Rosemary Gillespie writes:

 Mark has asked me to share with you a little about St Magnus
and REFRESH and what God might be saying to us on a wider basis.
 
I sense I need to begin by first looking back to 2020, which was a significant time when the Lord birthed a vision within me. 
At the time, my links with St Magnus, Bessingby were developing.
Early in that year Mark encouraged us to have ‘blue sky thinking’.
I let myself dream BIG about how God could use this rural church
in building His Kingdom.

In June 2020 Mark was working with the PCC to capture the vision for the Christ Church Bridlington Network and he asked me for craft some words to express what I believed the Lord was saying to us. This is what I penned at the time and continue to see as important for us as a network. 
“We believe Jesus calls us to find refreshment in Him for the service we are called to do. As a discipleship community we will therefore make space amidst our service for necessary rest, restoration, recreation
and fostering our relationship with God and others."

As the pandemic unfolded, God was forming a link between these two strands, and unfolding a new vision, which like Habakkuk (2:2) I wrote down.
In human terms what God said seemed impossible, but He said to make a start, do not despise the day of small beginnings, and that He would bless and bring increase if I gave Him what I had, small though it seemed.
So with Mark’s blessing, that is what I did, and with the help of a small and faithful team, REFRESH was birthed two years ago. Our priority was first and foremost to welcome the Lord’s presence, then to offer His hospitality and provide a quiet place for those who needed to unwind, rest, and receive spiritual refreshment. Over time, we also saw that giving space for ‘Kingdom conversations' and creativity were also very important and fruitful. 
Like a tiny mustard seed, hidden in the ground REFRESH has grown,
mostly unnoticed by the majority.

However, now the Lord has said it has reached the stage where it is ready to be transplanted to St Magnus, the place it was always destined to be to grow to maturity and fruitfulness. So following the Lord, we have packed up and moved to our new home and the next stage of the adventure.
It is exciting to be able to play our part in the unfolding vision of St Magnus.

Here are some of the things we at St Magnus dream of seeing
being increasing released here: 
The building up of Kingdom Relationships, (intimacy with God, with those already in the God’s Kingdom and those we long to see join us),
Restoration, Re-visioning, Refreshment, Rest, Retreat opportunities,
Releasing Creativity, the Resourcing of others, Reflective prayer and worship. Reaching out to the village community. 
Please pray for us, and come and visit this spiritual oasis in the countryside. 

Finally, we are also piloting REFRESH at Home, a ‘pop up’ where we take elements of REFRESH to housebound individuals or those who cannot currently come to REFRESH, because we do not yet have access for those
who cannot climb the steps at St Magnus.
On a practical note, please pray St Magnus will soon be
a place with disabled access.