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NEW
CELTIC
MONASTICISM
FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE

WITH STUDY GUIDE

RAY SIMPSON

www.kevinmayhew.com
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KM PUBLISHING
First published in Great Britain in 2005 by Kevin Mayhew Ltd
Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW
This revised edition first published in Great Britain in 2014 by Kevin Mayhew Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1449 737978 Fax: +44 (0) 1449 737834
E-mail: info@kevinmayhew.com
www.kevinmayhew.com
© Copyright 2005, 2014 Ray Simpson.

The right of Ray Simpson to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. With the exception of pages 263-337 no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of the publisher.

Scripture quotations not adapted are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H.
Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of
NavPress Publishing Group.

9876543210
ISBN 978 1 84867 700 5
Catalogue No. 1501426
Cover design by Rob Mortonson
Edited by Marian Reid and Linda Ottewell
Typesetting by Fiona Connell Finch and Richard Weaver
Printed and bound in Great Britain
New Celtic Monasticism for Everyday People 6/2/14 09:37 Page 5

Dedication
For some readers this book will be an arresting introduction to a
new way. For those who decide to travel this way it will become a
life companion – I therefore dedicate this book to the Explorers
and Voyagers of the Community of Aidan and Hilda, present
and future, throughout the world.

Ordered sections of this book may be read daily or weekly, in

silence or aloud, alone or in community, year by year – followed
by reflection.
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A way of death leers at our world:

Here is a Way of Life.
It is offered to all people.
Why the Celtic inspiration?
The Celts emerged from Asia,
settled in Europe’s heartlands,
were driven by Roman armies to their
Empire’s western edge.
There they learned the ways of Christ –
not as a tool of imperial power,
but as a way of love,
for people of every background.
Centuries passed.
The Western world lost touch with the earth,
the poor, and with the vision of God in all of life.
Its people have everything they
need to live with,
but nothing to live for.
Talk grew of a clash of civilisations.
But the spirituality of these borderland Celts,
which lay underground for so long,
now resurfaces and sends waves
across the continents.
It is a spirituality which befriends people of all races,
and the earth itself.
It recognises that we face the collapse,
rather than the clash,
of civilisations; it offers a way forward.

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Contents
About the author 8
Preface Why a Way of Life? 9

Part One The Community of Aidan and Hilda

1 The Community’s Way of Life 19
2 The Dawning Story 29

Part Two Waymarks: The Ten Elements of the Way

1 Life-long Learning 71
2 Spiritual Journey 89
3 A Rhythm of Prayer, Work and Recreation 105
4 Spiritual Initiative through Intercession 131
5 Simple Lifestyle 143
6 Care for Creation 161
7 Healing Fragmented People and
Communities 171
8 Openness to God’s Spirit 185
9 Unity 201
10 Mission 219

Part Three Making It Practical

1 Making a Personal Way of Life 243
2 Callings, Coracles and Cells 247
3 Appendix 251
4 Community of Aidan and
Hilda Resources 259
5 A Way of Life for Our World 263
6 A Way for Living for Young People 329

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About the author

Ray Simpson is a Celtic new monastic for tomorrow’s world,
a lecturer, consultant, liturgist, and author of some 30 books.
He is the founding guardian of the international Community
of Aidan and Hilda (www.aidanandhilda.org) and the pioneer
of its e-studies programmes. He is an ordained member of the
Christian church and lives on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
His website is www.raysimpson.org

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Preface
Why a Way of Life?

The World Needs a Way Forward

The human race is at a crossroads. It has been shaped by big
ideas which millions live by: Money (e.g. capitalism), Race
(e.g. Nazism), Pleasure, and Order (e.g. the Roman Empire)
are four of the biggest ideas. But these carry the seeds of their
own destruction. People are sacrificed on the altar of the idea
and, in the end, the oppressed destroy the oppressor.
Like nature, societies abhor a vacuum. There is a vacuum
in the modern world. The mental frameworks of past ages
have fled in the face of technical and psychological invasion,
yet our confused world is in search of a soul: people look for a
path that is simple but not simplistic; in an age of mobility,
people look for roots; in an age of dislocation, people want to
reconnect with the whole. An authentic Way, such as is
offered here, does not stifle our personality, it frees us to live
from our deepest core.

Making a Personal Rule

Many, as in the Community of Aidan and Hilda, work out
with an anamchara, or soul-friend, how to put the Common
Way into practice in the light of their situation, temperament
and season of life. A common Way of Life provides general
principles and elements. A personal Rule applies these to one’s

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Preface

own circumstances. In order to discover how to do this we

also listen to our deepest inner voice.
It is different for each person. Take, for example, the principle
of a simple lifestyle. The principle is relevant both to a mogul
and to me. The mogul might apply the principle by delegating
as much as possible; I might apply it by disposing of as much
as possible.
Some have a contemplative calling and are unaffirmed in it.
So to belong to a fellowship of people who value contemplative
prayer as part of their Way affirms and keeps them in touch
with ‘fellow-travellers’.
Certain people embrace a Way because they are too
activist. They might say: ‘I try to follow Jesus. I try to pray.
But my life seems to be one thing after another. I’m too busy,
there are too many demands on me. I haven’t the time. I don’t
really know what I should be doing.’ Then someone suggests
to them: ‘Why not make a list of all the things you do? Tick
those you believe God wants you to do, dispose of the other
things. Now number the things you have ticked in order of
their eternal significance and arrange your week around these
priorities. Through trial and error you can adapt this. Then,
instead of hassle each time someone asks you to do some-
thing, you say yes or no or wait according to your Rule. There
is no argument. This saves much time and energy.’
People who have known in their hearts that they should
live like this have needed the spur of others who live likewise.

