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.

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 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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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 Spring 2010

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 about passing on the teaching of meditation, so if you have been meditating daily for at least a year and are beginning to feel the need to deepen your practice and become more confident about spreading the word, the first stage is:

The Workshop on the Essential Teaching

One further workshop has been arranged for this year.

8 – 10 October, 2010. Green Pastures Christian Centre, 17 Burton Road, Branksome Park, Poole, Dorset, BH13 6DT, with Kim Nataraja, Sarah Kirkup and Terry Doyle. Further details available shortly.

You can download further details and a booking form here (in Microsoft Word format) or here (in PDF format)

You can download more comments from previous participants here

For further information on these and other events contact Sarah Kirkup, tel: 01768-341258


(Sarah is the coordinator of the School in the UK, working with a resource group –  Anne McDonnell, Liz Watson, Dave Corbet, and Kim Nataraja ( International School Coordinator)


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).


 

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Updated: 25-02-2010