A message from Roz Stockley, Chair of Trustees
Dear Friends and Fellow Meditators
ANNUAL APPEAL – PLEASE HELP US TO CONTINUE OUR MISSION
Once again, 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.
Our focus this calendar year has been two-fold. Firstly, in reaching outwards, you may remember from last year’s letter, our vision was to invite Rev Dr Sarah Bachelard, an Australian theologian and church leader, to share her own vision of contemplative worship. This did become manifest, in an extended series of events called Pools of Grace: the Gift and Call of Contemplative Church. The events started with a national gathering weekend at Minsteracres in the north of England, followed by a tour of talks in Leeds, Birmingham, Chepstow, Bath, Salisbury and London and was enjoyed by over 500 people. Video recordings now available. The cost of this tour was financially underpinned by the Eileen Cox Legacy and Sarah was accompanied on the tour by Sue Clarke, the UK Special Interest Coordinator for Clergy/Contemplative Church. The event was organised jointly with Meditatio, the outreach arm of WCCM, and attracted those from both inside and outside our community.
As well as sowing seeds for the future, a second focus has been on reorganising ourselves to meet the demands of the rapidly changing world, in line with discussions at the National Council in November last year. In essence, the proposal put to the Council was to simplify operations adopting a more team-based approach and going back to basics: communicating and nurturing meditation by supporting groups, focusing more on local and regional activities whilst making use of new resources and opportunities. Consultations have been ongoing throughout the year and the results are now being implemented. We are grateful to all those who have been involved who have brought an energy and enthusiasm which will help us to both respond to enquirers more effectively and to support existing meditators.
Our annual appeal this year is, once again, for your ongoing financial assistance for the activities we are engaged in. We continue to attend to our cost base, and one action was to move to online newsletters, although hard copies are still available if needed. Your donations are used to support existing meditators, in both physical and online groups along with those who meditate alone, with printed resources, the website and administration. They also support outreach to potential new meditators through national and local events and in sharing meditation in institutions like prisons and schools; with those with learning difficulties; with those living on the margins of society. And following on from new work outlined last year, we have a group of younger meditators and are 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 the weekly online Mass, online talks, published 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 at 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 standing order, thank you for continuing to do so.
And please consider gift aiding your donation – it provides a significant additional income to the UK community.
If you choose to donate by standing order or cheque please complete the form here 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,
Rosalind Stockley,
Chair of the Trustees