Dom John Main

Dom John Main - the founder of the modern Christian Meditation movement. John Main rediscovered the authentic practice of mantra-based christian meditation by studying the ancient works of John Cassian.

WCCM website

Visit - the World Community for Christian Meditation website.

‘Maranatha’ is an Aramaic word from the time of Jesus, meaning 'Come Lord'. It can be found in Revelation 22.20 (the penultimate verse in the New Testament) and has been used as a prayer word since earliest days of Christianity. When meditating, use it simply as a focus for your attention, without thinking about the meaning of it.

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Bere Island: The birth place of Laurence Freeman's mother and a place to which he has returned from time to time for periods of prayer and solitude. In his book “Jesus, the Teacher Within”, Laurence uses his rediscovery of the island as an allegory of the search for personal identity and the gradual separation of reality and illusion we all need to make in order to grow spiritually.

Books and CDs by Laurence Freeman: The London Centre has a wide range of books and CDs by Laurence Freeman and other experienced meditators. Telephone 020-7278-2070 (Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm) or email welcome@wccm.org to find out whether they have the product you want in stock, its price in £ and the postage rate.

WCCM Bookshop: The London Centre has a wide range of books and CDs on all aspects of Christian Mediation from a wide range of authors, including John Main, Laurence Freeman, Richard Rohr, Bede Griffiths, Paul Harris, Margaret Rizza and many others. Telephone 020-7278-2070 (Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm) or email welcome@wccm.org to find out whether they have the product you want in stock, its price in £ and the postage rate.

Margaret Rizza: The London Centre has a wide range of music CDs by Margaret Rizza, an experienced meditator and meditation conference speaker. Telephone 020-7278-2070 (Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm) or email welcome@wccm.org to find out whether they have the product you want in stock, its price in £ and the postage rate.

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Scenes from Guildford: The historic town of Guildford is located between the rolling North Downs and the winding River Wey. It has an interesting past that hails back to Saxon times.

Hove: scenes from the sea front.

Laurence Freeman: a Benedictine monk and priest of the Congregation of Monte Oliveto, and director of WCCM. He is also the founder and director of the John Main Center for Meditation and Inter-religious Dialogue at Georgetown University, and author of many books and articles for the Tablet particularly, and a member of the Board of Medio Media.

Central London, viewed from Greenwich Observatory. Can there be space for quiet contemplation in a city like this? Well yes actually! Saint Marks Church in Islington, hosts the London Christian Meditation Centre. Cockfosters Retreat Centre also offers a range of meditation retreats throughout the year, and further meditation events take place at St Peter’s Centre for Meditation and Peace, at Vauxhall, and at Westminster Cathedral

Views, from Loweswater Village Hall. Usually, once a year in the summer, the Cumbrian Christian Meditation group meet here. The hall provides one of the most panoramic views in the Lake District looking up the valley that holds Crummock Water and Buttermere, to Great Gable, which is wreathed in cloud on this occasion.

The Newsletter is released quarterly and is the main source of information for many many members of the Community. In it you will find sections covering news of the Community's leaders, forthcoming retreats and events and a message from Father Laurence Freeman. Contact Saint Mark's Church if you want to receive it. There are details at the foot of this webpage.

North Staffordshire includes the City of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme and their surrounding areas. There are currently three groups in the area: May Bank (Newcastle), Longton (Stoke) and Stone.

Benedictines: John Main, the founder of the World Community for Christian Meditation, and Laurence Freeman, the Community's current leader; a sketch of the former Christian Meditation Retreat Centre at Cockfosters and one of the corridors at the monastery of Monte Oliveto.

The Open Gate: a retreat house run by the Community of Aidan and Hilda on Lindisfarne, Northumberland. Courses and retreats on many aspects of christian spirituality are provided each year.

Oxford: Britain's oldest university town.

Portsmouth Catholic Cathedral was built in 1882 and is situated close to the City centre and the home of the Royal Navy.

Waterfall, in the grounds of Rydal Hall, near Ambleside. Meetings organised by the Cumbrian Christian Meditation group often take place here. The mountains of the Lake District make an inspiring backdrop to the grounds of the hall and remind us that although the path of meditation can sometimes appear rather steep and craggy, there is a way to the summit.

Autumn Colours, in the grounds of Rydal Hall, near Ambleside. Meetings organised by the Cumbrian Christian Meditation group often take place here. The mountains of the Lake District make an inspiring backdrop to the grounds of the hall and remind us that although the path of meditation can sometimes appear rather steep and craggy, there is a way to the summit.

Shrewsbury: typical half timbered houses in the town and plate glass windows in the cathedral

Lindisfarne Slakes, in the fading light of a late February afternoon. The tranquility of the sea and sky on this day, might remind us of our quest for tranquility of mind and spirit during meditation.

Staffordshire Moorlands at the southwestern end of the Pennines, provides an opportunity for solitude. The Staffordshire Peak District is distinctly quieter than its more famous Derbyshire neighbour!

Scenes from Surrey famous for its gardens and picturesque villages, and also an area where WCCM UK is very active, with a good number of groups and local events

Painted Ceiling, in one of the corridors of the Vatican Museum, leading to the Sistine Chapel.

