Christian Meditation in Cumbria traces its roots back to 1988 when it was originally formed as the Cumbria Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer by Revd. David Wood. Thirty-seven years later it is still going strong, with a network of 14 groups countywide coordinated by a Steering Group of seven.
Cumbria’s beautiful landscape makes a peaceful backdrop for meditation but is not without challenges due to its sheer size and mountainous landscape. Nevertheless, the Steering Group meets every 6-8 weeks in Keswick to plan activities. Its 7 members come from across the region: Windermere in the south, Cockermouth in the West and Carlisle to the North. Steering Group Member and local poet Bob Morley says, “Between us we have a wide range of skills from writing, yoga and music, to teaching, event management and accountancy. This allows us to manage the operational side of the group and offer events throughout the year.”
The team has a loose structure, there is no designated leader and members take turns chairing and minuting meetings. Some specific tasks are allocated to those with appropriate skills and time including producing accounts, compiling the monthly newsletter and communicating with the organisers of the meditation groups. However, the group is flexible and people may swap and change roles over time. For instance, different people take the lead on running events with others providing support with the catering, administration and publicity where necessary.
The individual meditation groups are mostly small, weekly or monthly meetings. The largest is a weekly group run in Cockermouth, focused purely on silent meditation. Links are maintained with compatible groups, a group in Carlisle is offering silent meditation alongside other spiritual exercises such as lectio divina and Taize chants. A group in Cleator Moor offers a time of silence within a monthly contemplative Eucharist service.
The Steering Group offers support to the groups with a designated point of contact for the North and South of the county and by publicising relevant news and updates in a regular newsletter. However, increasingly, the team is finding it provides most support through its provision of events. Anecdotally, it appears that with busy, modern lives, people find it easier to attend ad hoc events rather than weekly or monthly commitments. It has also been noticeable that people enjoy the opportunity to learn something which supports the development of their meditation journey alongside enjoying periods of communal silence.
The highly successful Living with the Mystics programme, now in its 20th year, is a series of quarterly meetings introduced by different attendees on a mystic of their choice – in 2025 these will include Carl Jung, Meister Eckhart, Goethe and Ignatius of Loyola. A range of suggested study materials are provided before the event; on the day, an overview of the chosen mystic is given before opening out for discussions interspersed with periods of silent meditation.
In 2024 events during the year included a day of poetry reading and Maranatha yoga in Ambleside; a Day of Walking Labyrinths at Rydal Hall and a fascinating series of lectures by Neil Douglas-Klotz based on his Aramaic studies of scripture. Care is taken to allow these to be as accessible as possible in terms of cost and venue and where possible, at least one event each year is free to attend.
In recent years, the group has also held a number of residential retreats at Hyning Monastery and Boarbank Hall. This has allowed the attendees to enter an extended period of quiet with silence held from Friday evening until Sunday morning.
Recent guest retreat leaders have included Anglican Priest and Zen teacher, Christoper Collingwood and Brother Martin Sahajananda, disciple of Father Bede Griffiths and former spiritual director of Shantivanam Ashram.
Bob continues, “2025 looks to be another busy year for our small team. Plans are in place to help people share more meditation together, with old and new friends in the coming year.”
Team member Lisa Wilson