Inhabit at NTC: Sharon’s Journey towards Community and Spiritual Growth
Sharon Tigga, a current NTC student pursuing her MA in Theology, is part of the current Inhabit cohort at NTC. nhabit is an NTC cohort of Master’s students who utilise ancient practices of contemplation, spiritual discipline, and practical service to strength their faith. We caught up with Sharon and asked her to share her experiences with NTC’s Inhabit cohort and how Inhabit’s spiritual practices have impacted her spiritual journey.
Sharon’s Journey to NTC’s Inhabit Programme
Sharon began by telling us a little bit about how she made it to NTC in the first place. “My journey to NTC is a bit of a long story. I was pursuing my B.Div in India, and I do not know when or how, but my spiritual life became hollow. I had knowledge of all different kinds of theologies, but that simple faith I had before I joined my seminary vanished. My relationship with God became distanced, and I struggled to pray and spend time in God’s presence. Around that time, the pandemic hit the world, and several other significant events in my life happened all at once. I felt like I was forced to seek God and His presence, and so I began to take baby steps towards Him. This was the beginning of my spiritual journey back towards God’s presence.”
After she arrived at NTC, she began looking for community to foster that renewed journey of seeking God’s presence. “I was hoping to have a community that would help me be consistent in my journey towards pursuing a relationship with God,” Sharon says. “One night at NTC, a friend told me all about Inhabit, and the spiritual practices and pattern of worship and service. It sounded exactly like a group where I could be consistent in my journey towards God.”
A friend told me all about Inhabit, and the spiritual practices and pattern of worship and service. It sounded exactly like a group where I could be consistent in my journey towards God
Contemplative Practice & Service: Formation and Witness
Inhabit is comprised of three streams – study, formation, and witness. The study stream is rather straight forward: students enroll in one of thirteen pathways for the MA in Theology. Their cohort develops common study rhythms, and, in time, students participate in teaching and research assistantships. Within the formation stream, students participate in a wide range of Christian spiritual disciplines: morning and evening prayer and contemplation, spiritual pilgrimages, and weekly society meetings. Finally, the witness stream focuses on students serving NTC and the greater Manchester community for 2-4 hours per week. Students partner with local churches and the chaplaincy team for tasks without and within the NTC community.
I love the depth of the liturgies, and I appreciate how the ancient words and practices are still as valid and relatable today as it was years ago.
Many students, like Sharon, have never experienced these contemplative practices. “Most of the contemplative practices that I encountered were completely new and different to me. For example, our morning prayers in India were basically a full Sunday worship service, just a bit shorter. So when I began learning the Inhabit-led morning prayers that focus on silent, contemplative prayers, I was a bit surprised and perplexed! I was used to the noise of prayer and worship, and I mean that in a good way! The liturgical prayers and movement of services were also completely new to me. In time, I have started to appreciate the silence and the stillness that contemplative prayers bring. I love the depth of the liturgies, and I appreciate how the ancient words and practices are still as valid and relatable today as it was years ago.”
For this years’ witness stream, Sharon and the Inhabit team have removed moss from the campus road, raked leaves, cleaned the back lawn, and arranged books in the library. “I don’t think I’ve had any bad experiences with the service that comes with the Inhabit responsibilities. Honestly, I have only good things to say! During work time, we learnt so much about each other and built friendships within our group. For me especially, campus work was a much needed break from the busyness of studies. It also felt like it was a time for me to give back to NTC for all that it has done for me.”
Pilgrimages
Some of the Inhabit group travelled to Poland to serve refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine as part of their witness stream, but this years’ pilgrimage will be far less intense; the focus will be on quiet contemplation and spiritual practices rather than service. And it’s a little closer to home. “Our group is going to Peak District in late May. Inhabit director, Dr Jacob Lett, will be leading us. I have never participated in a pilgrimage before, so I am really excited to see how everything goes!”
You can read about their experience at this link.
For me especially, campus work was a much needed break from the busyness of studies. It also felt like it was a time for me to give back to NTC for all that it has done for me.
Sense of Community
Only five students were accepted for Inhabit‘s inaugural year. NTC staff and faculty hoped this smaller group would establish a strong foundation for future Inhabit cohorts by creating a sense of community and camaraderie that tends to occur more naturally in smaller groups. According to Sharon, the first cohort has succeeded by leaps and bounds. “The Inhabit group has definitely developed a sense of community here at NTC. I love how this group operates with a mindset of being intentional. MA students generally tend to keep themselves away from community building activities because of their hectic schedule. But Inhabit certainly has made a difference. Because of our experience within the Inhabit cohort, the MA students at NTC have tried to participate in almost all activities intentionally even with everyone’s busy schedules. We as a team hold each other accountable if we miss our activities. I don’t mean accountability in a strict disciplinarian sense. For us, it is more like, ‘We missed you during coffee time.’ In that way, we help each other become involved where we may not have otherwise — and we’ve built such a lovely community in doing so!”
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The Inhabit cohort at NTC provides a community for MA in Theology students to explore their faith and grow spiritually through contemplative practices and community-building activities. Sharon’s experiences with Inhabit highlight how it has helped her find consistency in her spiritual journey, take a break from her studies, build friendships, and develop a sense of community with her fellow students.
About Inhabit
NTC’s Inhabit programme is a cohort of MA students from around the world living together in community and participating in the Inhabit Rule of Life. Following in the tradition of monastic communities across Christian history, living according to a “rule” gives shape, structure, and practices to the formation of Christian community and witness.
Inhabit is comprised of three streams – study, formation, and witness. The study stream is rather straight forward: students enroll in one of thirteen pathways for the MA in Theology. Their cohort develops common study rhythms, and, in time, students participate in teaching and research assistantships. Within the formation stream, students participate in a wide range of Christian spiritual disciplines: morning and evening prayer and contemplation, spiritual pilgrimages, and weekly society meetings. Finally, the witness stream focuses on students serving NTC and the greater Manchester community for 2-4 hours per week. Students partner with local churches and the chaplaincy team for tasks without and within the NTC community.
Our programme director, Revd Dr Jacob Lett would love to welcome our second cohort, explaining, “Inhabit will provide an opportunity for MA students from around the world and from different Christian traditions to participate in the richness and diversity of Christian spiritual practices and to do so in the context of intentional community and service.”
