Our Link With Holton Lee

"What we do is more important than what we believe" says Brigid Bowen - Holton Lee's new Spirituality Manager.

Holton Lee is a place of refuge and discovery - a place to bring together the physical, spiritual and emotional aspects of our lives. It is a safe place where we can be ourselves completely, not being judged or judging others.

Holton Lee is about doing rather than just believing. We are only as spiritual as our actions and the way we behave to the people we meet each day. At Holton Lee we try to encourage and support that action - so guests, staff, volunteers and visitors can experience a sense of open-hearted connection.

Sixty years ago, Lady Madeline Lees (Tom Lees mother) said that her wish was that the Lees Estate be used for the glory of God, that must have contributed to Tom and his wife Faith's decision to found the Post Green community. They wanted to create a City of Refuge where everyone was welcome, and so they opened their hearts and houses to those that needed it. Post Green was an ecumenical Christian community and it gathered people from many different denominations. It was the Post Green community who had the vision to found Holton Lee, and it was the community who nurtured its early years.

So this is a charity which has grown from Christian roots. But we are absolutely committed to welcoming people from all faiths and none. An active spirituality is the recognition that each person is a gem of great value - you don't need a set of beliefs - just a loving heart and a respect for the ways in which we are all different. Ours is a theology of friendship and kindness, and we remember Faith Lees words when she told us that 'Creative love is where there is no gap between what we profess about toying and the reality of what we live out". (Lees 1987).

Yes, it is a challenge sometimes, but it is vital that we try to tread mindfully on the earth and into each other's worlds. Holton Lee's mission is to remove the barriers that disable people in a society not set up for everyone's needs. We try to make the environment accessible, and to enable people to discover the beautiful 350 acres that surround us. Many people come closest to spiritual presence while out and about in Nature, and what better way to do that than in one of Ashtree Stables' carriages...?