St Julian's
- Details
- Written February 2021
Named after the 14the century Saint Julian of Norwich, this small Anglican community was the legacy of the life and work of Florence Allshorn, teacher to Uganda, who, after contracting tuberculosis, returned to the UK to provide support for Christians engaged in cross-cultural international work. Allshorn no doubt wanted to echo Julian's 'discovery of divine love'. Helping people to get on together in relationship and in community was at the heart of her mission.
Built in the Jacobean style, the house itself is set in the beautiful surroundings of West Sussex, and within sight of the South Downs. The garden is well tended; the lake attracts waterfowl: there are walks nearby. The library is well-stocked with anything from an Agatha Christie whodunit to today's newspaper, and of course a range of theological and missiological volumes. They were there available for me to glance at, if not to read in full!
Breakfast is served in the rooms, other meals in the dining room where silence reigns, but a book-rest is part of the table setting. After dinner there's conversation with the dozen or so guests around a blazing fire. In the chapel you sit on low benches, your feet resting on freshly laid straw; you look out onto the garden through the east window behind a small altar as you share in matins and evening prayer.
I left with a few ideas already emerging and they formed the basis for my future research and the commission's work. I was starting to feel more confident, recognising the need for adaptability as the task ahead became clearer. Most of all I left feeling this should not be an exercise in diagnosis of what was wrong, but rather in building confidence and giving hope to the future.
We would return to St Julian's several times over the years, sometimes just for a short break, and occasionally to ponder important decisions. Should we accept a request to change direction after over 20 years of involvement in health and for Margaret from international literature? Could we and they cope with all it would mean for us as a family to relocate to India? Stunned by the request, St Julian's would be the place to think.
After 15 demanding years in senior leadership and with retirement approaching what would be right for us, and for the work in which we'd been involved? St Julian's was still there.
In time the community found it increasingly difficult to sustain itself. It is now part of the Catholic bishopric of Arundel, renamed after a down-to-earth man of Sussex - St Cuthman. I'm sure it will have preserved the traditions of hospitality, beauty and tranquility, yet still emphasising the principles of relationship and community of their predecessors.
During these days of a pandemic it may feel as if we're constantly 'on retreat'. On the other hand we might have wanted to escape to such a place as St Julian's - just for a break from the humdrum of current everyday life. I've hardly felt that, mind you. It has been a privilege to experience the beauty of a south London garden, the hospitality, support and understanding of a good friend.
I still have time to meditate quietly, if only occasionally. I need to. After all these years I'm still learning about myself and about getting on with another. But there is also an enduring and even growing conviction that (in the words of St Julian) 'all shall be well, all shall be well, in all manner of things all shall be well'. I hope that will be reinforced as we live through lent 2021.
February 2021
Some pieces written during visits to St Julian's: The Sacredness of Silence; Sleep-Walking; Christ Through the Back Door.