As a community member from 1986-88 I am witness to the fact that God had challenged, changed, healed, envisioned and touched many groups of people of all ages that experienced Scargill. From visitors, guests and community members alike it has been a transforming place for many people through the years. It broke through denominational barriers and inspired, equipped and strengthened many weary, 'burnt out' and 'damaged vessels'. It's unique setting and strategic placement has enabled God to demonstrate his awesome sovereignty and majesty through his creation and inspirational worship. Scargill has a timeless appeal that somehow reflected Gods character and heart of love.

As a community member it taught me many things and I learnt a great deal about my walk with the Lord. The words of the song ' Brother let me be your servant' is especially applicable as I discovered what it meant to serve and to humble myself before the Lord. It has been a transforming time in many ways that it will always have a special place in my heart. We had our tough times, there was allot of tears as well as joy and laughter. At times, through tiredness and exhaustion, God gave us the strength to serve another meal, lead another workshop, matins or party dance. Undoubtedly those two years of service to God and the community have had the greatest impact on my life and I would like to extend my appreciation to those pioneers who had the original vision and determination to make Scargill House all that God had purposed it to be. I feel to abandon this call and vision would be to deny thousands of other people the chance of knowing Jesus Christ in a richer and deeper way, as well as being a source of enrichment, healing and restoration for many.

I am sure that God has great plans for Scargill and that through seeking Him and his heart, we will discover the next chapter.

Last week four of us enjoyed a little holiday in Yorkshire. We were in Yorkshire for two reasons. The first was to relax and enjoy ourselves, the second was to see and feel and get as near as possible to Scargill House, a place we have all visited on a number of occasions in the past. The business of 'saving Scargill', whatever that might turn out to mean, has been on our minds and in our spirits for some time. Who knows what the future will bring? We certainly do not, but we have been watching every development with great interest.

There was a little gate open at the bottom of the drive, so, praying for forgiveness, we went in and walked around the grounds. Memories flooded back. Events, features, people, parts of the estate whose existence we had forgotten. It is one of these I want to mention. I had forgotten the walled garden. How is that possible? Those huge, high walls. The profusion of shrubs and flower beds and narrow interlocking paths criss-crossing the whole area. Passing through the gate into this charming, already overgrown, private little world was like entering the Secret Garden. It set me thinking. Everyone hs a secret garden inside them. I certainly do. It's my place, the part of my life where I really live. Some of it is wild and poorly looked after. Some bits aren't too bad, and I feel quite proud that they are mine. It's a funny old mixture, my garden, and it probably compares very badly with a lot of others, but I like to invite God in because he seems to enjoy being there, and, although he offers constructive ideas from time to time, he never judges me or makes me feel wretched about my home, the place where I live. Sometimes he rolls his sleeves up and gives me a hand clearing the ground for new stuff to be planted. Hard work when he does that, but he seemsto know what he's doing.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Scargill were to become a place where people can feel safe enouigh to invite God into the very centre of their lives, into the secret place where things don't work out in the way that everyone says they should, where beautiful flowers and rank weeds grow within sight of each other and many of the paths are ill-defined. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Scargill was a place where the only law is truth, and those who are weary and confused and in need of unconditional love could allow God to put his arms round everything that they are, rather than an edited version of themselves. Who knows what the future will bring? We have no idea, but we believe it could be wonderful.

Having lived at Scargill from 1984 - 1987 I fully appreciate the uniqueness of the place and the way in which the Christian community was able to demonstrate God's love to all those who visited. It was great to see people drawing closer to God and growing in understanding of his word. Occasionally I even had the privilege of seeing people making a commitment or re-committing their lives to the Lord during their stay. For me it was a time of growing up, mistakes and all. Now as I reflect I can see how nice it was to have done that in such a caring, encouraging environment. It still holds a special place in my heart.

20 years later now working for the Abernethy Trust in Scotland, which operates 4 Christian residential activity centres,( www.abernethy.org.uk ) I am deeply saddened to discover Scargill has shut. As someone who has also been involved closely with CCI UK I have to say I find it strange that the Trustees feel the residential Christian market is shrinking. I have seen our business growing year on year and that is echoed by many other providers' working both in the outdoor and conference sectors. Of course that doesn't mean it has been easy but with a careful eye to the demands of the guests, the financial constraints and the vision to prayerfully change, develop and adapt God has remained faithful in providing not only the money for these developments but also the people to run them and the guests to use them.

I am really pleased you are committed to ensuring Scargill remains a place where people can see God working in the lives of those who live and work there and be challenged to think about there own views on God.

As someone who has seen the power of using the 'Christian residential outdoor experience' as the vehicle for encouraging people to explore the Christian faith, for the last 24 years, please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss further how this might work in the setting of Scargill or how our experiences of managing the changing needs of our guests have influenced our business strategy.

Peter has reminded us of a verse from one of Patrick Appleford's hymns which he believes describes Scargill and the Community to a 'T'.

"City of God, the best of dreams
For those with eyes to see
A vision of community
That show what life could be
To build that city here on earth
Is work that we can do
Lord help us give, receive and share
To make that dream come true"

I had a picture on my mind yesterday of Scargill being put into a bag, but it fell straight through the bottom into a pair of Strong Hands. Underneath them was written "It belongs to Me."