OTHONA IS…
A PLACE
Our rambling stonebuilt house sits in 7 acres of wild and wonderful grounds, on the unspoilt coast of West Dorset. We have wide sea views and a 10 minute walk down through woods and fields to Chesil Beach. A place to re-charge your batteries – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. A place just to be.
PEOPLE
Up to 8 of us live on site and extend hospitality for as many as 35 visitors at a time. Newcomers are just as welcome as regulars. The atmosphere is very informal.
A SENSE OF COMMUNITY
The key word is acceptance. As a visitor you can be part of the community, not just an onlooker. Sharing meals and jobs and jokes, gifts and ideas, we find that unnecessary barriers between people gradually come down. A sense of belonging grows, a sense of being appreciated and needed for who you are. Without this welcoming heart a community would curl up and die.
AN APPROACH TO SPIRITUALITY
The great intimate mystery we call God surely goes beyond dogma. As an open Christian community we include and learn from people of all faiths and none. In community – and without pressure to conform in religious terms – you may experience the Fellowship of the Spirit in everyday life.
ROOTED IN HISTORY
Our name originally belonged to a Roman fort at Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex. From its ruins, Celtic Christians built a church in A.D. 654. The Othona Community began nearby in 1946, using that ancient church as its chapel. In 1965 we were given a second centre here at Burton Bradstock. It had formerly been home to a community of women dedicated to silent prayer and self-sufficiency.
LOOKING FORWARDS
A renewed sense of community may be vital for the future of the planet. A heartfelt and down-to-earth spirituality is vital for each one of us. In its own way, Othona tries to be a seed-bed for both.
Othona – An Open-Hearted Community
Burton Bradstock is one of two centres of the Othona Community (the other is at Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex). Since 1946 people have come to Othona for a holiday with a difference. Today our ‘regulars’ - drawn from a network of more than 500 subscribing households - travel from all over this country and abroad. But newcomers are equally welcome to book up and join in any of our activities.
Othona is a Christian community of a very open sort, “with hearts open to the world” as our founder used to say. It has always embraced people from all kinds of church, from no church, and others who would not call themselves Christian. We positively value the insights of other viewpoints and faiths.
People from all sorts of backgrounds meet here, and during school holidays there are usually children too. We try to avoid barriers such as those of age, ability, gender, race, background or sexual orientation.
A small resident group – the Core Community – looks after the house and its visitors. We like to think our life together – which we invite you to share – has some of the better aspects of an ‘extended family’. Day to day management responsibility rests with the warden, Tony Jaques, backed by an Executive committee and Trustees drawn from the Othona Community at large.
A Simple Lifestyle
Our lifestyle is straightforward and everybody joins in with one or two basic daily chores - they don’t take long. That’s community; you can strike up unlikely friendships when you’re washing dishes or scrubbing spuds together! Also one weekday morning we usually have a Community Tasks session when we all share in jobs together. Tasks are suited to abilities.
Our meals together – what we eat and the spirit in which we share it – are central to the experience of community. Food is home cooked, favouring traditionally reared meat and local produce. When we serve meat a vegetarian alternative is always provided. We don’t cater for special diets, but you are welcome to bring your own supplementary food. Meals are at 8.30, 1.00 and 7.00 (later on Sundays), with hot drinks available in between times. We have central heating, ample car parking, facilities for music making and a studio with equipment for pottery, painting, spinning and weaving. Othona is free from the chatter of the TV and radio (we make an exception for a radio/cassette played quietly in private).
Refreshment for Body, Mind and Spirit
You’ll find Othona a very informal, unstuffy place. Although the atmosphere isn’t ‘pious’ or full of religious jargon, we’re serious about the very human need for spiritual wholeness. At least once a day we gather in the house chapel – a simple, restful building.
We have no one set form of chapel service. A volunteer may take the lead by choosing music, sharing experience and thoughts, contributing readings, poems or prayers. There may be live or recorded music. Often we simply enjoy a companionable silence together. Chapel is not compulsory, but is a vital part of our life which speaks to many people… including plenty of non-churchgoers.
The chapel is naturally a place for private meditation, though even when there are children in community, you’ll find other places of tranquillity too. Our grounds are largely ‘left to nature’ to favour conservation and wildlife. We do grow flowers, fruit and vegetables, and help in the garden is always welcome.
We have frequent opportunities for group discussion. Topics can vary as widely as the people involved. Thinking together, intellectual stimulus, is part of any community’s lifeblood. We are also happy to discuss the past or present of Othona, and to hear your comments and ideas for its future.
The healthiest of exercise waits just outside the door, not least since we are in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Afternoons are a good time to walk to the beach, 10 minutes away. We often arrange longer walks or outings by car. The Dorset Coast is now a World Heritage Site.
Making a Difference
We try to keep ‘spirituality’ practical and down-to-earth in its implications. 2004 saw us strengthening our commitment to buy local produce and fairly traded goods from abroad. Since 2005 we are also actively supporting the Trade Justice Campaign. We continue to divide our chapel collections between two other charities: one local and one overseas.
MEMBERSHIP
The Othona Community has two centres – the other is at Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex – and hundreds of Members across the UK and beyond. To join the community you simply pay a small annual subscription. You receive our newsletter Full Circle four times a year, plus other occasional mailings and voting rights. To join or find out more, contact us here or Christine Cox at membershipsecretary@othona.org
To read more about Othona, CLICK HERE