Hyning Christmas Newsletter 2023
CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2023
Dear Friends of Hyning,
As we prepare for the Feast of Christmas, it is time once again to bring you news of Hyning. This time last year we were preparing to accompany Sr Mary (now 98) in her move to join Sr Mary Joseph at Nazareth House, Lancaster. Sr Mary is still very alert and enjoys life, but her needs surpassed our capacity to look after her and keep her safe. Providentially, the room next to Sr Mary Joseph became available and the two old friends were delighted to be together again. On 31st December, we all went to Nazareth House to celebrate Sr Mary Joseph’s 90th birthday. She was showered with cards and presents and was grateful for everything. The Nazareth House sisters joined us for the celebration, and we finished the afternoon together in their chapel, singing first Vespers of the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. Throughout the year we have visited our two sisters and they have also been grateful to receive visits from Hyning guests and friends.
Sadly, an early morning phone call on the 17th May informed us that Sr Mary Joseph had died very peacefully in her sleep. She was surely ready to go to Heaven. Sr Mary Joseph lived her Bernardine life with joyful fidelity and worked very hard at whatever task was assigned to her. She spent many years teaching Mathematics in Westcliff and Slough, but also savoured memories of a wonderful year spent teaching English at Lycée Amani in Goma with our sisters in the Congo. She spent nearly the last thirty years at Hyning, welcoming guests, accepting humbly to carry out much of the work behind the scenes, organising the sacristy, cultivating the gardens, doing splendid flower arrangements for the Chapel. She made friends easily and took a great interest in all those she met, whether it be a chance encounter on a train, or whilst refilling the tea caddy in the sitting room or welcoming our visitors. She remained very close to her large and loving family and they turned out in force for her funeral on the 29th May. By happy coincidence, our Bishop, the Rt Rev. Paul Swarbrick was due to visit Hyning that day for another meeting so was able to preside at her funeral, where Fr Anthony preached with his customary skill. The sun shone, the garden looked beautiful as we processed to the cemetery, and it was truly a celebration of a life given totally to God.
Our guest house, which reopened after the refurbishment in October 2022, has become gradually busier throughout 2023 and it has been a delight to welcome several groups who have not been since the pandemic. The icon studio continues its good work with both its regular members and icon retreats, and in October members of the group enjoyed attending the exhibition of the Association of British Iconographers which took place in Liverpool. Some of the group, including Sr Mary Stella, exhibited their work. Other artistic activities have included a drawing weekend and card-making days.
A new item on the programme this year was an ecumenical flute retreat for those who play the flute within the liturgy or for flautists who simply wanted to combine prayer and music. Nine flautists coming from far and wide in England joined Sr Mary Helen during the May half-term, and benefited from some of the best weather of the year. Music could be heard all over the house, and each day the group played an ensemble piece at the end of Vespers. Like many of our visitors, the participants left saying ‘see you next year’. If you know of any Christian flautists who might profit from this experience, please do spread the word!
Along with many in our country, we watched the Coronation in May, and participated in the government’s ‘Big Help Out’ programme by organising a Coronation Volunteering Day on the bank holiday Monday which followed. About twenty-five people came, most of whom were known to us, but a few came for the first time. Heavy rain from morning to night was forecast but despite this, it was dry enough to work from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm. In the final hour the gardeners got soaked but everyone took this in good spirits and it gave a bigger appetite for the excellent Coronation Tea that Sr Michaela had prepared. Other people helped in the kitchen and with household jobs. The convivial ambiance of the day made it most enjoyable even if we all went to bed exhausted!!
Two of the Big Help Out volunteers have since become regular volunteers, joining many people who help us in so many ways. We are so grateful to those who help in our garden, on reception duty, those who give a hand with housework and maintenance, sewing, cooking and driving and so many other jobs. As the Community gets smaller, we are ever more conscious of how much this help enables us to keep Hyning a place of peace and welcome. And we do not forget our employees, Peter and Kevin, Ann and Debbie and Vanessa.
