The latest issues of Meditation News, the UK Community Newsletter, and the WCCM Journal are now available to download and read for free from the links below.
If you have subscribed to the printed edition of the UK newsletter this should be with you around the middle of March along with your complementary copy of the WCCM Journal.
These last words under the image on our flyer were chosen as a lead-in to meditation by Jeremy Baines, a member of an online meditation group whose members take it in turn to lead a session. It struck me immediately. Somehow I could feel a resonance with our Gathering weekend and the theme of coming to Wholeness. Further, Jeremy’s second quotation was based on exactly the same section from St John’s gospel chapter 17:21-24 that Don MacGregor quoted in his article on Oneness. Both seemed to echo the theme of the Gathering led by Liz Watson ‘Becoming Whole.’…
I believe there is a universal path of wisdom that underlies all true spiritual paths, and it is to do with the dawning realisation of our interconnectedness, our oneness at the energetic level, which science is saying these days. We are aware of a need to change our human ways. We seek a spiritual path for today. It seems to me that we are One in the divine matrix of consciousness that holds us all in being – and Jesus knew it. His words in the gospel of John (whether actually his or the gospel writer’s understanding of him) were “I ask … that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, … so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one…” (John 17:20-23)…
Just Turn Up!
The meditators companion, a practical guide
Writing a book is a very fulfilling exercise and one can only trust that it will reach those who will find it helpful once it has been launched.
Just Turn Up! was published by Medio Media in 2021 in response to the questions which meditators have and the challenges of the meditation journey…
Why does WCCM in the UK have a Special Interest Coordinator (SIC) for the Environment?
‘Special Interest Coordinators promote and support Christian meditation in their special interest area by developing and maintaining a network of interested people… They do not have to be an expert in the field.’
The Cambridge dictionary gives one definition of environment as: ‘the air, water, and land in or on which people, animals, and plants live.’ This highlights the interconnectedness of everything that sustains life on Earth. The practice of Christian meditation can transform our awareness of this interconnectedness and motivate us to seek a harmonious relationship with all life on Earth….
A Life on the Ocean Wave is a poem written by an American editor and writer, Epes Sargent, and published in 1838.
Whether we have a nautical background or not, somehow it feels it is part of our national psyche. There is something familiar and known about the song, as we live in a country that calls an island its home.
The chorus begins:
A life on the ocean wave,
A home on the rolling deep,
Where the scattered waters rave,
and the winds their revels keep…
Caterina and Richard Brown have been devoted members and leaders of the meditation group at Worth Abbey for over 25 years. Now they are no longer able to travel to come to our meetings, we should like to thank them warmly for all the support and guidance they have offered to our group with unwavering dedication.
Caterina’s journey with Worth and the John Main meditation groups began through her mother, Silva. Silva was a close friend of Eileen Byrne, who was instrumental in encouraging Fr John Main to record his talks for the emerging meditation groups. Together, they meditated with Father John at the Abbey in Ealing. Silva and Eileen met later at Worth Abbey, when Caterina and Richard started taking Silva to the meditation group at Worth…
Helga Engel, who started what is now the Leeds Trinity University meditation group in her home nearly 30 years ago, has died at the age of 96. Helga began meditating at Cockfosters in London and brought meditation to Yorkshire when she and her husband moved to Leeds to be near their four children.
She was an active member of the UK Meditation Community from the beginning and did much to establish and build the Yorkshire Community into what it is today…
Sister Mary Stephen was a natural contemplative, an artist and a meditator. She started teaching and leading meditation in the 1980s, in the Barn at the New Hall School in Essex. New Hall has been a school and a place of prayer since 1799, when the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre found a home there, after fleeing persecution in the Low Countries.
Often people who joined the Colchester Meditation Group have told me they first learned the practice in the Barn with Sr Mary Stephen.
In the mid-nineties, Fr Laurence was invited to lead a day at New Hall on Christian Meditation and John Main’s teaching. The inspiration for the Colchester Group came from that day…
Did you know that whenever you buy anything online or in-store – from your weekly shop to your annual holiday – you could be raising free donations for WCCM in the UK with easyfundraising?
There are over 8,000 retailers on board ready to make a donation – including eBay, Argos, John Lewis & Partners, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S – and it won’t cost you a penny extra to help us raise funds.
- All you need to do is:
Go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/wccm-in-the-uk/ and join for free. - Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first to find the site you want and start shopping.
- After you’ve checked out, the retailer will make a donation to WCCM in the UK at no extra cost to you whatsoever…
Meditation creates community. Meditators who experience personal transformation through a daily practice seek to express this in ways suitable to their own path. Oblation is one of these.
The World Community is ecumenical and the Oblate community specially reflects this. However, the WCCM as a whole acknowledges a special relationship to the Benedictine tradition which was the first in the western Church to form a stable form of inclusive religious life and, in succeeding generations, has always adapted to the needs and circumstances of the age. Oblates live out their oblation in a spirit of obedience, stability and conversion and promise to share always in the life and work of our Community…
Are you passionate about making a positive impact in your community?
WCCM in the UK is seeking individuals, spiritual people and preferably meditators, to join our Board of Trustees. The Board meets online quarterly, usually for up to 3 hours, with occasional side meetings.
We are looking for Individuals with
- Commitment to the aims and values of WCCM in the UK.
- Good, independent judgement and ability to work as part of a team.
All backgrounds are being considered and we particularly welcome applications from individuals with experience in finance (senior level and/or bookkeeping), fundraising and safeguarding.
To express your interest, please send your CV and a brief covering letter to Roz Stockley at ukchair@wccm.org.
For an informal chat about the role, please contact Roz Stockley on 07929 007808.
Meditation News and the International Newsletter are available free on our website from //wccm.uk/newsletters-page/ Distribution to most subscribers is online with notification of a new issue by email. If you wish to subscribe please sign up here: //wccm.uk/newsonline
If you would like to receive a printed copy of the UK newsletter please contact the office by email uk@wccm.org or phone 020 8095 4442. There is no charge but a donation of £20 is suggested which covers the cost of photocopying and postage for the four issues. The latest International newsletter is included.
Some articles are available as separate news items on the website listed on
//wccm.uk/category/newsletters/.
There are listings of UK events, key International events and selected offerings from Bonnevaux and the Meditatio Centre. The contacts list has been updated (the latest version is always available on the website).
The next issue will be available in mid-June. Please send articles to: uknewsletter@wccm.uk and events to: events@wccm.uk to reach us by 1 May.