Ty Mam Duw Sisters moving to Nottingham

Marian House of the Holy Spirit logo

The Poor Clare sisters are celebrating their ninetieth year in Wales by moving to the peripheries, at Pope Francis' suggestion, Sister Maria writes.

Ty Mam Duw - 'House of the Mother of God' is moving to Nottingham. There are thirteen sisters in Hawarden: they are vivacious and energetic. Behind the parish church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in the Bulwell suburb in Nottingham are four sisters in two attached houses that have more living space than Hawarden. There would have been a sort of human logic that the four might come and join the thirteen in their custom-built cloister in the countryside. Instead the larger family is going to join the smaller, in one of the more poverty-stricken areas in Britain. The resulting community will have a background of nine ethnic origins beside a very lively parish where over twenty languages are spoken.

You may say we sisters can pray anywhere, and it is true; that we have a big and inspiring website www.poorclarestmd.org but prayer is like justice, it has to be seen to be done - and shared. We live in an age in which power is cycling out of control and for which prayer is the only answer. The idea of a cloistered contemplative community is to adore God and intercede for the world and the Church and to have a heart open to the pain and joy of others.

The diocese has lovingly allowed us to take the sacristies and convert them into a side chapel. Not that we have got that far yet! And we are making a more practical use of the space inside which includes knocking the walls about (and creating a few more bathrooms!) The M56, M6, A500, A50 and the M1 are all becoming very familiar to us and our friends, as we trundle our bits and pieces to Bulwell and bring the rubbish they are not able to cope with back to burn (You can't have a really sincere bonfire in a built up area!)

Our monastery is being sold for much needed building land, and more than we have has to go on moving Mother Cherubina and our beloved sisters in our cemetery. A service you have to pay the Home Office to arrange for you, however willing and able you are to do it for yourself!

We are not there yet. Mother Damian has the builders moving and they suggest it will be before the end of the school holidays We are dedicated to the Mother of God and Nottingham has the Holy Spirit so when we arrive we will be the Marian House of the Holy Spirit - Poor Clare Colettines, of course.

Thirty-five years ago there were only six sisters here. Could we say, very humbly and solely thanks to the grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit we do keep growing and we are not the only family of sisters to do so. The best time to join a monastery is when it is moving.

LINK

www.poorclarestmd.org