From the Wild Goose

A few months ago I made the decision to designate my home as the Wild Goose Hermitage of the Lindisfarne Community.  Since that time I have been thinking through what exactly that means.

A sign for the house has been commissioned; visitors will see that we are something other than a private home, we are the site of a particular kind of life.

A small patch has been commissioned which will be affixed to my habit.  It bears the logo of the community, a Celtic image of the Wild Goose, symbol of the Holy Spirit.

A table has been set up in one corner of the house, with an icon of Christ, my chalice and paten, and a few rocks from the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.  I try to pray there each morning and evening, although right now the operative word is "try."  More on that in a bit.

I still go to work every day, and my husband, while embracing the idea of "home as hermitage" is not, in fact, a member of the Lindisfarne Community, so there's a bit of a puzzle there.

This blog will be the place where I work out what it means to be a hermit with a job and family, a monastic whose community is is spread across three continents, a religious in a very secular part of the world.  To begin, I will examine the Rule and Understandings of the Lindisfarne Community, as they form the basis of the particular form of religious life I wish to live.

Others, perhaps, may wish to consider the ways and means of living a life of Christian witness, under whatever forms are available. 

Blessings,

Amma Beth