Following ecumenical consultation, the Rev’d Matt Richards is to be appointed Mission Community Leader for the Solway Mission Community, succeeding the Rev’d Richard Corrie, who has stepped down from that role. Our thanks go to Richard for his service. The Rev’d Philip Jackson will remain Assistant Mission Community Leader.
The Bishop of Carlisle has also asked Matt to form and lead a New Monastic Community in the Solway Mission Community. Matt’s curacy has been extended to facilitate the creation of a Bishop’s Mission Order to which Matt will be licensed in due course.
Captain Jeff Hill’s role as Pioneer Enabler in Maryport, Netherton and Flimby has also been extended by 18 months and Captain Jeff will assist Matt in the creation of the New Monastic Community.
This represents an exciting new initiative in the Solway Mission Community. It aims for a renewal of the life of prayer and mission that first inspired the proclamation of the Gospel across the Solway through the ministries of St Patrick, St Kentigern and monks of Holme Cultram. That unique heritage of faith has shaped the Solway as we know it today and has represented a continuous mission, whose renewal we now seek, under God. Matt’s role, in creating the New Monastic Community will initially be to help discern the vision and shape of the Community and more information about the Community and how you can participate in it will follow as that vision is discerned.
Matt’s new ministry will be launched at a special Mission Community service on 30th August at 10.00am in Holme Cultram Abbey at which he will be commissioned at Mission Community Leader. This will be followed by a bring and share lunch, and a fellowship walk to Aspatria Rugby Club where, at 4.00pm, there will be a special service of our monthly Mission Community service, Soulway, at which Matt and Jeff will be commissioned for their new roles leading the New Monastic Community.
We would be delighted if people from across the Mission Community were able to attend any or all of these events.
A statement follows below from Matt and Saskia about their emerging vision for the New Monastic Community and their hopes for this new chapter in their lives.
The Venerable Stewart Fyfe
Archdeacon of West Cumberland
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For the past four years Saskia and I have been blessed to minister in and around Aspatria, where I’ve been serving my curacy. During that time, we have fallen in love with the people and place in this beautiful corner of Cumbria. For a long time, we have also felt God calling us towards a form of Church often known as ‘New Monastic Community’.
This is a modern interpretation of the monastic tradition, whose legacy reaches back to the very earliest centuries of the Christian faith. The local spiritual landscape has been greatly influenced by such witness, from missionary monks such as Kentigern, Patrick and Cuthbert, through to the prayerful presence of the Cistercian monks at Abbeytown.
Traditionally, the monastic way involves a choice to give up certain things, in order to pursue a life of radical faith in God. This is typified by lifelong vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. New Monasticism seeks to reflect this spirituality of radical faith, whilst making it accessible within the demands of everyday life.
There is no set way of doing this, and each community must discern how God is calling them to live. Through several years of discernment, we have felt drawn to the core themes of:
- · Chapel – being rooted in a rhythm of prayer and seeking God before all else
- · Table – journeying together in Christ and offering hospitality to all
- · Land – seeking to love and serve the place to which God has called us
Exactly what this looks like in practice will only become clear with time, and may indeed vary for different people. Communities also tend to have different layers of involvement – meaning some may wish to be fully committed to following a shared way of life, whilst others may prefer to journey alongside as close companions or friends from afar.
New Monasticism has already proven a great blessing to the church across the UK, with examples including the Northumbria Community, and the Iona Community in Scotland. Whilst both of these have a geographical ‘spiritual home’, their members live right across the world and may not see each other very often.
By contrast, we feel called to form a more localised expression of Community, rooted in the realities of Cumbrian life, and presently focused on the Solway Plain. We imagine it being ‘locally dispersed’ – with folk living separately in their own homes, but close enough to connect meaningfully together, and perhaps with specific houses of prayer or mission. Forming a new Community doesn’t happen overnight, and we expect this to be a labour of love over many years.
Lastly, New Monasticism is not seeking to replace the traditional church, but rather to come alongside it in mutual love. Following the example of the monks and nuns before us, we hope to ignite humble fires of prayer, hospitality and service, firmly believing in God’s heart of blessing for all.
If you would like to find out more, or share your thoughts, we would dearly love to hear from you! Please join us on August 30th if you’re able, and get in touch any time through the details below. Most importantly, please hold us in your prayers, that we would be faithful to Christ in this new chapter God has set before us.
Matt and Saskia Richards
The Vicarage, King Street, Aspatria, CA7 3AL
[email protected]
07932041517 July 2026.