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I believe I am called to create culturally relevant, inclusive Christian communities and groups within the mixed economy of 21st century Church and outside it. This means being inclusive of the many expressions of spirituality that exist within contemporary culture. This includes creating space for seekers to fully explore their faith while being prepared to meet people of all ages and cultures at any point on their journey, this may be non-Christian or Atheist. Research suggests that 37% of people consider themselves ‘Spiritual but not Religious,’ it is my belief that our own rich tradition of Christian Spirituality has much to offer to those who have rejected religion, or have found the wisdom of Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta more relevant. As St. Benedict said in his famous Rule: All… are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt 25:35). (RSB, 53:2)

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Social media can help support a personal prayer and meditation practice while giving people the feeling of being part of a community. The Spiritual Friends Facebook group, connects people of all faiths and spiritualties wherever they might be on their journey. Spiritual Friends has over 2000 members. Meditation and Spirituality is a Wordpress site that raises awareness of Christian Meditation in Hampshire, supporting local meditation groups. The site works alongside its own Youtube channel.

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Regional Coordinator – Hampshire

Having just taken on the role of coordinator in October 2014, my responsibility is to develop/ support communities of Christian meditators in Churches, private homes., schools and prisons. Since beginning the role I have started a new group in Portsmouth and attended the national area coordinators conference in Derby. The opportunity here is to encourage new groups of worshipers into our churches

Group Leader - Romsey Abbey

I lead the Christian Meditation group in Romsey Abbey, one of the largest WCCM groups in the UK, at around 20 meditators each week. The group is inclusive of non-Christians, and people with mental health issues. This group enables our community to welcome those on the edges of faith.

Meditation Group Website

To support daily meditation at home, I have set up a website for the group Christian Meditation Click mouse to continue

As part of our Patronal festival for St. Ethelfleda, I organized and led a Benedictine Quiet Day .

I was inspired by the up and coming 2015 Diocesan Lent course which is based on the Rule of St. Benedict. Since few people in the

Diocese are familiar with the RSB, this day enabled people to encounter the Rule in a setting with an authentic Benedictine

heritage. The day focused on the Prologue, and participants spent time in personal reflection on themes including community,

hospitality and obedience which means ‘listening.’

This event attracted a diverse group of almost forty people including non-Christians and several priests. There was

considerable interested in developing meditation groups in other churches.To build awareness of the event I used the Diocesan

facebook page, Diocesan e-news and direct approaches to local groups, both Christian and Buddhist.Click mouse to continue

The Wellbeing Day was a community event in partnership with Romsey Abbey and mental health groups. Here, I was able to engage ‘the spiritual, but not religious’ into a conversation about Christian meditation. Many, although familiar with Mindfulness and Buddhist meditation were not familiar with Christian meditation.

Spirituality Sunday was the initiative of our Vicar who used the gifts of volunteers to encourage people to try new forms of prayer. I led a Christian meditation group, alongside others who led praying the Labyrinth, Lectio Divina and meditations to music. This new initiative demonstrated growing interest in spirituality in the Parish.

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Café Sunday is a safe place for young people to explore their faith. We meet in a local coffee shop. The Costa Foundation has supported 42 school projects overseas and aims to help coffee growing communities grow through education. At present we are working through the Pilgrim Course, while providing space for discussions on ethical issues and interfaith.

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ONEFIFTY is a new praise worship service inspired by Psalm 150, ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.’ The service is for those aged 15 to 35 and the young at heart. Everyone is invited to bring instruments and contribute to the music.

My contribution here was to support the pioneering efforts of others by designing music festival inspired promotional material and a campaign to disseminate it around the south of the Diocese through social media and word of mouth.

On the right is the poster created.Click mouse to continue

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In 2014 I was invited by our Vicar to attend the Greater Churches Network conference. In addition to sharing findings with our PCC, I spoke to many other Churches about our meditation group and its success in attracting those on the edge of faith.

Having researched the Rule of St. Benedict at MA level, I was privileged to be involved in a review of our Diocesan 2015 Benedictine themed Lent course. I focused my feedback on the RSB virtue of Stability, and course suitability for new Christians.

In 2014 I collated and analysed the results of the National Young Vocations survey and YVC comments on YV strategy. The project involved extrapolating future trends. Having thoroughly explored all the responses I was able to submit findings to the YVC chair.

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