Finnian is moving!

Brother Finnian moved into Alnmouth friary on July 4^th 2016 to begin his discernment with the Society of Saint Francis. Finnian became a Postulant in July 2016 and entered the Noviciate in December 2016. Since that time Finnian has spent 9 months in Glasshampton monastery, 9 months in Leeds where he lived with homeless asylum seeker men and worked in the community. Since July 2018 (it is currently April 2021) Finnian has been based in east London, where he continued to live with homeless adults and work in local food banks and charities. While Finnian was ‘Elected’ to his First Profession by the SSF Chapter in January 2021, Finnian’s First Profession has been delayed due to Covid restrictions. Hopefully this can all be resolved in the near future. In the meantime life goes on. 

Plaistow East London

Since July 2018 I have been living in east London with 4 SSF brothers and up to 8 homeless adults who have no recourse to public funds. I have gone to a food bank in Tower Hamlets and to a food bank in East Ham. The food bank in Tower Hamlets was based in the CofE parish church before covid, and had around 120 clients a week. This is a self-referring food bank, meaning you don’t need a referral. You could go for 12 visits, you would then be signposted to other services. During covid the numbers rose to the extent we moved to another location. We now regularly have 600 people come, and give out food for 1,500 children. I’ve been involved in this food bank for over 2 years and have been an ongoing presence in the community there. I’ve found it’s been a great way to connect and witness to the community. People often ask me questions about why I’m wearing a habit. First of all people say, “What are you wearing?” The other day a volunteer asked me, “Why are you dressed as a monk?” At other times people have asked for a blessing. I am there to often practical assistance and emotional support for the clients and volunteers.

The food bank I go to in East Ham is a Trussel Trust food bank, meaning you need a referral to access the service. Before covid we used to have a cooked meal for around 40 people. A whole array of people would come for lunch, including homeless men and local retired people. Everyone would eat together in the Baptist church. We would give out food parcels to around 16 people a week. During covid the cooked meals stopped, and our numbers went up. The people who accessed the service also changed. We had up to 100 people come, who mostly had no recourse to public funds, and are from Kerala in India. They had been working in local restaurants and at other places, but covid had closed down all these businesses and had left these people without access to employment or state support. I try to make the food bank fun. I offer practical assistance at the food bank, by taking the orders, I also offer emotional support by listening to the difficulties of the clients and volunteers. The needs of the volunteers are often overlooked. They too want and need to be listened to. Before the food bank begins we have a short reflection. This is normally led by the young Baptist pastor, but I have also been invited to offer short Christian reflections for the team. I recently talked about blessings, and giving blessings, and the Franciscan idea that we can be a vehicle of God’s blessing, peace and mercy to others. I then read the group the traditional Franciscan blessing (from Numbers). One of the team who told me they were not religious asked me to give them a blessing, and afterwards announced, ‘You are a missionary!’ I said, ‘Am I?’ She said, ‘Yes, because I am not religious but I’ve just asked you for a blessing.’ Recently one of the paid staff who is a member of the Baptist church told me I was there as a missionary. She said my presence in the group acted as a witness, and allowed people to talk about God in a way they wouldn’t do otherwise. I sense these conversations are enabled by the fact I wear a habit. I also wear a crucifix on my rope, as sometimes people are unsure what religion I am part of. 

I walk to and from the foodbanks, which takes around 45 minutes each way. I pray for the needs of the church and the world as I walk. Increasingly I feel this ‘prayer walk’ is also a walk of witness. People often stop me as I’m walking for a little chat, or to ask for a blessing. Sometimes people shout, ‘Bless you Father’ as they are cycling on their bike, or greet me with a smile. I sense being out and about in a habit, while being in a prayerful and sanctified state, is a significant and meaningful witness for the local community. 

I go to the Friars of the Renewal twice a week to offer assistance at their soup kitchen. This is a 15 minute walk away from my house. I’ve enjoyed being able to meet other Franciscan brothers, especially young and dynamic brothers who are passionate about what they’re doing. Although I left the Catholic Church in 2016 to join SSF, the community I’m in now, it’s been nice to have an ongoing interaction with Roman Catholic religious. In many ways they have challenged me to be more vocal about my own Christian faith commitment, or at least less reserved about it. I often find Americans have a very different approach to religion than British people, as do a lot of other nationalities. I’m currently praying over how I can respect my own cultural tradition while also not being bound by it. I want to collaborate with God’s grace to be an active witness, but to do so as myself not pretending to be someone else. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed being involved with this community. I enjoy giving food out to the homeless and vulnerable people who come along each week. I like serving, and spending time with people. I also like bringing joy into people’s lives, especially those who are feeling depressed and marginalised. In these specific ways I’ve learnt a lot. I’ve had an involvement with the Friars of the Renewal for around 3 years or more now, as I used to go to their house in Bradford when I lived in Leeds. I think I’ve been challenged by the missional culture the Friars of the Renewal have, and how they minister together. I like how the brothers are moved around so no brother has a monopoly on a particular ministry. I think this is why I am glad to be moving to a different friary in the near future, as I sense this will open new avenues for growth and will prevent me grasping on to my current roles and responsibilities. 

