Hyning Christmas Newsletter 2025
CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2025
Dear Friends,
After all the jollities of the 50th anniversary of the sisters’ presence at Hyning in 2024, it might be expected that 2025 was a quieter year for us. However, there has been plenty going on at Hyning in the last twelve months, as we will share in this newsletter. Where better to start than with news of our oldest member of the Community, Sr Mary. On 30th March we had the great joy of celebrating her 100th birthday, our first English Bernardine sister to make this milestone. Sr Elizabeth Mary, our Prioress General, accompanied by Sr Pascha, a Japanese sister from our French community, came especially for the occasion. Sr Mary came home for the day and we all enjoyed watching her open her many cards and presents. (Belated thanks to those of you who so kindly marked the occasion.) Sr Mary was with-it enough to enjoy the day thoroughly, though she doesn’t always remember things now. Always an ardent royalist, she looked at her card from Buckingham Palace and said ‘Don’t know who they are!’ Two of the Nazareth House sisters joined us for lunch, and afterwards we all returned to the home where a delicious birthday cake had been prepared. In May, Sr Mary Colette, Sr Mary Bernard and Sr Mary Helen were back at Nazareth House for a Mass of thanksgiving for the sisters’ presence there over 120 years. It was a bittersweet occasion. Because of a shortage of numbers, the sisters have moved out and left the home, which will continue under the Nazareth Care Trust. That same morning, we had celebrated Sr Mary Colette’s 75th birthday with a cake and coffee together.
We miss our sister neighbours very much, though continue to visit Nazareth House regularly. These last weeks, Sr Mary seems less well, and less interested in life. Meanwhile, we are always delighted to see our other sister neighbours, the Augustinian Sisters at Boarbank Hall. During the year, Sr Michaela stayed there for her retreat and a break, Sr Mary Bernard for a break, and Sr Audrey attended a very interesting short course on ‘Latin through the antiphons of Our Lady.’
Health problems have reared their heads in the Community. After a long wait and several months in pain, Sr Mary Stella received a new hip in Kendal hospital and is gradually regaining her mobility and getting back to driving. She found plenty of sedentary jobs to do whilst she was less mobile, not least a project to write an enormous icon of St Peregrine (patron saint of cancer sufferers) for a Church in Liverpool. And of course, she has been there to animate the two icon retreats which took place this year. Sr M Colette also soldiers on uncomplainingly despite health problems; an accident with hot water in October earned her a stay in the burns’ Unit in Preston, but she is recovering well. She continues to be a member of the executive committee of the Association of British Contemplatives, and a Trustee of the Holy Rood Trust.
Let us pass to the youngest professed member of the Community, Sr Audrey, who is well known to our guests for her cheerful service in the dining room. Still in temporary profession, she has continued her studies, and in August/September attended the final year of the three-year Monastic Formation Programme organised by the Cistercian Order and hosted at their generalate house in the centre of Rome. As well as a busy schedule of lectures, Sr Audrey and two other young Bernardine sisters who participated, enjoyed a trip to Assisi. And Sr Audrey managed to restock our little shop with some items that cannot be found easily in England.
Sr Audrey was back just in time to make a short retreat, before renewing her vows for a year on 1st October. Ten days later, she was back in the skies again, flying to Norway to attend the one-week course on the Church Fathers given by Dom Erik Varden, Bishop of Trondheim and former Cistercian Abbot. She was joined by her contemporaries from the English and Irish monasteries of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance. The course took place at the Cistercian Abbey of Tautrakloster, a monastery of nuns situated on the most beautiful island on a fjord. Sr Audrey came back overwhelmed by the beauty of the place, even if it was a little chilly.
Sr Michaela is thoroughly enjoying her doctorate studies, carried out through the Margaret Beaufort Institute affiliated to Anglia Ruskin University. The working title of her studies is “How can the theology of deep incarnation help to understand the salvation of different lifeforms including Artificial Intelligence and Extraterrestial life?” - a subject she is passionately interested in. She disappears occasionally for seminars via the internet, and is working on the first chapter of her thesis. In October, she was invited to participate in a Margaret Beaufort Pilgrimage to York and Rievaulx, based at Ampleforth Abbey. Her talks on St Aelred and St Margaret Clitherow were much appreciated, Sr Michaela is now a member of the Spirituality Commission for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, a role which takes her to London occasionally for meetings or a conference. In June, she gave a conference on Benedictine Spirituality. She is part of a similar commission at a Diocesan level. At home, she puts her extensive knowledge and creativity at the service of the Community and Guest House, and her input for various retreats is always enjoyed.
