The new tenants in the vicarage at St Barnabas in Stoke have agreed to something more than the usual flatting setup. They invited me over for dinner on a warm Sunday night to chat about it.
Lilly and Fynn Swanson are leading the flat. “In all the flats we've been in we’ve wanted to be purposeful about it,” Fynn said.
Lilly and Fynn were working through a series on spiritual practices with their house church when they realised how hard it is to keep each other accountable when they only meet once a week. “How much better would it be if house church was more of a living space?” posed Fynn. “I'm not going to go join a monastery. But how much easier would it be to commit to spiritual rhythms if you got a bunch of people together in a house where you all agree to do those rhythms?”
Inspired by Suter House, the flat is committed to morning prayers every weekday and a communal meal on Sundays, after which they have a learning session in the evening. Fynn compared the lifestyle to immersion learning – a method where learners are surrounded by the language they want to learn, and pick it up much faster than studying separately. “If we're immersed in these rhythms, it's so much easier than trying to do it in isolation.”
As well as a space for discipleship and spiritual growth, Lilly and Fynn want the flat to be a safe place for young people to learn the ropes of living with flatmates. “To flat well, to communicate well and to live together well is actually quite a skill,” Lilly said, “and I don't think that it gets taught. It’s something that you learn as you go.”
The flat also values hospitality and generosity. Lilly and Fynn want to be welcoming to people popping by to visit and coming over for dinner.
For Pheryn, this community already feels like family. She’s studying at NMIT and serving as a leader at the St Barnabas youth group. She’s enjoying growing closer to God, although she finds the morning prayers a challenge – “I like my sleep!” Her hopes for the year are to learn more about God, grow in rhythms of prayer and Bible reading, and become more confident in herself.
Luke moved in last month from Westport, where his dad is the vicar of Buller Parish. This is his first time flatting, but he feels like he’s connected well with the community. He’s interning at Richmond Parish in music and sound ministry, working towards a pilot’s license and studying at Bishopdale College. “I heard it every year at Spring Camp: You should go to Bishopdale,” Luke told me. “And I was like, Nah, my dad did Bible College, I’m gonna do my own thing.” But when considering a future with Mission Aviation Fellowship he was inspired by some MAF members to do some formal Bible training. Along with learning more about God, he hopes to get his private pilot’s license this year, and maybe even take some of his flatmates up in the air.
Bethany is interning at Bridge Valley and studying alongside Luke at Bishopdale College. She’s also started as a youth leader in the All Saints youth group. “Community is super important to me,” she said, telling me that the intentional rhythms and morning prayers were a big draw for her. Her hopes for the year include studying well, going where God is calling her to go, and marrying her fiancé, Rhys (aww).
The day I spoke with the group, they had just returned from a flat retreat in Golden Bay, where they had spent time getting to know each other more and discussing the values of the flat.
After helping out at the youth group in Golden Bay, the group visited Mamaku Grove, Lilly’s “favourite place in the world”, to see a community shaped by regular prayer, shared rhythms and an ease that comes from doing life together over time. “We wanted to be intentional and start the year well,” said Lilly, “so that as things get busier, at least we've got those habits in place. Because it’s harder to add things into your routine when you’re busy.”
As members of the flat get stuck into an active year of study and work, anchored by shared patterns of prayer, Lilly and Fynn are looking forward to seeing how it pans out. “It's a year-long commitment at this stage,” said Fynn, “and then we’ll go from there.”
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We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
The new tenants in the vicarage at St Barnabas in Stoke have agreed to something more than the usual flatting setup. They invited me over for dinner on a warm Sunday night to chat about it.
Lilly and Fynn Swanson are leading the flat. “In all the flats we've been in we’ve wanted to be purposeful about it,” Fynn said.
Lilly and Fynn were working through a series on spiritual practices with their house church when they realised how hard it is to keep each other accountable when they only meet once a week. “How much better would it be if house church was more of a living space?” posed Fynn. “I'm not going to go join a monastery. But how much easier would it be to commit to spiritual rhythms if you got a bunch of people together in a house where you all agree to do those rhythms?”
Inspired by Suter House, the flat is committed to morning prayers every weekday and a communal meal on Sundays, after which they have a learning session in the evening. Fynn compared the lifestyle to immersion learning – a method where learners are surrounded by the language they want to learn, and pick it up much faster than studying separately. “If we're immersed in these rhythms, it's so much easier than trying to do it in isolation.”
As well as a space for discipleship and spiritual growth, Lilly and Fynn want the flat to be a safe place for young people to learn the ropes of living with flatmates. “To flat well, to communicate well and to live together well is actually quite a skill,” Lilly said, “and I don't think that it gets taught. It’s something that you learn as you go.”
The flat also values hospitality and generosity. Lilly and Fynn want to be welcoming to people popping by to visit and coming over for dinner.
For Pheryn, this community already feels like family. She’s studying at NMIT and serving as a leader at the St Barnabas youth group. She’s enjoying growing closer to God, although she finds the morning prayers a challenge – “I like my sleep!” Her hopes for the year are to learn more about God, grow in rhythms of prayer and Bible reading, and become more confident in herself.
Luke moved in last month from Westport, where his dad is the vicar of Buller Parish. This is his first time flatting, but he feels like he’s connected well with the community. He’s interning at Richmond Parish in music and sound ministry, working towards a pilot’s license and studying at Bishopdale College. “I heard it every year at Spring Camp: You should go to Bishopdale,” Luke told me. “And I was like, Nah, my dad did Bible College, I’m gonna do my own thing.” But when considering a future with Mission Aviation Fellowship he was inspired by some MAF members to do some formal Bible training. Along with learning more about God, he hopes to get his private pilot’s license this year, and maybe even take some of his flatmates up in the air.
Bethany is interning at Bridge Valley and studying alongside Luke at Bishopdale College. She’s also started as a youth leader in the All Saints youth group. “Community is super important to me,” she said, telling me that the intentional rhythms and morning prayers were a big draw for her. Her hopes for the year include studying well, going where God is calling her to go, and marrying her fiancé, Rhys (aww).
The day I spoke with the group, they had just returned from a flat retreat in Golden Bay, where they had spent time getting to know each other more and discussing the values of the flat.
After helping out at the youth group in Golden Bay, the group visited Mamaku Grove, Lilly’s “favourite place in the world”, to see a community shaped by regular prayer, shared rhythms and an ease that comes from doing life together over time. “We wanted to be intentional and start the year well,” said Lilly, “so that as things get busier, at least we've got those habits in place. Because it’s harder to add things into your routine when you’re busy.”
As members of the flat get stuck into an active year of study and work, anchored by shared patterns of prayer, Lilly and Fynn are looking forward to seeing how it pans out. “It's a year-long commitment at this stage,” said Fynn, “and then we’ll go from there.”
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
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