Listen
like Elijah, to the still, small voice of God in the silence of their hearts.
Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites Nottingham Diocese
About the Secular Carmelites
Secular Discalced Carmelites are lay people who
Believe
like St John of the Cross that God seeks them even more than they seek Him.
Witness
like Elijah, to the presence of the Living God in every aspect of their daily lives.
Ponder
like Mary, on the Word of God, treasuring it in their hearts.
Pray
like St Teresa of Avila, with the conviction that we “have no need of wings to go in search of God but have only to find a place where we can be alone and look upon him present within”
Carmelite News Winter 2022
The new Lincolnshire Carmelite Community of St John of the Cross celebrated a wonderful occasion on Saturday 19th November 2022 on the eve of Christ the King when two Members made First Promises and one Member was received into Formation: Karen Jones and Michael Greens’ First Promises and Suzy Kopliku’s Request to be received into Formation were received by Deacon James Hunter, OCDS during the Saturday morning Mass celebrated at The Sacred Heart and St Gilberts Church, Bourne by the Parish Priest, Fr Paul Lloyd. The Ceremony was attended by family and friends who joined in a celebration after Mass before we held our monthly Community Day.
The Lincolnshire Carmelite Community of St John of the Cross comprises a group of lay Catholics in the Nottingham Diocese formed during 2021 when growth in numbers in the St Elizabeth of the Trinity Community of Secular Carmelites then covering Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire allowed us to form a separate Community for Lincolnshire.
Our Carmelite Communities continue to grow across the Nottingham Diocese as more and more of us feel called by Our Lady of Carmel to seek to live out our baptism as Secular Carmelites by striving for evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience and through the beatitudes according to our state in life.
Anyone living in Lincolnshire feeling called to explore a vocation as a Secular Carmelite can find out more about the Carmelite Community of St John of the Cross through contacting Sandra Buck email sandra.buck2@gmail.com, or phone/message 07900 582815. We meet on the third Saturday of the month, usually at Our Lady of Lincoln, Laughton Way, Lincoln, starting with 9:30am mass if possible; the Community Day itself starts with Morning Prayer from 10am and, after a day of Contemplation and Study, finishes with Evening Prayer before 4pm.
Carmelite News Spring 2022
- Our February Open Retreat Day at Stapleford was very well attended by 25 people who appreciated the opportunity to gather for prayer, reflection, and study. The theme was With Jesus in the Desert – exploring His temptations and ours. Several people were interested in learning more about the community and attending future events.
- Group Library - work continues updating and cataloguing the library which is available for members to borrow books on a regular basis. Please see our website for details.
- Comings and Goings
- we have been delighted to welcome several new enquirers to the group this year, and also sad to lose one member who has moved to Norfolk and has joined a local OCDS group there.
- In March on the 2nd Sunday of Lent at the Church of Our Lady and St Thomas of Hereford in Ilkeston Myra and Karen made their 1st promises which were received by Fr Andrew Harding, and Allan was received into formation. A very moving occasion. We are very grateful to Fr Andrew and the parish for welcoming our community.
- We continue to pray for those members who are sick and unable to attend meetings at present
- New posters and leaflets about the OCDS have been designed to use in parishes and are available here
- Community Retreat Weekend in April at The Hayes Conference Centre in Derbyshire. 17 people from the Nottingham, Lincoln and Derby groups attended the weekend based around the questions:
- How do I live Carmel as a lay person?
- How does God use me in my ordinary life?
- Serving God’s Plan: Carmelite witness in our diocese, the Church and the World.
Canon Anthony Dolan very kindly came from Bulwell to join us for Sunday lunch and then to celebrate Mass for us in the afternoon. We are planning another retreat for next year.
Carmelite Retreats and Reading Groups
Do you want to pray more but feel you never have time? Are you looking for a way to grow closer to God in your everyday life?
In 2023 we hosted a full day (from 8am to 4pm) of Eucharistic exposition on 10 June in preparation for Corpus Christi; we provided resources and refreshments in the church hall with an opportunity to talk for anyone who wished to.
Currently we have 2 reading/ study groups open to all:
- 4th Tuesday of the month 2-4pm at Our Lady of Lincoln Laughton Way, Lincoln LN2 2HE.
- 1st Thursday of the month, 10.30am – noon, Our Lady & St Thomas, Ilkeston in the crypt after 9.30am Mass.
Our Communities
In the Nottingham Diocese there are three closely linked but autonomous communities:
- The St Edith Stein Community, meeting in Derby on the first Saturday of the month, drawing members from Derbyshire, Burton-upon-Trent & Leicestershire
- The St Elizabeth of the Trinity Community, meeting in Nottingham on the second Saturday of the month. This draws in members from Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire.
- The St John of the Cross Community meeting in Lincoln drawing members from Linconshire.
Our meetings include recitation of Morning or Evening Prayer, half an hour of silent prayer, study of Carmelite texts and Scripture and time for socialising and suppot.
Our Nottingham community also leads 3 Reading Groups to help people deepen their spiritual life by exploring the Carmelite Saints and their writings; meeting monthly, two in the day-time and one in the evening.
We also lead courses on prayer, days of prayer & reflection and an annual retreat that offers opportunity for individual guidance.
Talking Philosophy: a Carmelite Perspective
A reading and discussion Zoom group for those who would like to discover and grapple with some of the more philisophical Carmelite writers such as Edith Stein, organised by members of the Nottingham Community For Secular Carmelites, and anyone else who may be interested, to investigate the ‘history of ideas’, and the thinking and philosophical input which informs much of Carmelite ‘mystical theology’? This would be in a friendly, intimate, non-threatening group, assuming no previous knowledge, and also open to non-Carmelites, non-Catholics, Christians of any denomination, contemplative tradition, or, indeed, anyone, of any faith, or none.
For further details and who to contact if you are interested please see
Carmelite News Autumn 2021
Formation of a new Secular Carmelite Community in Lincoln
The Nottingham Secular Carmelite Community Group (St Elizabeth of the Trinity) was canonically established in 2012 with the permission of our then Bishop, Malcolm McMahon OP. Since then, many people have been welcomed to explore Carmelite spirituality and contemplation, and to study the great saints of Carmel.
With increasing numbers and with some members travelling considerable distances to meetings, we have decided to establish a new group in Lincoln (St John of the Cross), meeting at Our Lady of Lincoln on the third Saturday of the month, 10am-4pm (by kind permission of the parish priest, Fr John St. John). The first meeting will be Saturday 16th October.
We are delighted that one of our long-term members, Sandra Buck, has taken on the responsibility of leading this group supported by Deacon James Hunter and Victor Burton. The group will also be supported by our Formation Director, Heather Ward.
Nottingham President, Martin Hopkinson, wrote to Bishop Patrick McKinney to update him on our work and to ask for his blessings and prayers, which he was pleased to give.
The Lincolnshire members will be very much missed by the Nottingham Group, but we will keep in contact, support each other, and occasionally have joint meetings. We welcome the opportunity to make Carmelite spirituality and the secular way of life more widely known and available in our Diocese.
Our Lady of Lincoln pray for us.