About The Scargill Movement

The Scargill Movement is a registered charity which was set up in 2009 expressly to purchase Scargill House in the spectacular Yorkshire Dales, to enable it to continue as a Christian centre. Many of our council members have long-standing connections with Scargill House and/or with Lee Abbey (with which we are closely associated). Today, the Scargill Movement continues to welcome people to Scargill House, its holiday, conference and retreat centre, just as originally intended in 1959.

Scargill and new monasticism

• New monastic orders accept both men and women
   
  
• The orders accept single and married people, and children
   
  
• Community members wear modern dress rather than robes
   
  
• Community members remain for differing periods of time, usually agreed in advance: this could be anything from a few months to several years.
  

There are 12 marks of new monasticism,  but generally the idea is to try and live a life which points to the Kingdom of God and which tries to live out the values expressed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.  Usually new monasticism is ecumenical (welcomes people of all Christian denominations); stresses hospitality; renounces personal wealth; takes a sharing attitude to life; and has a concern for social justice, creation and creativity.

Our rule of life

With the creative assistance of the Holy Spirit, by following the example of Jesus, and with encouragement and guidance from the brothers and sisters who share this pathway, we try our very best to…

• speak often and regularly to our heavenly Father, on our own and with others, as well as unwrapping God’s gift of the Bible, allowing it to teach, illustrate, comfort and discipline.
   
  
• offer everything we do and are to our heavenly Father to use as he wishes, trusting that he will enable us to mean it, and to endure the consequences.
   
  
• enjoy and carefully look after whichever part of the world has been generously entrusted to us by God.
   
  
• strengthen community through kindness and love, being sensible enough to keep the moaning inside and a smile on our faces until the right moment arrives to honestly release our complaints. Our goal is to be consistently, constructively loving.
   
  
• welcome visitors and strangers as we would welcome Jesus himself, putting their needs before ours and treating each one as a royal guest.
   
  
• speak up bravely for people who are rarely heard, helping our heavenly Father to fulfil his dream of seeing the hungry fed, the sick looked after, the naked clothed and victims of injustice released from their chains.
   
  
• enjoy giving and receiving lots of treats - and laugh often.