History

The vision for the Centre's project came from the Bishop of London who appointed our first director, Andrew Walker, in 2000. The Centre received formal status as a charitable company in 2001 and began its activities over the course of the following two years.

During the latter part of 2001 the Centre moved into the Vestry Hall of the church of St Edmund the King, Lombard Street, where there is a hall, library, office, kitchen and enclosed garden. The church itself has now been restored and refurbished.

In 2011 the Centre appointed Kenneth Browne as Interim Director.

We are at the heart of the City, only minutes away from St Paul's Cathedral and the Bank of England.

What Happens at the Centre?

The Centre offers training and development on a broad spectrum of Christian Spirituality including hosting the three year course in Ignatian Spiritual Direction and running the two year course in The Art of Spiritual Direction. There is an Annual Programme of events which offers workshops and seminars on various areas of Spirituality.

The Centre Bookshop, which is located in the main body of St Edmund the King Church, is well-stocked, selling new and second-hand titles on a wide range of topics including:

• spirituality and prayer
• Ignatian spirituality
• ethics, art and literature
• philosophy and theology
• psychology and poetry
• bibles and prayer books
• worship resources

The Labyrinth

Solvitur ambulando – it is solved – untied – released – answered – by walking
(St Augustine of Hippo)

One of the Centre's less well-known resources is the labyrinth at Fen Court, about five minutes' walk from the Centre. It was built in 2008 in the churchyard of St Gabriel Fenchurch (a church destroyed in the Great Fire and never rebuilt) following a design from the Isles of Scilly.

With its roots deep in prehistory, the labyrinth has long been a powerful aid to prayer, mindfulness and discernment – in the Christian tradition as well as many others. It is a universal symbol, found all over the world. Its shape echoes spirals in nature: galaxies, clouds, spiders’ webs, ammonites, ferns. And in our bodies: the surface of the brain, inner ear, intestines, umbilical cord and womb. Perhaps that is why we feel “at home” with the labyrinth. Unlike mazes which are constructed as puzzles, a labyrinth has only one path. It contains no tricks and requires no cleverness. You will not get lost, and who knows what you might find.

We offer labyrinth workshops, and this year we will again be running our course Sacred Spirals: the Spiritual Exercises, the labyrinth and art.

Come and explore our labyrinth when you visit the Centre. Let us know if you would like to bring a group and have a guide: to discover more or to read others' experiences follow Antonia Lynn's blog, A Gracing Maze

I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. (W B Yeats)

Additional Information

Various sized meeting rooms are available to hire with the use of a small kitchen if required. There is a disabled access and toilet facility.

We offer a sacred space for weekly services and prayer, and we have a well stocked library focused on Spirituality literature, which can be accessed by appointment.