The Shedder we meet today is a SHE SHEDDER.
Shedders come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They also come in a variety of gear, some scruffy although we all scrub up well.
Early this year a stranger arrived at the Whitby Shed bearing gifts of all sorts (though not the sweet kind). “Would you like”, she said, and produced a variety of materials for crafts. A gift horse whose mouth we could look into, we thought. There was, however, a clue to who she was even before she explained. She came in wearing a dress (not that unusual really) but of the grey to the ground kind. Yes, Sneaton Castle and, yes, one of the Sisters!
Let us introduce Sister Hannah Grace. Sr.Hannah (though we drop all titles in Sheds) made her First Profession (a technical term!) in the Order of the Holy Paraclete in March. Not OAP but OHP and not a projector either. Paraclete is Greek for one who gets alongside as a constant guide and friend I.e. the Holy Spirit.
OHP is an Anglican religious order well known in former times for running schools in the Whitby area. The key thing is that they try to serve the Whitby area community in ways that build up individuals. They are worker sisters. The Order has been rethinking its work in at least two ways. They have built a new Priory and released property and land through their Trustees. The other change is that there are younger Sisters preparing for service at university, one at Sunderland University for teacher training and another at Teesside University studying nursing.
“Our” Sr Hannah (maybe Sr is short for Shedder????) is a member of the guest team of the Order, welcoming visitors to accommodation at the Priory. The OHP newsletter records, “. . . her interest in woodwork has led her to join a couple of local ‘Sheds’ as well as making small holding crosses for sale.”
Sheds are great levellers and have a habit (sorry, no pun intended) of keeping people humble. Frequently Hannah comes in mufti on her day off but also pops in “in uniform”. We (women and men) greatly appreciate Hannah’s calming presence and involvement at the Sheds when she can.
Graham is wicked to Hannah because he uses her as part of a guessing game with visitors. What does she do? Nobody guesses. The fact is that the Sisters are just like us and also need friendships outside of the Priory. In Sheds there is plenty of opportunity for service that helps others as Hannah gets to know the other Shedders and shares in banter too..
There are close similarities between a Shed and a religious order (not surprisingly perhaps) and this cross-over is greatly appreciated by the Shedders.
Sr Hannah is not your average Shedder but none of our Shedders are. They are unique individuals.