WCCM in the UK 2023 Annual Appeal

Dear Friends and Fellow Meditators

ANNUAL APPEAL – PLEASE HELP US TO CONTINUE OUR MISSION

Firstly, thank you for being a member of our community. Your Trustees and I are always aware that it is a choice you make, as it is when you choose to help us fulfil our common mission – that of sharing the practice of meditation with as many people as we can.

We are continually striving to respond to the challenges of our rapidly changing society and to be as efficient and effective as possible. In practical terms this means that this year we have been able to offer a live-streamed conference and develop new bookmarks and promotional material. New resources are also on the website. And we have moved offices. Our new address is shown on this letter and please use it for any future correspondence to us. These are just a few examples of what we couldn’t have done without your help.

So our appeal this year is, once again, for your continuing financial assistance for the activities we are engaged in. That of supporting existing meditators, in both physical and online groups and those who meditate alone, with printed resources, the website, newsletter and administration, along with reaching out to potential new meditators, through national and local events and by sharing meditation in institutions like prisons and schools. In addition, there are two new developmental areas. Firstly, we are seeking to encourage the development of a more contemplative approach to church within the UK, and secondly, devoting time and resources to reaching out to younger people.

On contemplative church, we have invited Sarah Bachelard, who some of you will know from talks given through the Bonnevaux speaker series and the John Main Seminar, to speak on this topic at our 2024 conference. Sarah is an Anglican priest and theologian who has been facilitating just such a church in Australia for some years (https://wccm.org/people/sarah-bachelard/). After the conference Sarah, accompanied by Sue Clarke, the UK Special Interest Coordinator for Contemplative Church, will be talking at other venues around the country, sharing her wisdom and experience with a wide range of people, clergy and lay people alike, on what being contemplative church really means. With regards to younger persons, we have upgraded our social media presence and we are now working with Tanya Malaspina, the International Coordinator of Meditation with Young People, to learn how we can better focus and direct our activities to disseminate meditation through different age ranges.

Of course, the appeal is also to enable us to continue contributing to the work of the International community, along with their ongoing development of Bonnevaux as a retreat house and Centre For Peace. Their offerings include online talks etc, publishing materials, financial assistance for fledgling communities and the encouragement and training of the next generation of WCCM leaders worldwide. Many UK meditators appreciate these resources and without your generosity, both in time or money, we would not be able to run the UK or support our friends internationally.

How can you help? In practical terms, you can donate, either individual or recurring, in several ways:

• Through the website ( https://wccm.uk/donate ) for single or regular donations.
• By single or repeating direct bank transfer if you bank online.
• By bankers (standing) order.
• By cheque.

If you already contribute by bank transfer or standing order, thank you for continuing to do so. And please do think about gift aiding your donation – it provides a significant additional income to the UK community.

Should you donate, it is important to complete and return the donation form as it will tell us what you have chosen to do. Please do fill it in and return it to the UK office:

Freepost RUGB-YAZJ-GELB
WCCM in the UK
PO Box 80029
LONDON
EC1P 1RE

And remember, by donating in any of these ways you will be supporting WCCM both here in the UK and internationally. Furthermore, if you would like to run a coffee morning, or make something to sell, or walk a hundred miles in this good cause, or crowd fund, or collect loose change at your group meeting, please do; and we’d love to hear about it.

Once again, thank you for meditating and using the gifts you receive to share this with others, however you do that. And if you also volunteer practically in any way, thank you so much for that too, as being an almost entirely voluntary community in the UK, where would be without you?

With very best wishes and thanks for all you do and give,