“Contemplation and Community: Building a Radically Different Future – From the Inside”
– Written by Sarah Thorpe

To help us find our autumn stride, Chris Whittington recently led us in a lunchtime Meditation Session, “Contemplation and Community: Building a Radically Different Future – From the Inside”. 

In this practical session, Chris Whittington spoke into the extraordinary opportunity opened by the Coronavirus crisis for each of us to participate in the creation of a radically different future – through aligning our lives to the depthless-depths of peace and communion within us.

The apostles did not transform their world and its cultural systems by means of clever marketing, strap-lines or strategic plans. They transformed the world because they were transformed in Christ. They offered a new way of life, a new way of seeing and being.

As a direct, practical response to the circumstances in our communities that call for peace and reconciliation, each of us can commit to the quiet, steady work of establishing peace in ourselves. This is perhaps the most important thing we can do. Everyone around us, our families, the communities we live and work in, our entire society, will benefit.

“Being peace, being places of reconciliation: this is the fruit of contemplative practice. Words are optional.”

What did people particularly appreciate from this lunchtime Meditation Session? 

• “I find Chris’s introductions helpful and it’s lovely to pray silently but with others of the same mind… The focus of creating spaces and places of peace for the good of self and others is irresistible.”
• “A chance to be guided in how to be still in the midst of a busy day.”
• “The “roundedness” of the sessions – Chris’s talks are so well crafted and put across and the meditation session is well explained in advance.  The follow-up discussions are always worth”
• “The chance to have some quiet in the middle of the day, and the concept of being ‘peace’.”
• “Chris’ seemingly endless wisdom from experience and study and his ability to create a safe space to explore.”
• “Space.”

The next in our lunchtime Meditation Sessions for the Birmingham business community will be a Zoom meeting on Monday 30 November from 1-2pm.  More details will be circulated to the ChaplaincyPlus network in due course.

As always, if you’d like to follow up with a 1:1 conversation about anything that’s come up from this Meditation session, you are welcome to contact Sarah Thorpe (sarah.thorpe@chaplaincyplus.org.uk or 0798 224 8949) or Chris Whittington (chris@schoolofcontemplativelife.com or 07952 917995).