We have been fortunate to have two young Congolese sisters as part of the Community for most of this year, Sr Marie Cécile and Sr Evelyne. Both have had private English lessons as well as attending conversation classes in Lancaster library. To help them discover the riches of our British patrimony, they both went on a short visit to London in January and saw some of our key monuments. In July, with Sr Mary Helen, both attended the solemn consecration of Mary Mueni in the Catholic parish in Carlisle, and profited to hop over the border to Gretna Green and put a foot in Scotland. Later, a visit to the two magnificent cathedrals in Liverpool was also programmed. Sr Marie Cécile spent three weeks at our other community in Brownshill in May, to help out and discover the other face of Bernardine life in England. Sadly her two-year visa was too quickly over, and in the autumn, via a short stay in Goma, she moved to her new community in Burkina Faso where she has now begun studies in Sociology. We miss her.
Sr Mary Helen is always happy when there is music around. On 1st June, we welcomed the music group ‘Clerical Errors’, a group of musicians who are all ministers in different Christian denominations. They gave a lovely concert of summer-themed music to a packed chapel, and afterwards, most of the concertgoers stayed for a delicious cream tea. Sr Mary Helen was invited to participate, playing both a solo piece and duet on her flute. Next year’s concert will be on 31st May – book early to avoid disappointment!! Two flute retreats took place later in the year concluding with a Taizé evening, both of which were attended by a good number of people. Sr Mary Stella had written a special icon for the occasion and the rearranged chapel, with many candles and icons, helped to create a prayerful ambiance. We hope to hold Taizé evenings again next year so watch our website.
Sr Mary Helen has had a number of absences during the year, both for meetings of Cistercian superiors and also at the service of the Cistercian Order. In March, she visited the Abbey of Notre Dame de Boulaur near Toulouse to be co-visitor of the community with the Abbot General of the Order of Citeaux. Boulaur is a very dynamic community, bucking the trend where vocations are concerned. A free day at the end of the visit enabled Sr Mary Helen to borrow a car and make a brief pilgrimage to Lourdes – an unexpected grace in this jubilee year of the Universal Church.
Sr Mary Helen wasn’t the only one to go to Lourdes this year. Fr Anthony, our resident chaplain, was 75 on Good Friday, a celebration that we deferred to Easter Sunday when our guests and some of the local Mass-goers gathered in the dining room for tea and cake – and what a cake! Given by friends, it was crowned with a fondant football referee, complete with dog-collar, looking very much like a young Father Anthony Keefe! It was an opportunity to thank Fr Anthony for the immense good that he does for so many, not least ensuring that we have daily Mass. Meanwhile, two of our regulars, Michael Dugdale and Rachel Horay, had organised for Fr Anthony to go to Lourdes as a birthday present, and the three of them headed off in May. Fr Anthony showed us the photos afterwards and shared his experiences.
Still on the pilgrimage theme, Sr Mary Helen was invited to be moderator of the meeting of the International Association of Lay Cistercian Communities which took place in Avila in June. She profited from the early mornings to walk around the spectacular walled city, and to visit the Convent of the Incarnation, where St Teresa of Ávila lived. The meeting was interesting, bringing people together from Europe, Northern America and New Zealand.
What news of Sr Mary Bernard, you may ask? Our faithful Guest Mistress soldiers on, organising the comings and goings in our guest house and greeting each one warmly with a prodigious memory for detail. The guest house has been busy for most of the year, with a succession of groups and individuals, old and new, as well as the events that we organise ourselves. Retreat Days organised by Donna Worthington are very popular and highly recommended. A new event on our programme next year will be the opportunity to make a 6 or 8 day Individually Guided Retreat in the Ignatian tradition. Guest directors trained in this method will accompany the retreatants – do enquire if you are interested. Together with other sisters, Sr Mary Bernard participated in the Diocesan Marian Pilgrimage to Cleator in September, where the Bishop had asked for a visible presence of the Consecrated of the Diocese during its centenary year. In October, several of us attended Solemn Vespers with the Papal Nuncio at Lancaster Cathedral, and two days later, Sr Mary Colette and Sr Mary Bernard returned for the official celebratory Mass for the centenary of the Diocese of Lancaster.
Meanwhile, at home, we are very glad to welcome the clergy of the Diocese for their regular formation sessions at Hyning. As always, we are grateful to our loyal employees, Peter, Kevin, Ann, Debbie and Vanessa who help to keep Hyning going. We continue to be very grateful too for all the voluntary help that we receive from so many friends, families and oblates, too many to name. In the summer we welcomed Emily and Maya for a long stay and were grateful for their help.
