The Well at Willen Community - Who are we?

The community comprises a group of people who have chosen to live together and as such we would be regarded as an "intentional community". We live in a large house set in three acres of land, just on the outskirts of Milton Keynes which is some 50 miles north of London. The house has been rearranged inside so that members each have in effect a "house" or "flat" within the main building.

Photo Gallery ( under construction ).
Have a look at photos of our community and of milton Keynes.

"Diggers and Dreamers" - if you are interested in community living visit the website for info on many of the communities in the UK. For a more global perspective click on the "intentional community" link.

Shared values... some key values for the community:

• hospitality
• inclusivity
• spirituality
• peace and justice
• sustainability

we try to live out these values but as you might expect we have a lot to learn!

Community Members - June 2004 (alphabetically listed)

Marcus Armstrong

The Baker Family
Robin, Liz, Iain, Catie and Taran

John Pearce

We also have a number of people staying with us on a medium to long term basis, either for respite, as paying guests or as volunteer workers.

We welcome potential new members who can contribute to the spiritual practical and social life of the community (click here for details)

Non-residential members
Tim Edwards
Coralie Mansfield

More about the members and their businesses and activities

A brief history...
The Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM), an Anglo-Catholic religious order relocated from Kelham, Notts, to Willen, Milton Keynes in 1972 where they built a Priory. Since then they have made many good friends in the new Milton Keynes but, in common with many religious orders, found new members few and far between

This is where we come in...
Dilly Baker, then vicar of Willen Church, along with her husband Chris, discussed with SSM their own vision of setting up a lay, family-based, ecumenical community.For three years a small group explored the possibility of forming a new community and in August 1997, after extensive building work to convert the individual units into family accommodation, the first members finally moved in. The conversion work was funded by SSM who also generously agreed to financially support the new community by offering a three-year start up grant and to subsidise the ground rent.

The story so far …We are a non-hierarchical community with a shared leadership. Decisions are made in our community meetings, with important decisions being based on a sense of what is right. In choosing to live so closely together we go against the trend of individualism. Not surprisingly, community life can be very different! But it's never dull!

The Well...why are we called The Well?
Fr Frank of SSM reflected about what the future might hold for the new community and shared the image of The Well as a source of refreshment, meeting and encounter. He suggested "The Well is the symbol of the life-giving God whom we seek.It is not 'our' well; we may be the locals, but the well is for all as God is for all - the heart of the matter - a deep, still entry into the vast, inexhaustible, unseen source below".

Home - our community life
Each family/individual has their own living space as well as sharing in the communal areas. As community members we aim to have a daily, shared meal and one act of reflection/prayer together, which is led by a different member of the community each week in accordance with their own beliefs. The daily tasks of the community (cooking, cleaning, shopping) are based on a rota system. We all pay rent on our private living quarters and contribute towards food each week. We hold a weekly community meeting as well as regular meetings with our Support and Development Group. We are a housing co-operative (each resident member is a tenant) and hold quarterly co-operative meetings.

Garden
At the back of the house we have an orchard and a large vegetable patch. Both have great potential. We also keep free-range chickens which provide us with beautiful eggs (providing we can protect the chicks from the local fox)

Faith traditions
We currently have ten adult residential members and two younger members. This is made up of one family and six single people. We have four non-residential members. The community has a Christian base but is actively working to create and foster dialogue understanding and acceptance between faiths. We find ourselves greatly enriched by the traditions and experience of others.

Meeting rooms for hire
Current users include the local authority, NHS Trusts, local churches, healing and therapy groups, individuals and small businesses. We employ a Facilities and Finance Manager to run the meeting rooms along with a Caretaker. This facility is the engine of the community, providing the resource for the development of our non profit making activities. Thanks to the this activity we are able to make a donation to Wells for India.

Library
The communit houses a large part of the library of SSM which was brought to Willen from their college at Kelham. This is a mixture of theological and secular works and is being managed on our behalf by our library group and volunteers. The library is available for study and is open on a daily basis from 2-5 pm. LSN (see next) also have a library within the same space.
Please call for further information.

LSN
The Living Spirituality Network, a national organisation, has an office space and a resource room within The Well. LSN is committed to exploring ecumenical spirituality via networking across the country. As a community we have benefited from their commitment to exploring contemporary spirituality.

Asylum & Refugee Partnership
This started out in October 1997 as provision of free English teaching to asylum seekers and refugees. We now have a Monday class at The Well (partly funded by ACE) and a drop in at the YMCA on a Thursday. A part time project co-ordinator has been funded by SSM and other supporters.

Peace and Justice Work
Marcus Armstrong is an active peace campaigner. As a member of Trident Ploughshares he takes part in their non-violent campaigns against nuclear weapons. He is currently planning to go to Palestine.

Visitors
We currently have three guest rooms. We've welcomed young people from the Czech Republic and from France, Italy, America, China, Australia, Tibet, etc. asylum seekers from Albania, zimbabwe and Somalia, a Pastor from Rwanda, a family from Korea, two Dutch hospice workers, an American evangelist. We have also provided a few days space to people who have been going through difficulties in their life.

We seek to have an open door policy for the travellers who call in here on their journeying. Some stay only for one night, others for a week or so. Often they work in the garden or the house, but our welcome is open and not dependent on ability. We find ourselves blessed by their visits.

Open Table (click here for details)
Our communal meal on a Friday night is open to anyone who would like to join us. This is sometimes followed by a presentation from a speaker. Topics have included the Bach Flower Remedies, Willen Hospice, Refugee experiences, Psychology and Spirituality and Restorative Justice. Accoustic Evenings Our regular accoustic evenings are an opportunity for all to participate, be that through music, poems, stories, dance or with food

Workshops click here to see our calendar)
The workshops held at The Well reflect the individual interests of members. They have included a Lent course entitled 'weaving the Passion', an art and photographic exhibition, a local pilgrimage, quiet days, workshops on the environment, money, poetry and spirituality, a local democracy presentation on food issues and a children's summer school.
To be continued...