12 April, 10 a.m. The Witte Kerkje in Sneek stands radiant in the spring sunshine and inside the atmosphere is at least as festive: today the worship service centres on the joy of sending out the pioneer team towards Sint Nicolaasga. The cooperation agreement is signed and with it goes the work in the pioneer site Nij Abdij officially launched.
From farm to missionary abbey
Nij Abdij has been on the road for some years now. Praying and working, the desire to start a missionary monastic pioneering place grew. Besides Jan Geuvert and Jântsje with their families, pastor emeritus Philip Troost and his wife Carla came to live in the farmyard to help build. That building was and is very literal: the pioneers are converting the farm and yard into a place where they can receive guests in a living community, an abbey 2.0. While this process is still ongoing, the desire to receive people is deepening.
A welcoming place
Meanwhile, many different guests are welcomed hospitably. In the vineyard near the abbey, the pioneers give tours.It is nice to dwell on the vine and tendrils here with John 15.Besides a vineyard, Nij Abdij also has a Bed & Breakfast, a terrace and a garden chapel.
Meeting is therefore a key word at Nij Abdij: meeting each other and meeting the Lord God.In the garden chapel, for instance, prayers are held daily: a prayer, Scripture reading, silence and two songs, ending with the communal Lord's Prayer.And in the vineyard and on the farm, the initiators work together with many people from the neighbourhood.
Interest in guests
One of the principles is that the guests who come bring their own precious gifts: “Here, we are really curious about the guest, who they are, what they bring. This is a real encounter. The starting point is to gradually discover during the encounter that we are both fellow travellers, with our own questions,” says Rev Troost. That way, genuine interest develops and something from the encounter can be meaningful. So during the prayers in the garden chapel, people pray that the encounters will indeed bear fruit.
For the coming years, the pioneers have a desire to continue growing prayerfully and working, both in buildings on the farmyard and in monastic pioneering. We look forward with them to what God will give.
Petra de Jong-Heins, missionary counsellor and Rev Sjors Bulten, deputy evangeliser
