to help you discover the God you already know

Author: Rachel Overton

O come, O come Emmanuel

An online retreat day for Advent

December 9th or 16th 2023

The words of the well loved Advent carol O come, O come Emmanuel have a distinctly biblical feel, differing from the more overtly celebratory tone of most carols that we hear at this time of the year.  For example, the actual nativity narrative doesn’t feature and there are no herald angels nor flocks being watched by night. 

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A retreat day for Advent

Saturday 11th December 2021 OR Wednesday 15th December 2021

10am to 4pm

O Wisdom, proceeding from the Most High,
filling all the world and ordering all things
with strength and gentleness:
Come and teach us the way of truth.

In the Old Testament, we read that Wisdom was ‘…uttered by the mouth of the Most High..’ (Ecclesiasticus 24:3). Ideas around ‘Wisdom’ and the ‘Word’ are closely associated and have influenced the way that the coming of Christ has been understood.

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Look upon the Lord…

St Damiano Cross

A day of reflection led by Sr Rachel

Saturday March 30th 2019.

10.00am to 3.30pm

Westgate New Church, Peterborough PE1 1RG

Psalm 34 verse 5 tells us to ‘Look to the Lord’.  St Clare of Assisi tells us to ‘Gaze upon the Lord’.  Using the image of the St Damiano Cross as a starting point for our reflections, we will consider what it might mean to cultivate an attitude in life of ‘looking to the Lord’.  In the middle of Lent, this day provides a space to help prepare for the coming of Passiontide and Holy Week.

For more information, please click here.

Let it be to me….

Let it be to me…..

Saturday December 8th 2018   10.00am – 3.30pm

Westgate New Church,  68b Westgate,  Peterborough  PE1 1RG

A Quiet Day led by Sr Rachel 

In the season of Advent, we will be reflecting upon Mary the Mother of Jesus.  Often held out as a model of obedience, what might she have to show us about relating to God?

The day will include time to reflect on our own experiences of God, some reflections from Sr Rachel, as well as time to be alone and quiet in the run up to Christmas.

The day is open to all, and for those who have no previous experience of quiet days and silence, guidance will be given as how to spend times of quiet.

For more information please click here

Or contact Sr Rachel

 

Come and See….

Come and See…

A quiet day led by Sr Rachel

Saturday October 6th. 2018   10.00am – 3.30pm

The Cedar Centre,  Church Walk, Castor, Peterborough PE5 7AX.

During this day, we will be exploring the invitation held out to us in the Gospel to ‘Come and see’.

What does it mean to each of us to hear and respond to those words – not just once, but to constantly engage with looking further, looking more deeply and being willing to turn aside from our preoccupations in order to pay attention to God?

The day will include time to reflect on our own experiences of God, some reflections from Sr Rachel, as well as time to be alone and quiet.

The day is open to all, and for those who have no previous experience of quiet days and silence, guidance will be given as how to spend times of quiet.

For more information please click here

or contact  Sr Rachel

 

Quiet days in the Peterborough area

I am running a series of quiet days and teaching days starting in the autumn of 2018.  These will be held in the Peterborough area, where there are good rail and bus links as well as easy access to main roads.

They are open to all and suitable for those who have never attended such a day before as well as those who have some previous experience.

I hope through these to be able to encourage people to find new and deeper ways of connecting with God and over time to discover more about just what is needful in enabling that.

Please look out for the information if you are interested and check it out also on my website

www.anchorhold.co.uk

The Sacrament of letting go….

A few weeks ago as the leaves were coming into bud, I saw these trees alongside the River Nene in Peterborough.  The sight reminded me of this poem by Macrina Wiederkehr:

 

Winter trees 2

Slowly

She celebrated the sacrament of

Letting Go…

First she surrendered her Green

Then the Orange, yellow, and Red…

Finally she let go of her Brown…

Shedding her last leaf

She stood empty and silent, stripped bare

Leaning against the sky she began her vigil of trust…

Shedding her last leaf

She watched its journey to the ground…

She stood in silence,

Wearing the color of emptiness

Her branches wondering:

How do you give shade, with so much gone?

And then, the sacrament of waiting began

The sunrise and sunset watched with

Tenderness, clothing her with silhouettes

They kept her hope alive.

They helped her understand that

her vulnerability

her dependence and need

her emptiness

her readiness to receive

were giving her a new kind of beauty.

Every morning and every evening she stood in silence and celebrated

the sacrament of waiting.

 

 

Macrina Wiederkehr