I have enjoyed being in the SSF friary in Plaistow, in east London. I like living in a busy house. We are able to house up to 8 homeless adults with no recourse to public funds. Since the beginning of Covid we have been housing 5 adults. 

We have also closed our drop-in meaning people can no longer pop into the house. I have continued going out and about, but have had some time under ‘lockdown’ as well. I sense we are moving in the right direction in terms of health though. I have become very aware of how lonely a lot of people are. I have been told hospitality is one of my gifts. I would like to organise more coffee mornings and get-togethers when this is allowed. I’ve also felt challenged to do more ‘spiritual’ outreach as well. I’ve been reflecting on this recently, and want to work on this as well.

During covid I have been involved in online outreach. For example the Informal Inquirers Picnics I organised every few months for Inquirers in London moved onto Zoom. I was entirely new to Zoom and thought the group would fizzle out. However it took off! We started meeting monthly. We changed the format as soon as we moved onto Zoom. It is no longer a picnic, instead I invite two members of traditional communities to share with the Inquirers. We then have an open time for Questions and Answers. We begin at 10.30am and go on up until 12.30pm. Last time we had 8 Inquirers come. Because we are meeting monthly the discussions are gaining new depth, as we all feel more comfortable with each other. In terms of online outreach, I have continued being the Admin for the monknunCofE twitter account. I recruit people to host this account for a week at a time. We now have around 7,150 followers. I sense we are raising the profile of Anglican religious life through this twitter account.

I am also still involved with the scriptural rosary group. I set this group up in a church near to St Paul’s. I made the pdf the group uses and got this group off the ground. I have intentionally not put myself out there as the leader of this group. This is a group for people who are new to the rosary. The idea for this group emerged during my silent prayer time. Over the last few months this group has developed and grown. We have around 7 people come to the Zoom event while others watch it on facebook.  I am really happy with this this group has developed. I now feel inspired to publish resources for other groups to use, something very simple, basically a ‘how to’ for the scriptural rosary. I need to explore how to do this. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1518743604991704

How has it been living in Plaistow?

Living in Plaistow has provided me with the opportunity to serve in the local community. This is important to me, as this type of ministry is a significant part of my calling to be a lay Franciscan brother. On reflection I think I have done lived out my calling to offer service to and with the marginalised while living in Plaistow. I can now also appreciate that I have other areas of growth that need space to emerge. If I continued living in this house continuing to do the same tasks my ongoing growth would be limited. As such I can now see moving offers me the opportunity for further growth. In many ways I have been a sort of ‘community service volunteer’ in Plaistow, as I have been involved in a number of local charities.

Before Covid I had also been involved in various protests and political movements. Living relatively near central London has allowed me to ‘pop over’ to Parliament and other places to protest at political rallies, I have done this as a member of the SSF. Before attending these protests I have always spoken with my community. For example I attended a Christian protest against the selling of weapons. I’ve also attended various Climate Action protests. I suspect this form of ‘activism’ won’t be as possible when I move to my next placement.

Future areas of growth?

I am moving to Alnmouth friary in the near future (April-May 2021). In Alnmouth I would like to learn more about the Celtic tradition of prayer and spirituality, and connect with local groups. I have only ever been to Lindesfarne for ONE HOUR, and feel there’s something waiting for me there. I also feel called to help start small prayer groups.

I would also like to get more experience of preaching, and in the tasks connected with living in a retreat house such as cooking for groups. I am also going to work through my sense of discomfort saying the Office in front of groups. In Plaistow we say the Office as a community of brothers. We may have 1 or 2 other people present but there are never groups of people. I am going to grow in a variety of ways whilst living in a retreat house. I currently spend most of my time with homeless adults, that isn’t how the retreat house operates in Alnmouth. I’m also used to going out of the house most days to a project. Retreat houses don’t work like that, as people come to us. That will take a little bit to get used to. But overall I think I am going to grow in various ways.

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