The latest issues of Meditation News, the UK Community Newsletter, and the WCCM International Newsletter are now available to download and read here for free.
Creating Community...
Recently something struck me for the first time. Amazingly, since I have been meditating for a long time. I was struck by John Main’s emphasis on small groups.
During a spell as headmaster in the USA a student, who had travelled in the Far East and experienced Eastern spirituality, asked John Main a life-changing question: ‘What is there like this in Christianity?’ This sent him off on the trail to answer this question. He found it in the writings of the Desert Fathers. And what did he do? He started a small group of lay contemplatives who practised meditation 3 times a day in the grounds of Ealing Abbey. Others who couldn’t commit to that, were pressing him to teach them. And very soon in response to requests, he started forming small groups for people leading ordinary busy lives in the world, to gather together to meditate weekly…
Meditators from Bristol and around met on Saturday 23rd November 2024.
It was a beautiful morning, making space in our busy lives to pause and prepare for the lead up to Christmas.
Meeting at Faithspace, Redcliffe Methodist Church lent itself beautifully to this aim of pausing in the midst of busyness. It is in the centre of Bristol and real, everyday life was happening all around…
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…
Five years ago, on 23 March 2020, a nationwide lockdown was announced due to the COVID pandemic. WCCM meditation groups had to reimagine how they continued their practice.
As the Bristol and Bath region we arranged our first online meditation on December 5th 2020. 26 people attended and I then set up monthly meditations with the support of the UK admin team. ‘Zooming’ forward to 2025 we have now announced our monthly dates for the year…
I’m a member of a small online WCCM group. We preface our meditations with a short reading. Several of the members take turns to facilitate. A recent choice was some verses from the well-loved hymn, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier…
4th January 2025
The process of leaving one’s everyday life is somewhat traumatic – much as l am grateful for the time away and the fact that it is completely necessary, I cannot escape the difficulty of breaking free. Our journey to Newquay airport sums up the struggle: a lift in a car with some mechanical issues brewing in the transmission, overheated almost terminally in the early hours of the morning on the A30…
Outreach
WCCM’s Outreach theme for 2025 is ‘The Risk of Living Together’. This is a challenge for most of us.
I had been listening to the remembrance services to mark the eightieth year since the liberation of Auschwitz. The shock waves of horror at the discoveries bore witness to the heartless cruelty which can be released when a population, or section of society, are turned into “the other”. They are claimed to be not acceptable, not true members of mankind, and then demeaned with descriptions such as “vermin” in an attempt to justify appalling treatment…
WCCM in the UK
The WCCM in the UK National Council meeting is held every year and is an opportunity for leaders in the community to come together to discuss where we are and where we are heading.
In November 2024 over 30 people gathered on Zoom to meditate together, share their thoughts and set some priorities for 2025. The focus was ‘Back to Basics’…
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?…
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