Two Nuns and a dog

Peter Baker | 21:21, Wednesday, 05 October 2011

The Feudal village of East Hendred, is quintissentially English.  A pub, a post office, farm buildings, Churches and thatched cottages make up the High Street.  Thomas Eyton Moore is the Lord of the Baronial Manor and he traces his ancestry back to the famous Sir Thomas Moore.

Tucked away in a small holding, the Prioress has become famous for her unusual habit of blogging, tweeting and podcasting.  Hence her self styled title.  Actually like other nuns (not that I have met many!) Catherine Wybourne is a far cry from the stereotypical ascetic.  She makes a good cup of coffee, smiles broadly and easily and is an absolute star when it comes to gadgets, technology and all things online.  She even has an iphone which I suggested we bumped.  That means connected, for the uninitiated, lol (!) Lol (?) - text speak for laugh out loud!  See how my education has developed since discovering the joys of social media!! 

A phrase struck me as we sat and talked about web design, the virtues and vices of twitter, skype and facebook.  It was something she used to describe the benefits offered by her online Retreat, “the cloister of the heart”.

Here through a series of readings, reflections, prayers and silence, the online guest can discover a sacred space in a digital age.  I’m always in pursuit of fresh encounters with God for the real not the virtual me.  If technology is a means to that end, then it might be worth going online.

I met the Digital Nun while recording for a BBC programme which goes out on Sunday morning October 9th at 9:05 am on Radio Wales.