And they did! Chatham Band, returning the visit made by Cardiff Canton Band last year, found exactly that when visiting the principality last weekend.

In concert

The visit began, as all visits should, with prayerful preparation around the theme of ‘Coming Home’ which had been set for the weekend. Adrian Horwood is seen leading the band in prayertime before the Saturday evening festival, a time when individual members contributed through singing, playing and prayer to the overall desire of the band that people might be moved to return to God, to ‘come home’.

Praying for souls to return ‘home’

Bandmaster Carl Woodman

In the main festival, given on Saturday evening and introduced by Bandmaster Carl Woodman, the band featured ‘Praise Him’ (Stephen Bulla), ‘Such Love’ (Paul Drury) and ‘The King’s Minstrel’ (Ray Steadman-Allen) before listenening to a delightful rendering of ‘Know my Heart’ by Cardiff Canton Songsters led by Songster Leader Christine Saunders.

Know my Heart

‘Home on the Range’ (Erik Leidzen) was the euphonium solo presented by Songster Leader Adrian Horwood before Ruth Hardy presented the theme of the weekend with scripture and a thought. The first half of the programme concluded with ‘To know Thee’ (William Himes) and the march ‘Praise’s Power’ (David Ayma).

Home on the Range

An interval of ten minutes allowed the stage to be reset for the band to provide half an our of ’swing’ music in a ‘big band’ style. Numbers featured were ‘Swingtime Religion’ (Barrie Gott), ‘Deep River’ (William Broughton), ‘Tomado de la mano’ (Erik Silfverberg), ‘All to Jesus’ (Eiliv Herikstad) and ‘Greater Things’ (Olaf Ritman). Canton Songsters included ‘Under His Wings’ in this part of the meeting. This delightfully different format sent people home with feet tapping and a sense of excitement in preparation for the further activities of the weekend

‘

‘Dizzie’ Steve Lenton who provided the jazz trumpet breaks

Rosemary Steadman-Allen led the Sunday morning worship which included ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ (Ray-Steadman-Allen) and ‘The Call’ (Erik Leidzen) from the Band. Canton Singing Company also brought a musical ministry which was much appreciated. Just three songs, all from the Salvation Army Song Book (283, 47 and 438) were used and Greg Davis testified. Richard Craik spoke from the Word in a meeting which further emphasised the need for a return to the spiritual home.

L to R: Rosemary, Greg & Richard

The final meeting of the weekend included ‘Silver Star’ (Ray Steadman-Allen), ‘Love so Amazing’ (Noel Brooks) and ‘Songs of Victory’ (Richard Phillips) before a contribution from Canton Songsters. The final part of the meeting confirmed the joy of the homecoming with ‘The Suppliant Heart’ (Brian Bowen) followed by a song for all to enjoy, stating the assurance of abiding in God’s love (Salvation Army Song Book 736), the commitment ‘My All is on the Altar’ (Morley Calvert), a short message from Tim Scott and the final determined statement of the Christian ‘I’ll Walk with God’ (Nicholas Brodszky, arr. Christian Jenkins) from euphonium soloist Adrain Horwood.

Tim & Adrian

We conclude this report with some of the lyrics from the song which gave us our title.

Far away a voice is calling
Bells of memory chime
Come home again, come home again
They call through the oceans of time

We’ll keep a welcome…….
We’ll keep a welcome…….
This land you knew will still be singing
When you come home again…….

The message brought by the band to Cardiff embodied the call to ‘come home’ to Christ. What about you? You will be truly welcomed!

We have received the following letter from Eloise McCombe.

Eloise

Hi everyone,

So I’ve been at Uni for just over a month now!

I’m loving it! Many of you know that I’ve wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember and so finally getting here and learning how to teach has been really great for me.

Moving in was hard, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do (which is strange considering I’ve moved so much as an officers kid) but the people here are really lovely and once the first week was over I started to settle down. I’m living with 5 lovely girls and 1 second year boy, I think he feels a bit out numbered! But we all get on well so that’s great for me. I’m living with a Jewish girl and a Hindu girl and so chatting to them about what they believe has been really interesting for me, I hope they feel the same way about chatting to me about my faith.

