Dear friends

The core members of Wild Monastery (including Wild Church) recently met to discuss our relationship with Brooking Church. It is almost two years now since we began to consider the possibility of ‘Plan A’ – our taking on a lease there, as suggested by the Church of England. By now we have enough information about and experience of the church building & churchyard to be able to make an informed decision about this.

Essentially, we have decided to step back when our planned events for this year conclude in early November 2026. We do this with a deep sense of sadness because we have tried very hard to make staying there work and have invested considerable time, labour and funds to the project and to the care of St. Barnabas Church, Brooking.

The reasons for our decision are threefold:

  1. The significant backlog of repairs, the high level of basic running costs and the legal burden of responsibility are more than our small group has capacity for at this time.
  2. This is partly because we have lost our fundraising team! A dear friend who was planning to move to the area (from the US) and donate time to help Sam set up a CIO and fundraise, has needed to change her mind about moving. While our other fundraiser is about to adopt and has other local community responsibilities.
  3. We are limited in what we can do at Brooking. Although the ministry of Wild Church was formally assessed and affirmed by a national C of E ‘Pioneer Panel’, most of our activities are not considered by some to be sufficiently Anglican. So it does not feel like a very good deal to be legally and financially responsible and yet not be able to use the space as we wish.

By making this decision now, close to the beginning of the outwardly active part of our year, we are choosing to make a careful, considered and good ending over the months to come. As part of this, Sam is still willing to continue as Churchwarden until November.

Also, we are offering during this period to put some time into ‘Plan B’, as we still hope to help save Brooking Church as a sacred space and community asset. This would involve approaching national charities, for example the Churches Conservation Trust, who do have the capacity to take legal and financial responsibility for churches at risk. Through finding out what is possible with such a charity and what might be required of us in relation to this, we may still then be able to play our part in doing what we have done well over the last two years: practical care, organising events and keeping the church open on Sundays, especially during the warmer, drier months.

It does feel important however that there is a clear line drawn between these last two years and a potential new future for Brooking Church. Also, after a very demanding few years, Sam is in need of a break. 2025 was a particularly stressful time for her, due to health challenges and other reasons. So she will be renting out her home and taking several months of sabbatical from November, staying first with her family and then in a monastery. Brooking Church is largely unusable (due to the cold and damp) from then until April anyway, so taking a pause seems both wise and practical.

Sam met with Totnes Team Rector, Fr Jim, recently to discuss all of the above and he expressed his understanding of Wild Monastery’s decision to step back from Brooking later this year and also his support for finding an alternative ‘plan B’ way forward. We hope other members of the Dartington PCC (Parochial Church Council) will similarly support this, as we have made so much positive progress at Brooking Church.

To conclude, we want to express how much members of Wild Monastery and Wild Church have become attached to Brooking Church and care deeply about its future. We believe it is a special and sacred place and we have experienced how people are drawn to the quietness there, as well as this providing a sanctuary for wildlife. Offering consecrated sanctuary space is part of the contemplative Anglican tradition, and is much needed in today’s world. We would like to help make this possible, although we just don’t have the capacity to take on the full legal and financial responsibility.

In conclusion, we hope that we may be able to play a part in the ongoing life of this very special, peaceful, pilgrim place, in a way that works for all and we invite offers of support.

With every good wish

Christine, Jan and Sam

Wild Monastery