In their own words
Fr Aidan and Fr Luke describe their monastic journey in their own words
Fr Aidan Murray
Dom Aidan was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1948 and left the Northeast to study Chemistry at London University. After college he worked initially as an industrial research chemist for a company in the Midlands, a manufacturer of plastic moulding materials. His next job was research into wood preservatives for Rentokil, based in East Grinstead.
He entered Worth Abbey in 1978, took Final Vows in 1982 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. Immediately following ordination he was sent to Southeast London where Worth Abbey had established a city monastery, the Community of St Peter, an early Worth venture of having monks in the city: this house was to become an ecumenical centre for prayer. He spent seven years in East Dulwich and after the house closed he came back to the Abbey for the next 30 years.
His roles in the Worth Community in that time have included Lay Community Co-ordinator, Guestmaster and Parish Priest. For ten years he was the Bursar for Worth Abbey, a role which included looking after buildings and maintenance at a time when the School expanded to become a co-educational School. He has also held the position of Prior in the monastery.
In 2014, he was given a sabbatical, spending some time in Rome pursuing monastic studies followed by a spell in Jerusalem and the Holy Land where he studied the Gospel of St Mark. He also had the opportunity to follow up a personal interest when, with his brother, he walked over the Alps from Munich to Venice in 32 days, a journey of 360 miles and involving some 20,000 metres of ascent. Five years later, in 2019, he completed the Caminho Portuguese.
In January 2021 he was one of three monks sent to Brighton to establish a small and less institutional monastic community, Monks in the City. In the Brighton community he has a particular concern to balance the books and is responsible for the practical aspects of running the house. He has an interest in ecology and sustainability. In 2022 Bishop Richard appointed him to the role of Episcopal Vicar for Ecumenical Affairs in the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton,
In whatever leisure time monastic life affords he enjoys walking and trekking, and Brighton’s proximity to the Downs and the south coast are a distinct advantage.
Fr Luke Jolly
I have to marvel at the ways of providence which bring me to look back on 44 years as a monk at Worth.
My upbringing was on a farm outside Ipswich in Suffolk. My “Jolly” roots in Suffolk go back at least 500 years. On my mother’s side I am Scottish. Neither of my parents was born a Catholic, so it seems extraordinary that I grew up next to a Catholic church built by my father’s family, and with one aunt a nun, another in an active Order, and one uncle a diocesan priest.
I was the fourth of six children in a farming family. This have given me a natural sense of community and a love of the natural environment: I thrive in the countryside. My family ties in east Anglia remain life-giving and a source of stability. My two abiding interests in Suffolk are contrasting: visiting its wonderful medieval churches and supporting Ipswich Town F.C. – “the Tractor Boys”. I have been a supporter for 62 years. Some would say this shows real perseverance!
My schooling was largely with the benedictines. While my older brothers went to Douai School, I with my younger brother came to Worth School. I seemed to spend a lot of time playing support, and certainly dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. The turbulent late 1960’s was a good time to commit myself personally to my inherited Catholic faith, but I had no desire to be a monk. It was getting involved in the newly established Worth Abbey Lay Community in the early 1970’s that allowed me to build adult relationships with some of the monks and to come to appreciate the pattern of prayer, community and service.
More strands of the mysterious ways of God were apparent in my nine years between school and joining the monastery. I took a degree in History and decided against becoming a teacher. I lived for two years in the Lay Community and was engaged to be married. This was not to be the way forward. I worked and trained in social care, ending as a probation officer. It was challenging and purposeful, but I came to realise that maybe had another calling for me.
In 1980 I was welcomed into a vibrant community under a wise, holy and visionary abbot, Victor Farwell. Fr Dominic Gaisford was my Novice Master – a wonderfully warm and loving father in faith. I was blessed, in Brother Roderick with a friendly and encouraging fellow novice. Our monastic formation was nourishing, while our priestly studies were less formative and sustaining. Through the grace of God I persevered and was accepted for Solemn Profession.
Over the years the community has asked me to undertake many and varied ministries: teaching (the job I said I would never do), school chaplain, novice master, master of liturgical services, manager of the farm, co-leader of a vocation discernment programme, spiritual director and trainer of other directors, Prior and Abbot. For many years I have been a chaplain to the Order of Malta Lourdes pilgrimage. Friendships made there and through the Lay Community have brought me the privilege of celebrating many wonderful weddings. As I get older the number of funerals seems to be overtaking the number of weddings: they can, of course, be equally inspirational but in very different ways.
That may be a good point to close my reflection and echo the words of Pope Francis, when asked what he would say about himself: “I am a sinner whom God has looked upon with mercy”.