I found a girl who lives in the flat upstairs who is also a Christian and so I’ve been able to talk to her about local churches. I’ve been attending Raynes Park Corps for the past few weeks which I’m already loving as I have close friends there already and so its great to be reunited with them.

In terms of the course there is plenty to keep me busy! They say that you ‘read’ your degree and they are definitely not wrong! I feel like I’m reading every spare minute of the day, but the challenge has been welcomed as its something that I’ve been looking forward to doing. I’m already on school placement and so I get to go into schools one day a week, this is always my highlight as it’s just great to get to interact with the children.

I’m missing everyone back home loads, especially my parents if you’re reading this. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has written to me or prayed for me over the past few weeks, it has been much appreciated and my room is full of cards from everyone so thanks again!

I hope everything is going well back home and I’ll be back to visit soon, just so you don’t forget about me!

Eloise

This weekend our Band has visited the Cardiff Canton Salvation Army Corps.

Canton Hall

The Band travelled to South Wales on Saturday and returned on Sunday evening having presented a musical programme and led the worship services there. We will bring a more detailed report when we receive it.

On stage at Canton

Of course, visits like this are not all hard work, sometimes there is a tourist side. In the picture below, taken only a few hours ago, Greg Davis and Tim Scott visit the Welsh Assembly.

Meanwhile we experienced a different sort of day without them but still had a great experience of the presence of God in our meetings.

Majors Drew & Beverley McCombe

Majors Drew led the morning worship on the theme of ‘Christian Lifestyle - Dealing with Criticism’. Using a number of scripture references including John 1:14, Hebrews 4:14-16 and Matthew 7:1-6, songs chosen in support were 174, 274, 449 and 324 from the Salvation Army Song Book together with 120, 441 and 329 from Songs of Fellowship. The musical ministry, which adds so much to our worship, was again provided by the Singing Company, who brought ‘Nothing but Thy Blood’ and the Songsters, who gave us ‘Lord of All’. Of course the Songsters were very depleted due to the absence of the members of the band and so this song was sung just by the ladies.

The Corps recorded its best wishes to Gwyneth Williams who is moving to the Blackpool area. In her testimony Gwyneth spoke of the influences on her life which have been felt here at Chatham and thanked members of the Corps fro their friendship.

Gwyneth Williams

Major Beverley preached and in her message said we live in a critical culture, always wanting to find someone to blame. This is the way our society seems to function. Fault finding isn’t difficult, it is easier than getting stuck in to the job at hand. Jesus says ‘do not judge’. We are not to be fault finders, seeking out other people’s failures. This turns people away from Christ and God’s judgement is against people who do such things. Some of us have a longer journey to Christ-likeness than others but if we are merciful then mercy is what we will receive from God. Criticism of ourselves leads to repentance and removal of the obstacles to progress. When we are perfect, as God is perfect, then we shall be able to judge others. We can only be in this position if we truly have His love in our hearts.

The evening meeting was led by one of our newly recommended candidates for Salvation Army officership, Mel Scoulding. The theme was ‘Light’ and the songs chosen reflected that in no uncertain manner. Mel used 8, 371 and 844 from the Salvation Army Song Book and 40 and 362 from Songs of Fellowship. In the absence of the Band the Songsters sang twice featuring ‘Shine on Me’ and ‘You are the Light’. Scripture used was John 1:1-5. A period of Bible Shots was also included in which several members of the congregation quoted their favourite scripture and explained the reasons for their choice.

Mel Scoulding

The message was given in three relatively short parts,  ‘As it Was……’, ‘And Is……’ and ‘Always Will Be……….’. Using additional scripture references from Genesis 1:1-5 and Matthew 5:14-16 Mel explained how God had put the stars in place during creation and described the many features of the sun. In His creation, however, God knew that we needed more than just light. In fact, he knows exactly what we need and provides it. It was God who brought light into the world. There is also another type of light which shines into the hearts of men. He came as a baby to bring that light to men and he lived and died a death which brought life to all. The life he brings is a light to all people. Matthew tells us that we are the light of the world. We must let that light shine in the world so that the glow may be visible to others. God keeps the flame alive in us.

