A Community Vision

An update on Grace & Nature Friary

The best things often take a long time in coming, and so it was for our Provincial Chapter back in September of last year. Gathered at Hothorpe Hall in a moment of relief from lockdown, our Chapter was the occasion of a vote for two new ventures which will shape the future of our Province. Many of you already know that one of those two resolutions was to build something completely new: 

‘An ecological friary with a missionary apostolate, at which the friars would aim to live without money.’

And we agreed to petition our brothers in Rome for this to be part of the St. Lawrence of Brindisi Project. (Look it up here if you would like to learn more about it: The St. Lawrence of Brindisi Project (ofmcap.org).)

An ‘ecological friary with a missionary apostolate’ is a bit of a mouthful, so we used a working title to present it. We call it GRACE & NATURE FRIARY (GNF for short.) This title was presented at the Chapter and it gets straight to the point: the project is about God’s gift and our response – evangelisation and ecology – grace and nature.

Then after the Chapter, the Provincial and Council missioned Br. Martin Sanderson and Br. Paul to support Br. Loarne, who was given a year to get this new friary up and running. Here, then, is his outline of the vision – and the story so far.

 2021 PHASE ONE 

2021 is the year of preparation for the new build. January 1st was my first day of an adventure deeply rooted in the Franciscan tradition – ‘quaesting’ (begging!) for a plot of land on which the Friary can be built. In fact, it is not just one offer of land that I am looking for, but three – so that the Provincial and Council will have a choice and decide on whichever option they think best. 

To help people visualise Grace & Nature, I painted a picture of it in words and in watercolours: a new building with an international community of three Capuchin brothers living in it: a place that is...

     off-grid (unconnected to mains water, electricity, gas, or sewerage),

     built out of straw and from local, ecological materials,

     built with gifts-in-kind by volunteers for no money,

     with a view to the friars living there completely without money.

Once they are established, the brothers aim is to go out and preach the Gospel without cost, offering free parish missions throughout the United Kingdom, and return to Grace & Nature for rest, peace, and contemplative prayer. ...But more about that in the section below on Phase Three.

Land is not the only thing I am asking for. Prayer support, an architect, ecological consultants, a TV producer, and messages of encouragement are but a few of the people we need God to supply. Do you know anyone who would like to help, or would you like to offer something yourself? We can send you more information if you want it.

At present, Br. Martin Sanderson, Br. Paul, and I are working on documents to bring more life to the project. When these plans are clear and when the Provincial and Council have discussed and agreed them, we hope that everything will be in place to enable three friars to move to the Grace & Nature Friary site by the year’s end. 

 2022 – 2024 PHASE TWO

2022—2024 is the projected building phase. You can be forgiven if you smiled when you read that we want to build the Friary out of straw! Do you remember the wolf who huffed and puffed and blew the house down? ...Well, things have moved on a bit since then. There are now councils in Britain which have straw-bale housing as part of their housing stock. And for self-builders who would not otherwise have the money to get into the property market, the low cost of straw makes it a dream come true. Using modern building techniques, straw-bale houses today are beautiful, safe, and very warm. 

But this project is not just about a building: it is about creating it with people who will join the building process, hear the Gospel message as they build, and come to true life in Christ. We particularly want to involve members of the New Age community in the construction. Straw-bale construction commonly invites a network of volunteers from across the country, as so many people want to learn how to build with straw and each build provides them with more experience. Like St. Francis rebuilding the Portiuncola, we foresee this phase as building community with the people who volunteer with us. It will be a time of ‘sideways evangelisation’ – and good, hard work.

 2025 PHASE THREE

From 2025 onwards is the open mission phase. This is the long-term purpose of Grace & Nature Friary. If the community at Grace & Nature Friary can live without money, they can use their freedom to offer parish missions without cost. It is freedom for Four Seasons of Mission: 

SPRING—From March 20th (the Spring Equinox) to offer one parish the opportunity of 90 Days of Mission in exchange for board and lodging.

SUMMER—From June 21st (the Summer Solstice) to return to Grace & Nature to engage the local community, host events and take a holiday.

AUTUMN—From September 22nd (the Autumn Equinox) to give weekend, week-long or two-week parish missions, with stays at the Friary between them.

WINTER—From December 21st (the Winter Solstice) to spend time at Grace & Nature in rest and prayer—our lifeline to God and water for the Gospel seed.

Oh, and the picture I mentioned before? It is here:

Digging round the fig tree in Spring; hands together in Summer; the harvest is rich in Autumn; trusting God to provide in Winter.

IN CONCLUSION

If you think that Grace & Nature Friary holds any hope of success (whether or not you want to get involved) we would love to hear from you. ...Or, if you think we are doomed to failure and would like to save us from a fate worse than death, then get in touch anyway!

Aiming to live without money, building an ecological conversion and taking a missionary option in this way are fraught with difficulties and we are prepared for a future filled with setbacks; but kind words and good advice from friends will make it more bearable. So please drop us a line. And if you want to offer land, services or to get involved in another way, just contact:

Br. Loarne, Franciscan Friary, 15 Cuppin Street, Chester CH1 2BN.

Tel.: 01244 351 331   E-mail: loarne@ymail.com