World Community for Christian Meditation

The World Community for Christian Meditation

The World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) comprises meditation groups in over 100 countries throughout the world which base their meditation practice on the teaching of John Main, a Benedictine monk. His simple direction is:

‘Sit still, sit upright. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Silently, interiorly begin to say a single word. We recommend the prayer phrase Maranatha. Listen to it as you say it, gently but continuously. Do not think or imagine anything - spiritual or otherwise. If thoughts and images come, these are distractions at the time of meditation, so keep returning to simply saying the word. Meditate each morning and evening for between twenty and thirty minutes.’

(The word Maranatha is in Aramaic, the language Jesus would have spoken and translates as ‘Come Lord’ or ‘Come Lord Jesus’.)

Following John Main’s death in 1982 the leadership of the Community passed to Laurence Freeman OSB, who continues to write and travel extensively promoting the teaching of the WCCM.

For further information and news from the community visit online at www.wccm.org For information about Christian meditation in East Anglia contact Anne McDonnell, regional coordinator for East Anglia; anne@noggsbarn.org