Next weekend will be a very exciting one in the corps. There will be only one regular meeting on Sunday led by Cadets Karl and Rachel Carpenter, the rest of the day being taken up with the wedding of Gina Butteriss and Martin Castle. Watch this space for pictures of the happy couple and share their joy with them. You’re very welcome.

At the Ladies Fellowship meeting this week Mike Collins gave an illustrated talk on the visit he and his wife made to Alaska.

Mike Collins talks to website correspondent Jean Jones

They visited during the summer months when there are 24 hrs of daylight and the snow is mainly on the mountain-tops. After explaining some of the geography of this country, he showed photographs of the trips around the lakes and glaciers which were surrounded by mountains, topped with snow.

The ladies at the meeting were surprised to see the wonderful floral displays at the entrances to hotels, restaurants they visited. These included large hanging baskets and pots of geraniums, dahlias and other flowers which are familiar in this country.

looking at pictures

Alaska is the land of the reindeer (caribou) and their antlers were much in evidence as decoration on the outside of the houses.

Caribou

After the organised tours were completed, Mike told of their adventure travelling north alongside the oil pipeline up to the Arctic coastline.   Although they had hoped to see the aurora borealis they were unfortunate as smoke from the forest fires obliterated it from their view.

we found this picture though

Jean Jones gave a short epilogue which drew attention to the saving grace of Jesus turning our sins of scarlet into white as snow.

This coming Sunday, 16 November, sees the start of a three session course entitled Contagious Christianity. The course will take place on two consecutive Sunday afternoons and the intervening Wednesday evening and will be run by Steve and Mel Scoulding.

Steve & Mel

The course is a DVD based resource produced by the Willow Creek Church, near Chicago, Illinois.. Each participant has their ownself reflective manual that provides examples and structured learning sequences for becoming a contagious Christian.

It is a fast, interactive production wherein the participants discover their own story and gifting.  They are shown, and practice in a safe and secure environment, how to identify their story and then how to share it with others in no more than four minutes.  The course follows directly on from Christianity for Life and C4L+ and forms part of the corps ongoing dicipleship programme.

Places are of necessity limited to a maximum of twelve persons. Anyone wishing to enrol, even at this late stage, should contact us.

For information, Willow Creek Community Church (or simply Willow Creek Church) is a non-denominational, Evangelical Christian megachurch located in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975 by Bill Hybels, who is currently the Senior Pastor. The church has three weekend services averaging more than 20,000 attendees, making it the second largest church in the United States after Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. It has been listed as the most influential church in America for the last several years in a national poll of pastors.

An interesting title for the Men’s Weekend held at Ashburnham Place, near Battle, in East Sussex and attended by two guys from this Corps.

Guest Speaker Chick Yuill

For nearly 50 years people have been visiting Ashburnham Place, once the home of the Ashburnham family, now a Prayer and Conference Centre. Ashburnham Place is set in the heart of East Sussex, surrounded by 220 acres of grounds, gardens, woodlands and lakes. Unfortunately the weather did not permit the fullest enjoyment of the beautiful scenery and countryside but some walks were possible if accompanied by a warm coat and an umbrella!

The autumn colours were stunning and would have been more so had the sun shone occasionally. But the fellowship of 25 guys with the same desire to study the word of God made ample recompense for the outside conditions. And the teaching of Chick Yuill was something very special indeed. Five hours of listening is something of a daunting task for most people but when undertaken in five sesions, and with the skill which Chick has, it becomes a real pleasure. The story of Abraham was taken apart, rebuilt, piece by piece, and given a freshness and virility which admirably suited a group of men.

Chick at work

Of course it’s not possible to recount the whole of the teaching of a weekend such as this in an article short enough to retain the reader’s attention but a few choice thoughts come to mind.

• We often believe in our heads but we must also believe in our hearts and not behave as if God doesn’t exist.
• God can work through all of us however bad we are. Pharoah had higher moral standards than the person God chose to be the father of His people.
• Turning back is often the best way forward
• ‘We don’t eat family!’! (a quote from the movie ‘Stuart Little’ reflecting what sometimes happens in churches)
• When you honour God, God honours you. You help shape the destiny of others and there is no giving up.