In particular, we would like to mention Omar, Tekle, Gabriel and Adam, and several other young men who came regularly on Thursday afternoons for 6 months to help in the garden and did tremendously good work. All are asylum seekers and were housed in a hotel in Morecambe. We hear so much about immigration in our news; it is clear that the influx of people creates great challenges for our government and there are no easy solutions. But meeting these earnest and hard-working young men put a very human face on the crisis. The hotel has since closed and the men been moved on. Their presence amongst us is a reminder to pray for the many displaced people of our world.
This year we invited young people aged between 18 – 45 to participate in Monastic Experience/Volunteering weeks and nine women took advantage of this programme. Some were seriously discerning their own vocation; others were searching to deepen or discover their faith. All found it a positive experience and we enjoyed meeting them and sharing their journey. Remona Varnakulasuriyar from Sri Lanka spent over a month with us and got to know the workings of Hyning inside out! We are very grateful to all our visitors for the help they gave us. We hope to offer this opportunity again next summer, perhaps focussing it more on those discerning their vocation. We have also been very pleased to welcome the North Western group of the Young Catholic Adult Network (YouCAN) who will be holding regular monastery days at Hyning. The group offers support to young Catholics who strive to take their faith seriously in a world where any form of Christian adherence becomes more and more counter-cultural.
We have enjoyed welcoming a number of visitors from other monasteries. In particular, we were privileged to welcome Dom Mauro Giuseppe Lepori, Abbot General of the Cistercian Order for five weeks in January when he took a short sabbatical. He slipped into life at Hyning very simply, explored the local countryside by foot, prayed, relaxed … and painted lots of water colours. He left us one of the Annunciation which has pride of place near the cloister. Brother Andrew of Mount St Bernard spent several weeks with us in the first half of the year, and from time to time we saw his superior of that time, Fr Peter Claver, formerly chaplain at Brownshill. In September we welcomed Fr Mark Butlin of Ampleforth for a few days when he covered for our Chaplain, Fr Anthony, who took part in the Lancaster Diocesan Clergy retreat at Ampleforth. Mother Anne, Abbess of the Anglican Benedictine Nuns of West Malling made her retreat here.
In late August, the visit of Sr Marthe marked the first of a series of African arrivals. She has just finished her service as headteacher of Lycée Amani which is attached to our monastery in Goma in the Congo, and was preparing to move to be superior of our community in Burkina Faso. We were happy to have first-hand news of Goma. At the moment, war is raging in the area and life is very precarious for the local people as food supplies are blocked by the insecurity. Little is heard of this in a world where there is so much conflict, but please do spare a prayer for the people in the East of the Congo. A week later we received another visitor from Goma, Father Protais Barakomera, a diocesan priest responsible for the administration of the diocesan hospital, and former chaplain to our sisters there. He enjoyed discovering our little corner of the North of England for a few days.
A month later, our Prioress General, Sr Elizabeth Mary arrived for our visitation accompanied by her assistant, Sr Felicité, who is Congolese. During the visit we were able to have a convivial day out to make a monastic tour of North Yorkshire visiting Rievaulx, Ampleforth and Stanbrook Abbeys.
Last but not least of our Congolese arrivals was our new member of Community, Sr Marie Cécile. She made solemn profession last year and is settling peacefully into life in our strange British culture. Her weekly English lessons are helping her make progress in the language and her presence is a great asset to us.
Our annual retreat took place at Hyning in July, led by Fr Nicholas Crowe OP, Prior of Blackfriars in Oxford. His stimulating conferences stretched our brains and gave us food for spiritual thought. Four Sisters from Brownshill came to share the week, as well as Sr Frances and Sr Florence from Boarbank Hall.
Sr Michaela continued the second year of her Master’s degree, completing her dissertation on “What are the implications of the theology of deep incarnation for Christian holiness today?” She prepared by assiduous study of texts from the Church Fathers and contemporary authors, so we were not surprised to hear that she achieved a distinction for her work, and a merit overall for her Master’s degree. On November 14th, she went to Cambridge for her graduation ceremony, accompanied by her brother and sister-in-law. Our Prioress General, Sr Elizabeth Mary, came over from France to be present at the impressive ceremony. Sr Michaela was delighted to meet some of the tutors and fellow students, whom she has only known up to now through the computer screen. Congratulations to Sr Michaela – a remarkable achievement especially when we remember how ill she was last year. Fortunately her recovery has continued to go smoothly and the cancer has completely gone.