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John Main, Laurence Freeman, Cockfosters, Monte Oliveto A variety of books on sale from the WCCM bookshop in London Scenes from Bere Island A variety of books and CDs  by Laurence Freeman on sale from the WCCM bookshop in London A variety of CDs  byMargaret Rizza on sale from the WCCM bookshop in London Ceiling paintings in the Vatican Museum WCCM Doves Autumn colours at Rydal Hall

Welcome to WCCM in the United Kingdom

The World Community for Christian Meditation aims to communicate and nurture meditation as passed on through the teaching of John Main, in the Christian tradition, in the spirit of serving the unity of all. We practice and promote contemplative prayer in the form of silent meditation. The UK is the original home of this now international, ecumenical community which began in London in 1975, led by Benedictine monk Dom John Main.

For more information on what Christian Meditation is, its history and its teaching, please click on the doves to the left to access the World Community's site. If you are looking for UK-specific information it is all on this site. You can find details of local groups, and up-coming events and retreats.

We also have a number of special interest groups that organise events and provide advice on Christian meditation and:

If you are looking for greater support as an individual meditator; books or CDs on meditation, or guidance towards becoming an oblate, please contact the London Centre.

We hope you find that this site helps deepen your understanding of meditation and supports your daily practice.

In love and peace

The World Community for Christian Meditation in the UK


Click the Facebook icon to find our weekly meditation readings, news, photographs and videos of Father Laurence Freeman's latest events, a meditators blog, and much more!


Integral Spirituality - Open Session

24th January 2012

Integral Spirituality is a course of monthly evening meetings that explore the intersection of faith, spirit, society, psychology and human relationships. It comprises talks, practical exercises, readings and meditation.

Although grounded in the Christian tradition, this programme is open to people of any or no formal faith. It's an ideal companion to our regular programme of workshops, and provides an on-going source of spiritual growth, support and direction through the year. Previous participants have said "It's opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at the world" "There's nowhere else that I've really been able to talk about my faith in such a safe, non-judging environment" "I've appreciated the chance to share and learn with very different, but like-minded people"

The facilitator is Jonathan Males, who draws on his experience as a psychologist, executive coach, spiritual director, meditator and parent.

This will be our third Integral Spirituality programme and we are offering a free 'taster session' to help you decide whether you'd like to join for the rest of the year.

Venue: Benedictine Centre for Spirituality, Cockfosters, London

Time: 7.00 pm – 10.00 pm

There are then a further 9 monthly evenings through the year, £15 per session.

To register for a free place on the Open Session, phone 020 8449 2499 or email retreats@bcsuk.wanadoo.co.uk

You can download a flyer about this event here.


The John Main Seminar - 2012

The 2012 John Main Seminar will take place in Brazil. If you are interested in attending, then you can download a flyer in PDF format here.

The seminar website for it will be soon available at: http://www.johnmainseminar2012.com


UK National Retreat 2012

There will be no UK conference, as such, in 2012 but we are planning a 5 day retreat to be led by Fr Laurence, held at the Belsey Bridge Conference Centre, near Bungay in Suffolk. See www.cct.org.uk.  

There will be room for approximately 100 to attend and the retreat will last from Friday evening October 12th through to Wednesday lunchtime on the 17th.

Priority will be given to people able to commit to the whole session. A flyer and booking form with more details will be available in early 2012.


News Flash

Advent Readings from Father Laurence Freeman

Advent Week 4

"From a divine son will rise a human race and a hero will dominate the world and his fame will spread over the earth." These words from a 7th century Tibetan hymn suggest how deep and universal is the anticipation for one among us who will come and lead us beyond ourselves in order that we may at last find ourselves.  This one we await will be both familiar and a stranger.

The run up to the Christmas celebrations are rituals, religious, cultural and domestic. Year by year we repeat them and their familiarity is of their essence. But they are a front for a deeper level of meaning in our relationship with the one who makes his appearance in a transhistorical 'today', every day, with every breath. This one is as strange as he is familiar. He is like a fully expressed, well-chosen statement or a thought that that is not spoken casually or unconsciously but is well-considered and articulate and accurate - a true and powerful word that comes from the real silence and brings the reality of that silence with it.

'Even when manifest he is still a stranger' (Maximus the Confessor)  and 'in whatever way he is understood he remains mysterious' (Dionysius the Areopagite). His coming has been worth waiting for because it is not only a gift from outside. It also implodes the awakening of our own true nature, making us conscious of the gift of our own being. Its familiarity is that it entirely human. Its being ever strange is due to its elusive divinity. When it is recognised and when it fully opens the parcel of the soul, everything is changed because we see everything as it really is.

Father Laurence OSB

Download Messages from Previous Weeks

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

 

 


Meditatio logo

Meditatio is the outreach and sharing of the fruits of meditation with the wider world and with the problems and crises of our time.The three year programme includes a series of seminars and workshops on themes of Education, Business and Finance, Mental Health, the Environment, Inter-Religious dialogue and Citizenship.

You can visit the Meditatio page on this website here or their view their external website at www.wccmmeditatio.org.

You can also look for forthcoming events organised by Medtitatio at the foot of this page.


Meditation and Young People

We now have special events and retreats specially arranged for young people.

Find out about this here.


Meditation and Children

Children soon take to meditation and it has profound benefits to offer them. Some of the evidence for this is explored in the two articles below.

Small pockets of Quietness (from The Tablet)

An article appeared in The Tablet on 5th February 2011 about the success of the Community's work on Meditation with Children.  You can download it here.

Children need more meditation and less stimulation (from The Guardian)

An article by Shirley Lancaster which appeared in the online Guardian newspaper on 11 January 2011 following the Meditatio Seminar which was held in London last December can be downloaded here.

WCCM Birds

Updated:29-11-2011



Meditatio Events