There was time for reflection and worship, the latter being led by Major Gareth Heward, the new Divisional Director for Personnel and ingenuity was tested to the limit when groups were challenged to design and contruct a box, out of only paper and sellotape, capable of carrying quite weighty articles without collapsing. All three groups successfully acheived the objective but some ‘developed’ the rules more than others!

Major Gareth Heward

Engineering

A great deal of fun, lot’s of spiritual learning and development, but perhaps one of the most inspiring aspects was that a number of the delegates were new to christianity, brought to the Army by particular outreach initiatives, and honest enough to admit they were still searching. To see and hear of the progress being made during the weekend was truly worthwhile in itself. We pray that God will complete His work in their lives and that they will MOVE ON and answer the question ‘what does a man do when God says GO’ in a positive way.

Next year the weekend will be held between 20 and 22 November and those present this year would encourage as many as possible to attend. If you were a delegate at this year’s event and have read this article we would welcome your comments in the box below.

Another in the series of blogs from Major Drew McCombe

Major Drew McCombe

What do you live by?

Good question, not so easy to answer in a few sentences. However if we all take time we will discover that all of us live by a number of deeply held beliefs, even if they are inherited, or passed down to us by our parents or guardians. I have always admired leaders who can gather their thoughts and beliefs into a few memorable words. I want to have a go at a series of these that I believe in and try to live by.

Here’s the first of them, ‘mission must be intentional’ . Almost all churches have big ideals but they are in danger of not following through.  Slowly but surely that God can do anything feeling fades, bold prayers quit getting prayed and the beginning of the end is never too far away. Applying that to our vision, Ezekiel 47 and the river of God, we must now set about being more intentional. Our mission is taking us to look very seriously about reaching out in love to the ‘Shipwrights’ area (a part of Chatham) in the new year. As we speak we are being intentional and the mission purpose group is doing some research and this is being fed back into prayers and for a clear way forward. So that we do this with love, wisdom and a ‘what ever it takes spirit’… but that reminds me of another phrase or proverb to live by……may be next time.  For now if you believe in our corps vision to bring life into dead places, now’s the time to be intentional…why not speak to me about what you can do about it…… speak to you soon.

Contact us if you wish to be put in touch with Drew

The poppy, worn by millions as a reminder of sacrifices made in almost a century of wars throughout the world.

Once again our own band was in attendance at the local war memorial in Victoria Gardens to provide music for this solemn occasion. Here are some pictures taken at the service.

The weekend was a very busy one with lots of different activities taking place.

On Saturday our Cameo Club held a coffee morning and gift sale to aid the fundraising for a new wheelchair for multiple sclerosis sufferer Rachael Mills.

Rachael

Then, on Saturday evening, our Young Searchers Group gave a presentation regarding their recent trip to Tanzania where they visited The Salvation Army’s Matumaini School, Dar-es-Salaam. Click here for a report on the trip with some pictures.

From Friday evening to yesterday lunchtime a special weekend for men was held at Ashburnham Conference Centre in East Sussex, arranged by Divisional Headquarters which was attended by some delegates from the Corps. Under the general heading of Mandate 08, Chick Yuill took as his theme ‘Move On - What does a man do when God says GO?’. Quoting from the weekend brochure ‘The Story of Abraham reminds us that when God speaks, everything is up for grabs - and anything can happen’ (does this ring any bells with regard to last week’s happenings in America?). Major Gareth Heward, Divisional Director for Personnel, also led sessions and worship. A fuller report will be brought later in the week.

The buildings and grounds

L to R: Chick Yuill and Major Gareth Heward

The serious stuff!

Meanwhile, back at the corps, the Sunday morning meeting, led by Major Beverley,  was on the theme of ‘how to love your enemies’. We all need to learn about that, don’t we! The songs chosen were 808 and 578 from the Salvation Army Song Book and 381, 168 and 895 from Songs of Fellowship. Musical ministry was provided by the Songsters (Jesus will still be there) and Singing Company (All around the world). The scripture used was Matthew 5:43-48.

