The roots of the School of Contemplative Life trace back to when our founder, Chris Whittington, first arrived at Prinknash Abbey monastery in England, at the age of 19. Guided by the wisdom and kindness of the monks, he began several years of spiritual formation, shaped by the Benedictine rhythms of prayer, silence, and community under the particular guidance of Dom Sylvester Houédard OSB.
Years later, during the Covid pandemic, we offered a series of online workshops focused on meditation and peace. We expected a small response. Instead, more than 2,000 people participated – including teachers, healthcare workers, clergy, parents, students, business people, and retirees – all seeking a more peaceful way of living.
As people shared how meditation was transforming their lives, and with encouragement from spiritual teachers including Martin Laird OSA, Rev’d Dr. Rowan Williams and Timothy Radcliffe OP, the vision for the School took root and we now host the largest Christian meditation practice group of its kind in the UK.
Words from Martin Laird OSA, one of the leading teachers of Christian contemplative spirituality alive today:
“While we continue to see fewer and fewer people regularly attending church services, their deep, genuine longing for the depth-dimension of Christianity has only grown through the years. Sadly, most Christians have absolutely no idea that Christianity has anything to say about this, much less that it has its own vibrant contemplative tradition. This is largely due to the fact that it has never been presented to them.
The School of Contemplative Life will surely rate among the most significant responses to the spiritual longings of the people of this nation and abroad.
Through its debut book The Missing Peace, its growing online practice community and thoughtfully designed programme of retreats, the School will directly nourish and cultivate the depth-dimension of life, offering Christians – and seekers from all traditions – an accessible pathway to the wellspring of silence, compassion and peace flowing within.
Simply put, there is no other organization in this country quite like this, dedicated to helping people discover their groundless Ground, the eternal Mystery ever hidden with Christ in God.”
Our purpose is to teach meditation from the Christian wisdom tradition as a path to peace, community and oneness, as a way of clearing space to encounter the divine nature of life.
Our aims are:
To contribute to the restoration of contemplative practice as a way of life which purifies our motives and opens us to the Divine – the foundation of peace within us and between us, the deepest basis for our care of each other and our precious world.
To promote the inseparable relationship between interior transformation and social transformation.
To be a source of peace and an antidote to the fundamentalism which gives rise to so much conflict and violence in the world.
To nurture the common ground between religions by teaching meditation from the Christian tradition as a simple, universal practice for all people.
We’re a small, dedicated team with decades of charity and business leadership experience, united to support an offering grounded in stillness, service, and spiritual depth.
Chris Whittington, our founder and lead teacher, brings years of contemplative teaching and practice to the heart of our work. Our Executive Director, Rachel Sharpe (pictured) leads the organisation.
Our board is chaired by Carla Cooper, a US-based meditation teacher with extensive experience in programme development. Every member of our board is a committed meditator, helping ensure that our decisions are shaped by daily practice.
We’re supported by a generous circle of volunteers from our practice community whose contributions help us keep costs low and our impact far-reaching.