Letter from the Chair of the Trustees

The Trustees and I often view, with delight, accounts of activities in our national community to facilitate the sharing of John Main’s gift of meditation to us. So a big thank you to you all for all the groups you run, the events you put on and the support for our community, both practically and financially.

So what is our community? Are we national or international and how do we relate? The UK Trustees are very aware of the confusion that can arise between WCCM in the UK and the global community WCCM. This prompted me to try and set out our responsibilities in a simple diagram (below – click on the image for a larger pop-out). We hope this helps and it is not set in stone – do let me know if it raises further questions or if you have a better idea – indeed we’d love to know how you see it.

At this time of year the Trustees normally look at draft accounts for the previous year ended December. The draft 2024 accounts show a small surplus, including being able to maintain our donation to WCCM, and although our income has reduced, moving the newsletter to (a mainly) online publication helped us to cover our costs. At this point we don’t know what may underly this reduction although we shall obviously look into it.

The sterling work the National Coordinating Team have been doing to reorganise the structure of our community means that supporting documents and resources have needed to be revisited. One of these is the Group leader’s packs which will be issued in the near future and I know that these are a very valuable resource for new and existing leaders alike. Thank you to all who have contributed to this process, a sometimes tedious but invaluable activity.

As I sign off, I feel blessed to be part of a loving, caring and responsive community, all due to the wisdom of Isabelle Glover, sadly now departed, who shared a bag of John Main’s books and tapes with me. A tiny, flickering flame had been lit and the community fanned it. And that’s, in part, what we are here for. Thank you for lighting and tending the flames across the UK. 

Roz Stockley