Permanent TOM Members Gordon & Judy Crowther at Lee Abbey (Devon, UK)

About Lee Abbey

Lee Abbey is a Christian Retreat, Conference and Holiday centre on a 280-acre estate within the Exmoor National Park on the north coast of Devon.  In 1945, at the end of the World War, the estate was bought at auction by a group of praying Christians wanting to establish a centre of evangelism “to rekindle the fires of faith, prayer and witness”.  The estate includes a working farm, is a “Site of Special Scientific Interest” with woodland, pasture, coastline with beach, a Grade II listed building capable of accommodating 110 guests, an Outdoor Activity Centre with accommodation for 40, a camping field where camps for teenagers and young adults are held in the summer and a Tea Cottage that is popular with visitors.  We seek to build partnership with churches and Christian organisations to help us fulfill our part in God’s Mission.  Lee Abbey is a “thin” place in Celtic spiritual terms, a spiritual home to many, a place of rest, reconciliation, renewal as well as a resource for evangelism.  The ecumenical and international Community follows a Rule of Life centered on worship, prayer, and hospitality with a vision that people encounter Jesus Christ and are transformed in thinking, relating, perceiving, and acting to the glory of God and the extension of the Kingdom of God.  The opportunities for participation in the Mission of God are numerous as are associated opportunities to serve by “faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).  We are praying that God will call people to join the Community or Associate Community to join us for weeks, a year or more.

If you’re interested in visiting us at Lee Abbey you can find all the information on our website: https://leeabbeydevon.org.uk/

About the Crowthers and TOM

Gordon & Judy grew up in Southern Africa, married there and came to faith in Jesus as Lord as well as Saviour.  In 1989 they came to London for a year to ask what it meant to live as Christians in South Africa?  Gordon was invited to join the staff of a church plant from HTB and Judy taught until the first of our three children was born (all in London).  We were supported in leading a church plant and then God called Gordon to ordained ministry in the Church of England and we were sent to Durham and Lancaster.  In 2003 I was appointed “mission priest/church planter” in Stoke-on-Trent and was given the opportunity to learn from St Thomas Crookes and Philadelphia and our family became members of TOM.  Those years were shaping for us all and the TOM vision and Rule of Life are still important to us.  In 2008 we were called back (at last!) to South Africa to lead a young church in Cape Town.  After eleven years, much to our surprise God called Judy and me back to England – to join the Lee Abbey Community in Devon (which rhymes with “heaven”!). The Rule of Life, foundation of faith, mission and values resonate with those of TOM and we feel that the Holy Spirit has been leading us in a beautiful, though challenging pilgrimage in God’s Mission.