Sunday 12 June 2011

Julian Meetings

Julian Meetings, an organisation which encourages contemplative prayer inspired by the teachings of Julian of Norwich, a fourteenth century mystic, has several groups in Kent. You can find out where they meet on their website here.

Here is some more information, taken from the website.

"The Julian Meetings:
A Julian Meeting is usually 6 -15 people of various denominations, both lay people and clergy. They meet regularly in a house, church or chapel. A brief reading, or a piece of music, leads into about 30 minutes of silent contemplative prayer. This may be followed by a time for tea or coffee and conversation.
Julian Meetings vary and are free to do things in their own way. Our main guidelines are that a meeting is based on contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition and welcomes people of all denominations. We teach no specific method of meditation. We encourage people to find what is right for them; to discover how they can integrate contemplation into their daily prayer life and how personal and group contemplative prayer can enrich each other.
Those who attend Julian Meetings usually take a full part in the life of their own church, but some have no formal church links. Local and regional quiet days or retreats, and an annual national retreat, enable wider sharing between people from several Meetings."
  • foster the teaching and practice of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition.
  • encourage people to practise contemplative prayer in their daily lives, and to explore ways of doing this which are appropriate for them.
  • support the individual ecumenical Julian Meetings - groups whose members meet regularly to practise Christian contemplative prayer together.