she reflects...
03/05/2020
Rumours of Hope
Press Release 31/03/20RUMOURS OF HOPE 2020: A VIGIL FOR OUR TIMES More than 50 priests, bishops, lay leaders and ordinands...
05/04/2020
Quiet Day: Friday 3rd April
The Community at Mucknell Abbey are inviting you to join with us at home in holding a Quiet Day on...
02/04/2020
April 2020
Thursday 2nd – We would like to express our deepest thanks to our greengrocer Ken from Pershore, who is going...
01/04/2020
March 2020
Sunday 1st – If you’re looking for a shot of pure gospel then go no further. Click here and download...
01/03/2020
Appeal for Hassan
The Community at Mucknell is asking for your support in helping one of the UK’s many asylum seekers. Hassan’s story...
14/02/2020
February 2020
Feast of the Presentation (Candlemas) – Candlemas, in which we remember the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple...
02/02/2020
January 2020
Wednesday 1st, Feast of the Naming of Jesus – A Happy (non-liturgical) New Year to you all. Today is the...
01/01/2020
December 2019
Wednesday 4th – Br Stuart sent me this reflection yesterday, which seems very appropriate for the start of our Advent...
04/12/2019
November 2019
Sunday 10th – I’m afraid I’ve been away again. So much for stability. In my unavoidable absence I’m sorry...
10/11/2019
October 2019
Welcome to October’s digest. As Br. Aidan is away for a couple of weeks, Sr. Jessica is looking after the...
06/10/2019
September 2019
Tuesday 3rd, Feast of St Gregory the Great – At a short ceremony during the Eucharist Br Patrick renewed...
01/09/2019
August 2019
Wednesday 8th, Feast of St Dominic – A week’s retreat and a stint as lunch cook hasn’t left much...
03/08/2019
July 2019
Tuesday 2nd – Lunch and supper cooks are being invited to ‘nab and squirrel’ the first fruits of the kitchen...
30/06/2019
June 2019
Saturday 1st – Yesterday, as part of our involvement in the Thy Kingdom Come call to prayer, we began using...
06/06/2019
Monthly Digest: May 2019
“The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love” –...
31/05/2019
Monthly Digest: April 2019
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song” – St. John Paul...
29/04/2019
Monthly Digest: March 2019
“Before I was humiliated I was like a stone that lies in deep mud, and he who is mighty came...
28/03/2019
Themed weekend retreats
Although we mostly provide for individual retreats, this year some of the brothers and sisters at Mucknell are offering four...
22/03/2019
Monthly Digest: February 2019
“Teach me, my God and King, In all things Thee to see, And what I do in anything To do...
27/02/2019
Monthly Digest: January 2019
A happy New Year to everyone reading this. Christmas already feels like a very distant memory, but celebrations went on...
28/01/2019
Monthly Digest: December 2018
A Happy Christmas to everyone – yes, it’s still Christmas! We hope you are having a joyful and peaceful holiday...
31/12/2018
Travel light this Christmas with Discovering Prayer
‘Travelling Light’ in the run up to Christmas Christmas can be a really stressful time. Many of us would like...
28/11/2018
Monthly Digest: November 2018
“So dull and dark are the November days. The lazy mist high up the evening curled, And now the morn...
26/11/2018
Monthly Digest: October 2018
The month began with our week-long Community Retreat. During this time the guesthouse is closed and we observe silence at...
30/10/2018
Br Stuart’s September Diary
When one of our guests recently asked a Sister “Where is Br Stuart?”, she answered “Who?” In recent weeks, it...
29/09/2018
Monthly Digest: September 2018
Good morning on this sunny Feast of St Michael and All Angels. Our patience-making internet connection notwithstanding, here is our...
29/09/2018
Monthly Digest: August 2018
In a simple rite of reception on 7th our Alongsider Jessica was clothed in the habit and became our latest...
28/08/2018
Monthly Digest: July 2018
Nothing hidden from its heat… It feels like it’s been a slow, quiet month here at Mucknell – not least...
28/07/2018
Monthly Digest: June 2018
We kicked off June with our patronal Feast of the Visitation. The Community was founded as the Society of the...
30/06/2018
Br Michaël on The Iconostasis Programme
A year ago exactly (well, more or less) I had the privilege of attending a week-long Icon course led by...
29/06/2018
New and Traditional Monasticism: A Dialogue
In March 2018 a small group of leaders of new monastic and emerging communities met with the Mucknell Abbey Community...
20/06/2018
Monthly Digest: May 2018
Br Michaël made his monthly trip to Canterbury for the third week of his icon writing course. On Monday...
30/05/2018
Monthly Digest: April 2018
After all the excitement of Easter the Community enjoyed a relaxing Octave together. Some of the highlights included a few late mornings...
26/04/2018
Remembering Sr Margaret Jarman (1932-2018)
A leading figure in the British Baptist Church and a close friend of Mucknell Abbey, Sr Margaret Jarman CPP BD...
16/04/2018
New Icon
Br Michäel has finished writing a new icon of St Benedict (pictured). The icon has been commissioned by St Mary’s...
29/03/2018
Monthly Digest: March 2018
At the February meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod a motion was passed which paves the way for...
28/03/2018
Talks on Old Testament theology
On Tuesday 13th March we were privileged to have Professor Susan Gillingham join us for the day to give the...
11/01/2018