Welcome to the Community Website

A Brief Introduction

The Community of Aidan and Hilda is a dispersed, ecumenical body drawing inspiration from the lives of the Celtic saints. The Open Gate, on Lindisfarne is our main house and offers accommodation for members and visitors. We provide a programme of retreats and events on Holy Island, around the UK, and internationally.

You can download details of all retreats for 2012 here

Find out more our new study course "Igniting the Flame" here

While, Holy Island provides our main base there are regional groups around the UK, which have their own programme of events. Click the flags near the top of this page to access to our international pages, which include contact details to overseas groups.

The Community works together to nurture a holistic Christian spirituality for today that can benefit both traditional and ermerging churches. We provide a wide range of resources such as books, cards, CDs, crafts, and even an extensive e-learning package. The Community is organised by the Caim Council and headed by a Guardians, currently Graham Booth, Penny Warren and Simon Reed. Membership has a variety of forms:

• Friends
• Explorers
• Voyagers

You do not, however, need to be a member to enjoy the facilities and resources we offer. Most retreats and meetings are open to all christians and those wanting to find out about the Christian faith. Through this website you can find out more about the community and explore the possibility of joining with us.

If you are new to the story of the Celtic church that survived in Britain following the collapse of the Roman Empire, downloading the Celtic Timeline (PowerPoint file) should provide you with a brief chronology of events. There are also a number of introductory books available on the subject, which explore the relevance of the Celtic church to our lives today.

Download a PowerPoint presentation showing the Celtic Timeline

The Community publishes a quarterly magazine, The Aidan Way, You can download a recent edition here.

 

Join the Community of Aidan and Hilda

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Inspiring Daily Readings

In his book "Celtic Daily Light" Ray Simpson provides us with daily meditations for each day of the year. You can read them online here or by clicking the link below. You can also join in the Community's daily prayer by clicking the links beneath the Pray with Us section below.

Pray with Us

Stay close to God! Join in with the Community's daily prayer rhythm, using the links below:

• Morning
• Midday
• Evening
• Night

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Community Guardians

The Guardians safeguard the spirit and ethos of the world-wide community and its dispersed members, and are its spiritual leaders. The current Guardians are Graham Booth who lives on Holy Island, Penny Warren who lives in Devon, and Simon Reed who lives in London.

Each guardian also has a specific role

Graham Booth	Penny Warren	Simon Reed
Chair of Trustees (and responsible for Community activities on Holy Island) Poatal Address: Lifeboat House Lewin's Lane Holy Island Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 2SD Phone: 01289-389110	Members’ Guardian Postal Address: The Rectory Shebbear Devon EX21 5RU Phone: 01409-281424	Chair of Caim Council Postal Address: The Ascension Vicarage Beaufort Road Ealing London W5 3EB Phone: 020-8566-9920

For general enquiries it is best to contact the Community office in the first instance and to book a retreat please contact the Open Gate, but all three Guardians are happy to be contacted whenever necessary or with specific enquiries.

Follow the Guardians Blog here

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Ray Simpson

Ray's Blog will provide you with up to date information on Ray's travels and thoughts.

Ray is the Community's Founding Guardian. He has contributed more than anyone to the Community over the years since its foundation, and continues to do so but in a less demanding role.

As Founding Guardian, Ray concentrates on writing, speaking, leading retreats, and offering personal spiritual guidance. He is not involved in the day to day running of the Community and all enquiries about the life and work of the Community should be directed to the Community office and to the three current Guardians listed further up this page.

 

You can read Ray's Twitter page “whitehouseviews” here

You can download daily readings for use with Ray's book The Pilgrim Way here

 

Ray's Page

Ray is a prolific author and has travelled the world introducing aspects of Celtic Christian spirituality to many countries. He has published books on a wide range of topics, plus the occasional CD. You can find out more about these on Ray's personal page in this website.

You can download a summary of Ray's new book “Waymarks” here and Ray's lectures on The Eco-tipping Point and Our Way of Life here. You can download his CV here.

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Lindisfarne Retreat Appeal

The Founding Guardian, Ray Simpson, has moved into a more suitable house on Lindisfarne, but the Community of Aidan and Hilda still needs money to pay off mortgage debt. The Community Secretary has now moved into Shalom cottage and is running community business from the Lifeboat House, helping to provide a much better service to our mission on the island. If you feel moved to help pay off remaining debts, you can download full details here

Please make sure you address your envelopes to The Community of Aidan and Hilda, Lifeboat House, Lewin's Lane, Holy Island Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 2SD.

This is important because it is unhelpful to our Holy Island Development Trust neighbours who run the Lindisfarne Centre if they get our mail. We are quite separate organisations!

Giving to the Community of Aidan and Hilda

The Community's regular income comes from subscriptions, sales of books, CDs and crafts, and accommodation provided by the Open Gate and Shalom. While this might keep us ticking over, we do need donations if we are to engage in any projects or expand our mission. The Lindisfarne Retreat Appeal is such an example.

You can make a donation to the Community through PayPal here.

Updated 31-01-2012