Islands and Boiler Rooms

 Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm,

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm” – Bob Dylan

A couple of weeks ago we held the Rural Ministries Holy Island Hub on Lindisfarne, hosted wonderfully at the St Cuthbert’s Centre by Revd Kay Blackwell. It’s always a joy to go onto the island, to leave the mainland and cross the causeway as many pilgrims have done for centuries (being careful of course, not to fall foul to bad planning and shifting tides).

We gathered from across Northumberland and the Scottish Borders to share a day together, to tell stories from our lives and work, to pray and laugh, to inspire each other, and to let God speak to us, perhaps through the wild beauty of this magnificent island.

On this day mid-late June, we experienced beautiful sunshine but also felt the full force of the North Sea wind. I’ve always loved being here when the weather is particularly wild and stormy. That’s probably a good thing because it often is. Living an hour north of here, I regularly visit to pray and walk the coastline, drink coffee at Pilgrims Coffee, and reflect and journal…… just to retreat away for a while. Many of these days begin with stilling my soul and lighting a candle in St Mary’s. There is often wind swirling around the rooftops and windows of the church. It’s a peaceful space to withdraw, before heading into the great outdoors!

Whilst at the hub this time around, I didn’t head into St Mary’s. Instead, during the ‘space to breathe’ section in the afternoon, I walked around the coastline to the harbour and then back to St Cuthberts. It was here that I found their ‘Boiler Room Chapel’ for the first time. This is such a beautiful little space that is attached to the main building that once held the boiler (I assume!). Now there is a simple set up of two chairs, a cross and a bible. There is something incredibly soul stirring to step out of the wind and into the shelter of the wee chapel, to find stillness amidst the chaos all around.

To find these little refuges are so integral to maintaining some sense of oneness and union with God. It feels like storms are swirling all around us at the moment, in one form or another. There is increasing unrest, uncertainty, and polarisation for us to navigate in the world, we can easily end up being tossed and turned by the wind and waves of expectation and shifting cultures.

What would it look like to have a refuge, a shelter from the storm, for us to use? There are numerous times throughout scripture that God offers himself as a shelter and a refuge to us. Psalm 91 suggests that, rather than simply finding shelter in Him, we actually live in the shelter of the Most High, it is then that we will find the rest our souls desire so deeply. This could change everything for us, and would help to reframe this path of life, love and ministry that we’re all doing our best to journey on, reframing how we expect God to come for us and how we rest. I think Jesus knew God in this way, this is what enabled him to fall asleep in an open boat in the middle of the storm. While I seek shelter from wind and rain, Jesus takes a nap exposed to the elements! There’s a wonderful picture here of how to walk through our days with God, how to consider a storm….spiritual, culture or literal!

The Psalmist continues to articulate the reality of God as our refuge. He says we can entrust our very lives into His strong hands; we can be confident He will be our rescue; we can be confident in the faithfulness His promises; and that we can be sure that no evil can overcome us. Then, in a truly disarming conclusion, the Lord says, “When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue and honour them.”

In all the storms you may be facing, may you know the shelter and refuge of a very loving and mighty God; may you know that the cry of your heart in the midst of the chaos is heard and answered; and may you know that the One who lay the foundations of all created things, who birthed a universe and gave us all breath and life, rescues and honours you!

And may you be left breathless by the staggering beauty of this truth! 

Jon Timms

Joint CEO, Rural Ministries