Majors Drew & Beverley McCombe

Major Drew’s theme for the evening was ‘Let’s Celebrate’, again quite topical having watched the reactions of many people in the United States this week. Songs chosen were 10, 567, 438 and 959 from the Salvation Army Song Book and 1013, 2034, 935 and 362 from Songs of Fellowship. Scripture selected was Matthew 11:28-34. The Band contributed ‘Tornado de la mano’ and the Songsters ‘I will call upon the Lord’. Two testimonies were received, both telling of recent experiences of God.

In a brief message Drew spoke about true celebration and the type of church we would all like to belong to.

Next weekend our band will be visiting the Cardiff  Canton Corps in South Wales. We are praying that God will richly bless the ministry and that people will be encouraged and brought closer to God through he medium of the visit.

The Christianity for Life Plus course has entered its final week. There are just two more sessions to go, on Sunday (9 November) and Wednesday (12 November).

Two sessions were held this week. Last Sunday Lt. Col. Joy Steadman-Allen presented the subject ‘Your Kingdom Come’, part two of the study of the Lord’s Prayer, which is embodied within the course. The aim of this seesion was to understand the role of intercession in prayer, mainly by praying for others and for particular situations.

Lt. Col. Joy Steadman-Allen

On Wednesday evening the group explored the topic of vocation, under the title of ‘Called into Community’, with guest presenter Bev HUdson. Bev is currently Director for Social Services at The Salvation Army’s London South East Divisional Headquarters.

Bev

The final study of The Lord’s Prayer will take place this coming Sunday afternoon, considering the issue of praying for our own needs (petition). This will be led by Rosemary Steadman-Allen.

Rosemary

The final session of the course, ‘Called into Mission’, will be presented next Wednesday evening by Steve & Mel Scoulding, taking the study of vocation to a further level where ‘every believer is ordained into Christ’s mission to bring all creation into a life-giving relationship with Him’.

Steve & Mel

Organisers of the course, Ray Maycock and Jean Jones, feel the response to the subjects discussed has been very positive and look forward to further courses next year. Anyone interested in attending should contact us for details.

Ray & Jean

The charity bake by the Brownies and Guides took place last Friday and raised £45.50 for the chosen charities (RSPCA and Breast Cancer). Good support was received from those who enjoyed refreshments with the girls during the evening. Here are some pictures.

Contact us if you want to know more about our work with young people.

Last week we introduced The King’s Singers latest Salvation Army recording entitled ‘Reflections - Choral Essays vol. 2′ due for release in late November. Click here to view a video trailer.

Choral Essays vol. 2

You can contact SP&S Ltd’s mail order department on 01933 445445 or mail_order@sp-s.co.uk or log on to their website www.sps-shop.com.

Next Saturday, 8 November, is a busy one for a number of people.

The Cameo Club is holding a Coffee Morning and Gift Sale in aid of the new wheelchair required for Rachael Mills. This event will take place between 11am and 1pm in our Church Street Hall.

In the evening our Young Searchers Group is giving a presentation about the girls recent trip to Tanzania where the girls visited the Matumaini School, run by The Salvation Army, in Dar-es-Salaam. This event atarts at 7.30pm and is again being held in our Church Street Hall.

At the school

How to find us:

Click on the maps for a larger version

From Friday through to Sunday the Divisional Men’s Weekend is being held at Ashburnham Place in East Sussex. The guest speaker for the weekend is Chick Yuill.

Chick Yuill

Most of the world is watching the United States of America with considerable interest this week. It’s big decision time.

The White House, Washington DC

The contenders, John McCain and Barack Obama

Late on Tuesday and into Wednesday the news of the state by state results in the Presidential Election will be emerging and it will become apparent whether or not the USA has had the courage to elect its first Afro-American to the role of Commander-in-Chief. Whatever the result the decision has enormous implications for the whole world and many millions of people will worry about the outcome.

The Oval Office window

In future days many agonising decisions will be taken behind these windows, decisions which will affect the history of the world. We all have a right to be concerned!

