Rooted in Jesus: strengthened in the faith and overflowing with thankfulness...

Healthy plants need healthy roots. Roots give stability, they take up the nutrients that are needed for growth, and they seek out hydration for the desert times.

To be healthy as Christians, we need to be rooted – searching out those things that will sustain us for the long haul, going deep into those things that will give us stability. 

At this month's Encounter Day, Veronica will be helping us to reflect on what it means to be rooted in Jesus.

Around forty years ago this year, Canon Veronica felt the first promptings from God to explore a vocation to priesthood. This gradual process of discernment for her began at a time when women had not yet officially been allowed to test such vocations within the Church of England, and whilst she was still working as a Marine Cargo Insurance Broker at Lloyd's of London. "A major influence for me in pursuing this seemingly impossible calling was experiencing first-hand the witness and worship at the city church of St Botolph Aldgate, principally when regularly attending weekday lunchtime Eucharists and occasionally volunteering at their evening soup kitchens for the homeless. The sub-heading for today's Encounter Day - 'strengthened in the faith and overflowing with thankfulness' - speaks to me of the power of a truly humble servant community offering God's hospitality especially to people who find themselves (just like that parish church) "outside the gates of the city" and on the edges of society. As a priest myself now for over 30 years, I still greatly value that essential sacrament of Thanksgiving (which is the literal translation of the word Eucharist) and in this Encounter Day I hope to explore further what it means for each of us to strengthen our faith by daring to accept the transformative hospitality of Christ, freely held out to us in bread and wine."

Encounter Days - Connecting more deeply with God

How do you most readily experience a sense of God’s presence?

Some people love silence and long for space to simply be.

Others find silence difficult, almost physically painful.

In our Encounter Days there will always be lots of space for quiet for those who value the silence, but we also recognise that not everyone processes internally.

We want to encourage additional ways of seeking a sense of God’s presence which might include discussion, prayer, or walking in a group or with another, making or listening to music, making or creating something, reflection using writing or reading.

Arrivals and refreshments from 9.30am

First session begins at 10.00am