Christianity Began as a Way

Christianity began as a way of life. Jesus called himself ‘The
Way’ (John 14:6). He told people they had a choice between
two ways: the selfish way that leads to a dead end, or a God-
guided way that leads to life (Matthew 7:13, 14). After Jesus’
death, his followers became known as ‘The Way’ (Acts 9:2).
Presumably this was because they not only held beliefs, but

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Preface

also had a way of behaving which people noticed. This way

included a daily rhythm of prayer (Acts 2:42, 46).
Over the centuries Christianity became over-regulated.
Organisation and dogma replaced the simplicity of journeying
with God. In seventeenth-century Europe Nonconformists
rebelled against the imposition of Church regulations which
did not reflect their calling. In our day, people in Free and
New churches distinguish between legalism and the enabling
power of good framework. Peter Stephens, President of the
British Methodist Conference, declared in 1998:

Having a pattern of life helps us to be actors rather than

reactors. It helps us secure a balance between work and
leisure, church and community . . . It encourages us to
have a structure that frees us from the tyranny of pres-
sure or personality.*

Take Responsibility
Godly discipline is different to the rules and regulations of
bureaucratic organisations. The answer to legalism is not a
vacuum, but clarity about our priorities. To live authentically
means that I choose my lifestyle, I do not succumb to the
lifestyle others foist upon me. It means that I use my time,
money and talents according to my deepest convictions.
In the changed circumstances of the third millennium, the
person in the street needs a Way. Technology and mobility
give us so many choices that our lives, without a framework,
become driven by external stimuli and unsifted expectations.
Sports people understand this. They measure their perfor-
mance against objective standards. We all need something
against which we can measure our performance. We are ‘spiritual
athletes’ who train and run for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:25).

*The Methodist Church Westminster Letter, November 1998.

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PART ONE
The Community of
Aidan and Hilda
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1
The Community’s Way of Life

The Community of Aidan and Hilda is a worldwide fellow-

ship who live by what we call a Way of Life. Before all else we
seek to be wholly available to the Holy Trinity and committed
to the way of Jesus as revealed to us in the Bible. Our vision
is:
† to cradle a contemporary Christian Spirituality;
† to raise up a renewed pilgrim people;
† to resource the emerging Church;
† to heal wounded communities and land.

In order to earth our commitment, we draw inspiration from

Celtic saints such as Aidan and Hilda. We share the belief that
God is once again calling us to the quality of life and commit-
ment that was revealed in the lives of these Christians whose
witness was so effective. Thus we seek to live out Christianity
as a complete way of life.
The Way of Life of the Community of Aidan and Hilda
was originally written for people within traditional Christianity
who were looking for a fresh way of living an age-old faith.
We now receive enquiries about the Way from people who are
sincere seekers after authentic spirituality, but who know little
of traditional Christianity.

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New Celtic Monasticism for Everyday People

The prophet Malachi refers to a covenant that was ‘of life

and well-being’ (Malachi 2:5). In our application of the Way
of Life we ask: ‘Does what we do bring life and well-being?’
At the end of each chapter in Part Two, The Ten Elements of
the Way, are real-life examples of personal applications made
by what we term ‘Voyagers’.

The Three Life-giving Principles

Three Life-giving Principles underlie everything we do. The
vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, which are taken in
traditional monasteries, are a particular form of these Principles.
The Principles themselves are flexible, modern and suited to
all walks of life:
1. Simplicity
Simplicity means we are willing to be rich or poor for God
according to God’s direction. We resist the temptation to be
greedy or possessive, and we will not manipulate people or
creation for our own ends. We are bold in using all we have
for God without fear of possible poverty.
2. Purity
Purity means we are wholehearted, not divided, in relationships.
It means accepting and giving God our whole being, including
our sexuality. We love all people as Christ commands, and
accept Christ’s teaching about marriage and celibacy. We
respect every person as belonging to God, and we are available
to them with generosity and openness.
3. Obedience
Obedience is the joyful abandonment of ourselves to God.
The root of obedience is attentive listening. We are most ful-
filled when we foster a process of mutual discernment; this
enables us to recognise that some people are charismatically

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The Community’s Way of Life

or institutionally gifted in certain roles and we work with

them to build up the common good. We respect each person
and their role, and relate to them as an organ in a human
body relates to every other organ (1 Corinthians 12).

The Soul-friend
The Celtic Church affirmed and used the ministry of the
anamchara or soul-friend. A soul-friend needs to be a mature
Christian who is in sympathy with the aims of the Community.
He or she does not need to belong to the Community of Aidan
and Hilda, but it is clearly helpful if they do.
Each member of this Community will have a soul-friend to
work with them in developing an application of a Way of Life
that is personally suited to them.

The Ten Elements of the Way

The Way relates to the following ten areas of life, and is reviewed
at agreed intervals.

1. Life-long Learning
Daily Bible reading is at the heart of this Way of Life. In
addition, we study the history of the Celtic Church, becoming
familiar with such saints as Aidan, Brigid, Caedmon, Columba,
Cuthbert, David, Hilda, Illtyd, Ninian, Oswald and Patrick.
We remember their feast days and consider them as companions
on our journeys of faith. We also bear in mind their strong
link with the Desert Fathers and Mothers and the Eastern
Church, and we wish to draw these, too, into our field of
studies. It is essential that study is not understood merely as
an academic exercise. All that we learn is not for the sake of
study itself, but in order that what we learn should be lived.
We encourage the Celtic practice of memorising scriptures,
and learning through the use of creative arts.

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