St Martin’s is a special place. It’s a privilege to work so closely with a large group of people from our community who aren’t often seen in the building but who offer a constant praying presence at all our services. There are now 139 Companions of Nazareth across nine countries. St Martin’s, they tell me, offers inspiration, fellowship and hope, especially to people serving in isolated church settings. Companions contribute in so many ways to our communal life: leading compline, online stewarding, online coffee, BFTW listening groups, Being With groups, giving generously, praying thoughtfully at morning prayer, tending pastorally to people in need, and in countless other often hidden ways.
In the rainstorms of last weekend Richard, Angela, Catherine and Raymond gathered at Little Gidding, Cambridgeshire to lead a retreat for 69 Companions on Zoom. The internet held up and Richard managed a wonderful meditation around the simple chapel in the grounds of this highly recommended, newly furnished retreat house; a place in which Nicolas Ferrar first set up a Christian community in the 17th Century in which members sought to “pray without ceasing” and T. S. Eliot was inspired to write Four Quartets.
St Martin’s is a special place because it has enabled communities like the Companions of Nazareth to take root where prayer and thirst for God take centre stage. As we celebrate our patronal festival this weekend, I wonder what you are thankful for about our beloved community? I leave the last word to T. S. Eliot:
With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Revd Catherine Duce
