Contemplation 7 – The Julian Meetings

The Julian Meetings began in 1973 when an Anglican laywoman, Hilary Wakeman, wrote to a number of church newspapers. She was aware of a gap in the worshipping life of the Church in that there was little or no opportunity for contemplative prayer, or waiting on God in the silence, as opposed to more verbal forms of prayer. This was despite the long tradition of contemplative prayer in Christianity, and the explosion of interest in similar meditative approaches in Eastern religions.

What Hilary described as her ‘crazy idea’ was to ask whether any other people wanted to form a non-denominational religious order for ordinary people living in the world but practising contemplative prayer. As it happens, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, was making a similar case for the revival of this kind of prayer. This is what he wrote in the Canterbury Pilgrim:

Mystical experience is given to some. But contemplation is for all Christians … [It] means essentially our being with God, putting ourselves in his presence, being hungry and thirsty for him, wanting him, letting heart and mind and will move towards him; with the needs of the world on our heart. It is a rhythmic movement of the personality into the eternity and peace of God, and no less for the turmoil of the world for whose sake as for ours, we are seeking God. If that is the heart of prayer then the contemplative part of it will be large.

Hilary’s letter, which was published in the newspapers of the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptist Church and the United Reformed Church, prompted 166 responses. She followed up with a tour of 12 cities in England and Scotland to discuss her idea with interested local people. It became clear that what they wanted was not a religious order for lay people, but just to meet regularly with others to practise contemplative prayer.

By 1974 the idea had grown into a movement with a name and a magazine. She chose the Julian Meetings, not because Mother Julian stood out from the pre-Reformation English mystics, but because the 600th anniversary of her ‘Revelations’ had been celebrated in 1973; and her status of being not clearly religious or lay was appropriate for a movement where clergy and lay people would meet on an equal footing.

The purpose and ethos also became clear at an early stage.

This is the Julian Meetings mission statement:

• To foster the teaching and practice of contemplative prayer and meditation in the Christian tradition.
• To encourage people to practise contemplative prayer and meditation in their daily lives, and to explore ways of doing this which are appropriate for them.
• To support the individual ecumenical Julian Meetings – groups who meet regularly to practise Christian contemplative prayer and meditation together.

The ethos was to keep everything as simple and unregulated as possible with the minimum of admin. Each group should develop in its own way with minimal central organisation. The only requirements were to be Christ-centred, based on contemplative prayer, and at least potentially non-denominational – or multi-denominational. As it happens, a standard practice evolved of a brief reading or prayer at either end of a period of 30 minutes of silence.

How have things developed since then? The movement took off and reached a total of around 300 local groups in the UK by the early 1990s. These were supported by a national Advisory Group carrying out the essential different co-ordinating functions. Among its activities, the Advisory Group:

• produced a magazine three times a year for about 50 years (it has just morphed into an online publication with a different format) containing prayers, articles, poems, and artwork relating to this kind of prayer;
• organised an annual weekend silent retreat (this no longer happens); and
• organised a national convention every 10 years (most recently in 2023) for groups and members to come together and share experiences.

Covid took its toll. So did the Grim Reaper. Most people seem to come to contemplative prayer later in life, and obviously none of us will live forever. There are now about 150 groups, almost all in England but with some in other parts of the British Isles, and even one in Australia.

The most recent JM development was the creation of online groups during lockdown. Mostly these were local groups that could no longer meet in person. One group was national in that its membership was spread across England.

So… what are the Julian Meetings to me?

I came across the movement by chance almost 30 years ago when I saw an anthology of writings from the Julian Meetings magazine, entitled Circles of Silence, which was published in 1994. Hilary Wakeman’s introduction is the source of much of the historical information in this post. Although I have met Hilary and had the benefit of her knowledge and thinking on several occasions.

I discovered that there was no Julian Meeting in my home town of Godalming, so I publicised the movement through Churches Together and started a local meeting which ran for about five years until it became too small to be viable. Around the same time I offered myself as editor of the JM magazine and produced 15 issues over the five years. I was then a member of the Advisory Group and contributed to its discussions, and also went on some of the national retreats. These were always in retreat houses in beautiful parts of the countryside such as Launde Abbey in Leicestershire.

Unfortunately for me, my life gradually unravelled after that. I became seriously ill and dropped out of everything for a long period. It was only when I finally came out the other side, a few years ago, that my faith returned and with it my interest in contemplative prayer. I started another in-person Julian Meeting, in Farncombe, but this also had only a few members and lasted less than one year. The most positive experience I have had was to join, and now convene, the national online Julian Meeting which meets every Monday evening.

I also attended the national convention in 2023. The discussion reaffirmed the continuing importance and relevance of this kind of prayer in a world which seems to grow darker every day. This was despite the gradual decline in numbers and the decline in religious attendance generally. We were particularly concerned to reach out to young people. Many seem to have a spiritual if not a religious sense, looking for deeper meaning in an increasingly materialistic world. The rapid growth of interest in mindfulness is a modern reminder of that.

As my previous post indicated, contemplative prayer offers a loving and valuable community dimension to our lives as Christians. I am also encouraged by the growing integration of contemplative practices in some quiet church services. Music, particularly reflective and repetitive chants such as from Taizé, can powerfully lead into silence in a similar way to a visual focus such as a lighted candle.

The Julian Meetings have been an important part of my life over a long period. So many people have benefitted from being able to come together and pray contemplatively in a group.

Anyone seeking further information about the Julian Meetings should visit their website at https://thejulianmeetings.net/. This also provides a lot of guidance material and other resources for groups and individuals, much of which is free.

Tags: Contemplative prayer