New Spiritual Movements

ADVISERS ON NEW SPIRITUAL MOVEMENTS FOR DURHAM DIOCESE - NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS

Revds Richard and Margaret Deimel

The Vicarage, Escomb, Bishop Auckland DL14 7ST
01388 602589
escombvic@virginmedia.com

MINISTRY

Dealing with enquiries from clergy and other leaders about:

Applications to use church premises by spiritual or quasi-spiritual groups;
Therapies, practices and events of these groups;
Individuals in contact with the local church who have a background in these groups;
Occasional information sessions/workshops for local churches or centrally for the Diocese, etc: open to invitation;
Connecting with various national and international online networks.

OUTREACH

Having a presence at body/mind/spirit events in a sensitive and appropriate way.
Working in the interface where seekers from this background are open to Jesus but deeply suspicious of the inherited Church: creating appropriate ‘Fresh Expressions’ in this growing borderline area.
Developing a website which would connect with people searching in this interface - this will grow through www.holyground.org.uk

WHO WE ARE

Richard and Margaret Deimel are rooted in parish ministry, as Priest-in-Charge and Self-supporting Associate Minister in Escomb, Witton Park, Etherley, Witton-le-Wear and Hamsterley. Their commitment is to work with the local churches to build a mixed economy of traditional church life lived in love, together with creative new ways of being church.
One of those creative ways involves fresh/ancient expressions of Jesus to re-connect with the new spiritual generations. There are many people in every parish now who are fascinated by spirituality, drawn to Jesus but very negative about church as they know it.

Margaret and Richard come from a New Age, drug-using background before they were Christians. This has given them a deep love for those who are working out their lives in the neo-pagan culture. They are convinced that the right expression of Jesus will connect across the space between church and new age cultures.

HOW WE DO THIS

We use many creative forms of spirituality, all rooted in Jesus:

Chanting – using the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer
Meditation: Ignatian spirituality, silence, body prayers
Symbols of nature – stone, leaf, wood, and the four elements of earth, water, fire and air,
to ground our prayers
Symbols of worship: bread, wine, water
Celtic Christian stream
Labyrinth
Creativity
Jesus deck of cards and other meditation cards
Healing
Dialogue and discussion

GIFTS NEEDED FOR SHARING IN THIS MINISTRY

a deep-rooted, mature and thought-out Christian faith,
bringing confidence to take risks in engagement: ‘roots down, walls down’.

If you are interested in being involved, please contact us.

THE STORY SO FAR

Richard and Margaret are spending the first few months of their new ministry putting down roots in the mainstream ministry of their 5 parishes. But here are some reflections on what lies ahead in their more alternative ministry:

"There is something unusual that makes Escomb feel very remote, although it is only a mile from Bishop Auckland. A less thin place than Bishop it would be hard to imagine, but Escomb sometimes feels so thin you can walk through it and come out any place, any time.

Our home - Escomb Vicarage Garth, as we are going to call it - sits on the hill of 5 springs looking down on Escomb Celtic/Saxon church. From the hill the houses seem to tumble down to the tiny village in the dale of the river Wear. It is the end of the road. No-one knows why no road has ever been built to connect through from Escomb. But it sits at the junction of ancient track ways along the Wear, and by a ford across the river. It was likely a place of passing and gathering in that anxious time after the Romans went home. I imagine that monks from Cuthbert's community on Lindisfarne may have come down the coast and up the river Wear by boat. Then that place between the generous river and the hill of 5 springs may well have become an enclosure of prayer for a holy woman or man. Possibly it was seen as a sacred space in pre-Christian times: there are some pagan burials within the enclosure.
Certainly there is now a very circular churchyard, with stone walls surrounding ancient holy ground. Likely there was a prayer hut or two within, and rough carved Celtic crosses to proclaim Jesus and to keep out dark forces.

There may well have been a little community of prayer and love gathering together. Sometime in 650-670 that joyful group grew. They decided to build a stone house of prayer and raided the Roman forts for their good building material. Thus they transformed the masonry of power into shelter for Spirit gatherings.

Escomb church may well have been started before the Synod of Whitby in 664 and finished after it. Are its spiritual roots Celtic, Saxon or Roman? Certainly some of all those. And we need to unearth what is buried of that spiritual heritage. Our nation needs to rediscover its lost spirit, its ancient expressions in the rocks and rivers of the North. Escomb Celtic/Saxon church feels like a bearer of our hidden heritage, a bright joy in sharp days. Many are seeking that lost simple joy.

In 2011 we plan to start inviting others to join with us in re-discovering that spirit, re-expressing that way, re-storing a community of prayer. We'll let you know."