“Come away to some quiet place…. and rest for a while”. Mark 6:31. If you would like to accept this invitation of Jesus to find that quiet place inside us where we can spend time with Him you are welcome to join our Christian Meditation Group.
For many, mediation may be an unfamiliar way of prayer, despite its ancient place in Christian tradition. In meditation we are not thinking about or imagining God; we seek to be with God, to be with Jesus, and to be with His Holy Spirit. Our aim is to allow God’s mysterious and silent presence within us to become the reality that gives meaning, shape, and purpose to everything we do, to everything we are. The task of meditation therefor, is to bring our distracted minds to stillness, silence and attention.
We welcome all those who wish to join us either on a regular basis or just from time to time. Each evening commences with a piece of contemplative music. Following this, we then listen to a short teaching tape. The group has been using “Aspects of the Spiritual Life”; a series of talks by David Wood, a retired Anglican priest who lived and worked amongst declining industrial communities in Northern England. “These introductions to meditation”, he writes, “are like aspects of the spiritual life and mystery I want to reveal more for myself, knowing that it is the same for many people I meet. We need to bring all things into our silence and let the silence work”. We then meditate together for about 25 minutes.
Meeting in a group like this promotes a spiritual bond amongst the members and enables beginners to learn “how” to mediate. Our group has found sharing the silence together an enriching experience. Our aim can be summed up in the Prayer of the World Community for Christian Meditation:
“May this Community be a true spiritual home for the seeker, a friend for the lonely, a guide for the confused.
May those who pray here be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to serve all who come, and the receive them as Christ Himself.
In the silence of this place may all the suffering, violence and confusion of the world encounter the Power that will console, renew and uplift the human spirit.
May this silence be a power to open the hearts of men and women to the vision of God, and so to each other, in love and peace, justice and human dignity.
May the beauty of the Divine Life fill this place and the hearts of all who pray here with joyful hope.
May all who come here, weighed down by the problems of humanity, leave, giving thanks for the wonder of human life. We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen”.
We would love to share our journey with you. Please join us any Tuesday evening at 7:00pm in St George’s Church, Victor St Birkdale.
For further information contact us