Who we are
The Othona Community is an open Christian Community, whose purpose is to provide, mainly through its two centres in Essex and Dorset, a welcoming , accepting place with a pattern of work, worship, study and play where people of different beliefs, cultures, classes, abilities, and ages can discover how to live together, learn from each other, explore together the relationship between faith and life with a view to more positive action in the world, and encourage one another in caring for the world and its people. 2007
Othona was founded in Essex in 1946 as a Summer camp. People met to explore peace and reconciliation after the Second World War. Now it has grown into a permanent community run by a small 'core' of people who live there.
The community attracts between 15 and 80 people, depending on the theme and season. At any given time, there will be some who have been coming regularly for years, and others there for the first time. In busy summer weeks you can hear dozens of languages in the dining room.
We are very family-friendly, as children enjoy our outdoor play spaces and indoor games. Children and young people under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or by someone who is 25 or older and willing to be their guardian.