Sr Michaela is a regular participant in a group called ‘Nuns on Twitter’ (or ‘X’) a group of religious who meet to see how they can use the internet and social media at the service of the Gospel. She in a conference in London in July meeting other religious who are gifted in Information Technology.
There have been several comings and goings in the Community this year. At the beginning of the year, Sr Pauline returned to her native France to attend a formation meeting on the Cistercian Patrimony at the Cistercian Abbey of Echourgnac in the Dordogne, and also profited to visit the Mother House at La Plaine and to see her parents. In July Sr Reina took part in a session on St Aelred of Rievaulx held at Mount St Bernard which was led by Dom Elias Dietz, Abbot of Gethsemani Abbey in the USA. The week included a pilgrimage to Rievaulx in North Yorkshire. Meanwhile, Sr Michaela participated in an individually guided retreat at the Loreto Centre in Llandudno and whilst she did so, Sr Mary Bernard profited to have a few days’ break there, enjoying the bracing sea air. Sr Mary Stella, joined by Sr Maria of Brownshill, had a week’s break at Ambleside. Sr Mary Helen participated in meetings of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance at Mellifont (for Formators) and the Pastoral Sharing meeting for superiors at Tautra in Norway.
Sr Mary Colette attended the meeting of the Association of British Contemplatives at Ampleforth in January. In June she had the nasty surprise of a fractured neck of femur, and an unexpected hip replacement, but bore her affliction courageously and received excellent support from her medical team. She determinedly regained her mobility and it was good to see her able to get to the meetings of the Association of Provincial Bursars in Swanwick in October and the Vicars for Religious in Leeds a week later.
Sr Reina was able to visit her parents in Indonesia for three weeks in the Autumn – her first return to her native country since entering at Hyning ten years ago. She was able to meet up with old friends but found many places very changed. We were glad to see her return home.
Sr Pauline is also embarking on a big journey of a different nature. For some months she has felt called to a more apostolic form of religious life, and has been courageously exploring this call. In the New Year she will be leaving us to continue her religious life with the Benedictine Sisters of Our Lady of Grace and Compassion in Sussex. Our prayer, support and gratitude accompany her. During her five years at Hyning she has contributed much to the smooth running of the Community and our work. We will miss her!
Many of our guests enjoy encountering our two friendly black and white felines, Rufty and Sooty, during their visits. Sadly, Rufty’s health has declined over the year and he died in October. Sooty is adjusting to life without his twin.
Next year, 2024, will mark 50 years since the foundation of Hyning. We are planning open afternoons on 24th, 25th and 26th August and will look forward to seeing many of you then. We will also have liturgical celebrations to mark this golden jubilee event. There is so much to thank God for when looking back over all that has happened over fifty years at Hyning. We remember with gratitude the four foundresses. Sr Mary Laurence, Sr Mary John and Sr Mary Nivard are all enjoying their heavenly reward, but we will be pleased to have Sr Michelle Marie amongst us to share in the celebrations. Watch our website for further news!
This Christmas we celebrate once again the birth of the Christ child, born over two thousand years ago in the heart of Palestine, a Jewish child living humbly amongst his neighbours, destined to be our Saviour who promised us a peace which the world cannot give. As the terrible events of the last few months have unfolded in Gaza and Israel, (and we do not forget the Ukraine and so many suffering people in our world), our thoughts turn once again to that Christ Child. May his Incarnation bring hope and light into a world where there is so much darkness.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem shared the following prayer with the world :
“O Lord, our hearts are weary, our prospects are narrow and our dreams are shattered. But we put our trust in you! Forever we will put our trust in you. For we believe that only through you and with you can we make our way towards peace. Although it may seem impossible and unachievable in our eyes, yet we know that you alone can give us true peace. A just and final peace for all. O Lord, do not delay, make haste and answer our prayers.”
Those of you reading this newsletter have also had your own joys and sorrows in the last year. At this Christmas season we remember with gratitude our families, oblates, guests and friends and so many who help us. We assure you of our prayer and send you our very best wishes for a happy and holy Christmas.
