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.

Accessibility: This site has been designed so that users who struggle to see the content clearly can make use of the browser controls to magnify web pages. With most browsers holding down the control key and pressing the + (plus) key repeatedly will enlarge the web page (images and text). Holding down the Control key and hitting the - (minus) key reverses the process.

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.

Click to Expand or Close

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.

The Website, has been produced using Adobe Creative Suite, and uses standard XHTML, JavaScript, CSS and PHP to achieve its effects. If you have any photographs or information that you think would be useful for the site, please contact the webmaster.

Doves logo link to wccm.org

Dom John Main

UK Home page

Site Search

2011 Conference

Shop

Donations

Audio Downloads

Meditation School

Local Groups

Group Resources

Lone Meditators

Young Meditators

Retreats & Events

Newsletter

Contact Us

Reflections

Login

Scenes from Bere Island WCCM Doves John Main, Laurence Freeman, Cockfosters, Monte Oliveto Ceiling paintings in the Vatican Museum Waterfall and pool at Rydal Hall Views from Loweswater Village Hall Lindisfarne Slakes Scenes from Staffordshire Moorlands

The School in the UK

The content below relates to the school within the UK. To visit the new WCCM school website, recently redesigned by Kim and Shanida Nataraja, click here


The School in the UK - Programme for 2012

The Community 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.

The School programme developing within WCCM is concerned with both passing on the teaching of meditation and deepening your own practice.  The Workshops on the Essential Teaching and the Retreats are Community events where we create and experience community.  Sometimes it’s a really good idea to come again and revisit the teaching.

The next Workshop on the Essential Teaching has been arranged for the weekend of Friday 9 March – Sunday 11 March, 2012 in Godalming, Surrey (details below), so if you have been meditating in the John Main tradition for over a year and would like to deepen your practice, or start a group, then please contact Stefan Reynolds or Sarah Kirkup for further information.

Contact

Kim Nataraja (Until March 2012)


The Workshop on the Essential Teaching

Friday 9 March – Sunday 11 March, 2012

The Essential Teaching Weekend

Leaders: Liz Watson & Briji Waterfield

Start: Friday 5.15 pm

End: after lunch on Sunday at 1.30 pm

Venue: Ladywell Retreat Centre, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1ST

A residential weekend for meditators who have been meditating in our tradition for at least a year and want to deepen their personal experience and understanding of the rich tradition we are part of, and who may wish to share the gift of meditation with others.
The weekend will focus on the core teaching, the history of the Christian mystical tradition and stages of the journey. Working in groups, participants will share practical ways of introducing meditation to others.

The weekend will be framed with meditation three times a day and will allow time for participants to reflect on their own experience, the teachings of John Main, Laurence Freeman and others, and to enjoy the sense of community which meditation creates.
To prepare for the weekend you are asked to read Laurence Freeman's book
Christian Meditation - Your Daily Practice

Accommodation: is in single bedrooms with handbasins and shared bathroom.

Cost: We want to make it possible for people with varied levels of income to attend. The fee is between £110 and £160. Please pay at the affordable level for you between £110 and £160. Those who can pay at a higher level will be providing financial assistance for others who need it.

If you need further financial assistance, or have any queries please contact
Liz Watson 020 7249 8701

You can download a flier and booking form for this event here.


You can download comments from previous participants here


The School Retreat - 2012

Details of the 2012 retreat will be posted here when available.


Comments from Past Workshop Events

Comments from the 2008 event: “The 2008 event at Morley Retreat Centre provided everything needed for prayer, reflection and community. The food was excellent and there was an excellent mix of input and meditation. The talks were fascinating and interestingly delivered. The two speakers complemented each other perfectly. The event proved to be very enlightening and very educational. Those who attended felt it was lovely to be in a group of like-minded people.”

Comments from the 2009 Ilkley event: I think the most exciting thing about a School Weekend is that a group of people get together and share their deeply felt interest in meditation and the teaching of John Main.  Out of this come new ways of thinking and learning and this, in turn, enhances our ability to pass the teaching on.  It deepens our own practice but also frees us to look at the teaching from different perspectives and this is best summarised by one of the participants at Ilkley:

Hearing other peoples’ contributions allowed me to value the different ways of offering the essential teaching, which allowed me to let go of “there’s one good way of doing it”.

Sarah Kirkup

Further Comments from the February 2009 Ilkley Event

In what ways has the School given you greater confidence in passing on the teaching?


Some images from the 2008 retreat

Images from the 2008 retreat

Paul Atherton attended the 2008 retreat and wrote some poetry to during his reflection on events. You can download it here (PDF) or here (Word).


 

WCCM Birds

Updated: 06-01-2011