‘Gardening Tuesdays’ are increasingly popular, and the team, under the skilful direction of Sr Mary Stella, has tackled a number of projects to improve and tidy our beautiful garden. Similarly, the spring and autumn Prayer and Gardening weeks are much enjoyed and also help maintain our garden. These all bore fruit on the weekend of the 4th and 5th October when our garden was open for charity under the aegis of the National Garden Scheme. The weather on the Saturday was truly dreadful, but 35 hardy souls braved the gales and rain, and enjoyed the welcome they received. A powerpoint presentation in the lounge, tea in the dining room and plants etc. for sale, complemented the garden experience and gave visitors the opportunity to shelter indoors and meet the sisters too. The weather on the Sunday was much more clement, and cars streamed down the drive, bringing about 170 visitors. David Redmore, one of our oblates and expert landscape architect, gave guided tours of the garden. The event raised over £1200 for charity and the organisers were thrilled. It brought many newcomers to Hyning and we are always glad for people to discover our monastery.
Our group of oblates continues to thrive and both oblates’ day were well attended. In May, Chris Czainski and Sarah Parker made their first promise as oblates, and five other people are in formation for becoming oblates. They have been stimulated by monthly sessions on different themes. In addition to their spiritual support, we are also grateful for the help that so many are able to give us.
We have welcomed a number of monastic visitors this year. Firstly, in April we were delighted that almost all our sisters from Brownshill could join us for our annual retreat which was preached by Abbot Robert Igo of Ampleforth. Sr Sylvie and our Prioress General also joined us from France for this. Later in the year we welcomed Sr Reina back for a break. Abbot Cuthbert was over from Zimbabwe and we were pleased to welcome him for a few days. Later, Sr Marie Emmanuelle from La Plaine enjoyed a break here, and Sr Christine, the superior of our Community in Vietnam, also came to make her retreat. She prepared the way for the visit of Sr Joseph Marie Thuan and Sr Maria Pacomio Binh, two young Vietnamese sisters who are currently based in France. Both were very happy to discover England, and cooked us a delicious Vietnamese meal for the Feast of St Bernard. A visit to Rievaulx and York helped to introduce them to the North of England. In September, we welcomed two monastic visitors – Sr Miriam of the Abbey of Boulaur, and Fr Petr from Rochefort in Belgium. Sr Miriam shared news of her Abbey and her enthusiasm for life is infectious. Fr Petr stayed for several weeks and his prayerful presence was a great boon to us. He mastered driving on the left and was happy to chauffeur 4 our sisters here, there and everywhere, as well as working very hard in our orchard to harvest and store our apples. In addition, he reconnected with his musical past, and some splendid playing on the treble recorder enhanced our liturgy.
We do not forget the members of our families – both those who are fairly local and those coming from further afield, including Sr Mary Stella’s family in both Ireland and America. We are always glad to see you. In April, a visit from Sr Mary John’s nephew, John Milne and his family, renewed our links with a family who were so faithful in their support of Hyning. In November we received a surprise visit from Robert Peel and a small group of friends. Great great grandson of the Prime-Minister of the same name, he lived his childhood at Hyning before we bought the house, and enjoyed seeing the gardens and the familiar rooms – transformed, but still mostly recognisable after the refurbishment.
Our former schools also remain close to our hearts – in July, Sr Mary Helen and Sr Mary Stella made a return visit to St Bernard’s in Slough where the school was marking the 150th anniversary of the opening of the chapel. It was a good occasion to catch up with past and present staff and students.
Much has been going on at Hyning this year, but we are all also very aware of the needs of our troubled world. 2025 has been marked by many tragic events, and the increasing instability and insecurity are a call to prayer. For our own sisters in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the year got off to a dramatic start. Rebel troops surrounded and then captured the city in January, and the town experienced fierce fighting. Our sisters, who are no strangers to war and insecurity, said they had never known anything like it. Against this backdrop, our own Sr Evelyne had the sad news of the death of her older brother, Jackson, from cancer in the city. Please keep him and the family in your prayer.
We have been sad to hear of the passing of some of our regular and faithful guests during this year. We risk missing people out, but mention should be made of Sharon Harpur, who died in a road traffic accident, Anne Natrass of Whitehaven, Harold Taylor, our long-term guest and oblate, Teresa Harbach, daily Mass-goer and great support in her younger days, and Marie Oke, niece of Sr Mary Joseph. Marie has been a regular visitor since her early childhood, often accompanied by her older sister Anita and brother-in-law Trevor. The latter two are incredibly faithful visitors helping us out in many ways, not least beautiful flower arranging. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you who have experienced bereavement this year.
These events of life and death remind us of the Paschal mystery which is at the heart of our monastic life. This Paschal mystery would not be possible without the feast of the Incarnation, Jesus Christ born into our world to bring us redemption. How can we not think of the suffering people of the Middle East as we once again celebrate an event that marked all humanity. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you at this Christmas time.
