L'Abri is located in a small village, called Greatham, halfway between Portsmouth and London, but the closest train station is at Liss, two miles away. Due to disrupted train service, I didn't arrive at Liss until 9:45 PM and so walked the last few miles in the dark. But by now walking is old hat to me. I was worried, however, that the gates would be shut and I would have to camp in the yard until morning (like Harfang in the Silver Chair) but when I pushed on the front door it swung open to reveal a large front hall, a roaring fire and a group of people playing cards. I was immediately welcomed in.
Now I am going to try to describe what L'Abri is, but I know I will fail miserably. L'Abri was founded by Francis and Edith Schaffer in Switzerland about 60 years ago. Since then seven other campuses have sprung up around the world. The word L'Abri is French for "Shelter" and it is a place where people (Christian or not) may go to live in a vibrant community and pursue the answers to their questions. Here they don't try to tell you what to study or what to be, but rather they foster an environment which is conducive to growth. It is also similar to what Bonhoeffer describes in "Life Together". Half the day is spent in study and the other half is spent in working (laundry, cleaning, preparing food, gardening, removing stumps...). There are regular times of Bible reading and liturgies, as well as evening lectures and thought provoking movies.
The English L'Abri was started in 1970 after a lady donated the building, which is called the Manor House. Manor House is ancient. Some parts of it date back to the 15th century. It is also huge. It reminds me of what C.S. Lewis said in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, "It is the sort of house that you never seem to get to the end of." Every day I discover new places. There are about 30 people living in it now and it has capacity for many more. the grounds are beautiful with large patches of daffiodils, and a 19th century pool made of brick. There is a small chapel with pews made of hay bails. You'd think it was in the wild west except for the ancient half timber of the ceiling. There are several out buildings, including a stable which is currently being renovated into more living space. The interior or the Manor House is slightly shabby grandure--which is perfect for its intended use. If it were too nice we wouldn't feel that we could play or rough-house. I've spent a lot of time walking around looking at the way the bricks in the fireplaces were layed, the intricate fishbone pattern of the flooring, and the wildly lavish use of crown moulding.
But of course L'Abri is more about the people than the building. There are more full time staff than I can name, all of whom are very well qualified. They come from all over the world and are gold mines of knowledge.
Each day follows a similar rythmn. We eat breakfast together at 8, have liturgical prayer at 9:10, work from 9:30-1 with a tea break, have "discussion lunches" (where someone asks a question that they have been thinking about) and then study from 3-6:30 with another tea break. Then discussion dinner and then a lecture/movie/free night. Thursdays are free days and Sundays are different. On Mondays instead of discussion at lunch we sit for an hour in silence and listen to music. I thought this sounded rather hokey but it was beautiful.
I've especially enjoyed my work. L'Abri is in the process of renovating the old stable into a living space and I am building the brick pathway to the door. It will be the first time that L'Abri has been wheelchair accessible. Some other guys are working on digging out this huge stump which has grown to block to door. It has taken over a week, but finally, yesterday (Friday) they winched it out of the hole. I don't think I'll be able to finish the path before I leave, but its most of the way there.
About half of the other students here are from America, but there are also people from Kyrgistan, Switzerland, Lithuania, Italy, Maylasia and just down the road. We also range in age from 18 to 72. I have had so many good conversations and grown a lot through them.
One person who must be mentioned is Grace. She is 72 and is Chinese, born in Maylasia with an Australian passport. Until 1990 she working in a university teaching English Composition, but she felt a calling from God to quit her job and travel and meet Christians. In the last 24 years she has been everywhere--she just goes where the Spirit leads. She is so full of joy and is so obviously in tune with the Spirit. The other day a missionary from Turkey named Ron came to visit for several days. It turns out that he had met Grace in Turkey last year! She had come into his (all Turkish speaking) church saying that she wanted to pray with them.
Now I am going to try to describe what L'Abri is, but I know I will fail miserably. L'Abri was founded by Francis and Edith Schaffer in Switzerland about 60 years ago. Since then seven other campuses have sprung up around the world. The word L'Abri is French for "Shelter" and it is a place where people (Christian or not) may go to live in a vibrant community and pursue the answers to their questions. Here they don't try to tell you what to study or what to be, but rather they foster an environment which is conducive to growth. It is also similar to what Bonhoeffer describes in "Life Together". Half the day is spent in study and the other half is spent in working (laundry, cleaning, preparing food, gardening, removing stumps...). There are regular times of Bible reading and liturgies, as well as evening lectures and thought provoking movies.
The English L'Abri was started in 1970 after a lady donated the building, which is called the Manor House. Manor House is ancient. Some parts of it date back to the 15th century. It is also huge. It reminds me of what C.S. Lewis said in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, "It is the sort of house that you never seem to get to the end of." Every day I discover new places. There are about 30 people living in it now and it has capacity for many more. the grounds are beautiful with large patches of daffiodils, and a 19th century pool made of brick. There is a small chapel with pews made of hay bails. You'd think it was in the wild west except for the ancient half timber of the ceiling. There are several out buildings, including a stable which is currently being renovated into more living space. The interior or the Manor House is slightly shabby grandure--which is perfect for its intended use. If it were too nice we wouldn't feel that we could play or rough-house. I've spent a lot of time walking around looking at the way the bricks in the fireplaces were layed, the intricate fishbone pattern of the flooring, and the wildly lavish use of crown moulding.
But of course L'Abri is more about the people than the building. There are more full time staff than I can name, all of whom are very well qualified. They come from all over the world and are gold mines of knowledge.
Each day follows a similar rythmn. We eat breakfast together at 8, have liturgical prayer at 9:10, work from 9:30-1 with a tea break, have "discussion lunches" (where someone asks a question that they have been thinking about) and then study from 3-6:30 with another tea break. Then discussion dinner and then a lecture/movie/free night. Thursdays are free days and Sundays are different. On Mondays instead of discussion at lunch we sit for an hour in silence and listen to music. I thought this sounded rather hokey but it was beautiful.
I've especially enjoyed my work. L'Abri is in the process of renovating the old stable into a living space and I am building the brick pathway to the door. It will be the first time that L'Abri has been wheelchair accessible. Some other guys are working on digging out this huge stump which has grown to block to door. It has taken over a week, but finally, yesterday (Friday) they winched it out of the hole. I don't think I'll be able to finish the path before I leave, but its most of the way there.
About half of the other students here are from America, but there are also people from Kyrgistan, Switzerland, Lithuania, Italy, Maylasia and just down the road. We also range in age from 18 to 72. I have had so many good conversations and grown a lot through them.
One person who must be mentioned is Grace. She is 72 and is Chinese, born in Maylasia with an Australian passport. Until 1990 she working in a university teaching English Composition, but she felt a calling from God to quit her job and travel and meet Christians. In the last 24 years she has been everywhere--she just goes where the Spirit leads. She is so full of joy and is so obviously in tune with the Spirit. The other day a missionary from Turkey named Ron came to visit for several days. It turns out that he had met Grace in Turkey last year! She had come into his (all Turkish speaking) church saying that she wanted to pray with them.
I just managed to finish the path on Saturday (I left early Monday morning). By the time i left L'Abri i felt as if i were leaving home. And so i was excited when Danny and Andrew asked me to come back this summer. They said they could really use my work experience and work ethic and would put me up at L'Abri for as long as i could stay this summer. I am thinking of going back to L'Abri instead of doing the Camino and staying until July.
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