Topically, worry was the subject of our meeting yesterday morning, or to be more precise, ‘How to stop worrying and start living’. Major Drew was our leader and he chose songs 365 and 754 from the Salvation Army Song Book together with 673, 493 and 1346 from Songs of Fellowship. The scripture selected was Matthew 6:25-34. The Singing Company sang ‘Blessed be the Name of the Lord’ and the Songsters ‘When we cannot see our way’.

In his message Major Drew said ‘Don’t Worry’- Be Happy’, the song says. Not very helpful advice on its own, you my say. Greeting Card Christianity! Jesus gives it a different emphasis - ‘Be Happy, Don’t Worry’. He says ‘Blessed are……………’  You cannot serve two masters. There must be a radical shift of values and a making up of the mind regarding our priorities. We must decide if we intend to serve God or something else. So why are we not to worry? This morning’s scripture shows Jesus giving several reasons. Today the media seem to advertise all the things Jesus says we should not worry about. We must not seek satisfaction in material things. Worry is illogical because it is futile and unproductive. It is also incompatible with faith. Faith is our reliance on God. He knows our needs and we can trust Him. Seek first His Kingdom and He will withhold nothing from us. We will then gain more spiritual insight and fill the vacuum in our lives.

Seen in the gallery during the meeting. Can anyone suggest a caption, please? (use comments box)

Our evening meeting was led by Major Beverley and continued the theme of ‘We have come to Worship’, begun last week. ‘In Spirit and Truth’ was the particular aspect under consideration and the songs chosen to support the theme were 174, 600 and 156 from the Salvation Army Song Book and 1239, 851 and 1151 from Songs of Fellowship. The Songsters brought ‘I will worship You’ and the Band ‘Teach Me’ in providing musical support to the worship. John 4:20-26 was the chosen scripture. In addition a united reading was taken from Philippians 2:5-11.

A period of personal testimony was included and five people spoke, with conviction, of God’s goodness in their lives. Pictured below are (clockwise) Tim, John, Jean, Frankie and Mel.

Major Beverley spoke about how there have always been debates about the form and nature of worship. She said this is often a matter of preference but Jesus says that none of this matters because true worship is in spirit and truth. Only through thios can we know God and worship Him. Hindrances to worship are all around us; wrong practices, wrong priorities and wrong perspectives are examples. God is not satisfied with simply ‘form’. He wants a genuine commitment to live for Him. Worship should be both Bible centered and Christ centered. We have a great incentive to worship because, when we offer it, God will be pleased.

Majors Drew & Beverley McCombe

For those who are local and able to attend the funeral of Ethel Smitherman, who was promoted to Glory last Sunday, is on 5 November (Wednesday) at St Margaret’s Church, Lower Halstow. The service will start at 2pm and will be followed by the committal at the Garden of England crematorium, near Sittingbourne, at 3.00pm.

Finally, whoever is elected the international leader of the USA this week, we want the world to know that Jesus Christ is leader in the lives of those who minister and worship in this church. We will continue to follow his guidance and preach his gospel with all the resources we have available. God bless you all and, hopefully, we’ll see you all again next week. Have a great week.

The current course is now well underway.

Major Beverley McCombe was the guest presenter for last Sunday’s session entitled ‘Our Father in Heaven’. This was a study into The Lord’s Prayer and explored prayer as a relationship with God.

Major Beverley

Our midweek session, held on Wednesday evening was entitled ‘The Holy Spirit’ and was presented by Commissioner Gisele Gowans. The session explored the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (what God’s promise means when it says that, when we become Christians, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us).

Commissioner Gisele Gowans

the group at work

The next two sessions are headed ‘Your Kingdom Come’ and ‘Called into Community’ and will be presented by Lt. Col. Joy Steadman-Allen and Bev Hudson respectively.

Joy Bev

We look forward to bringing you more news of this exciting course next week. For more information click here or contact us

Last Saturday saw the Alpha Day Away, an important part of each course. Ruth Woodhouse, one of the leaders, sent us this brief report.

Pilgrim Hall

Alpha Day Away - 25^th October 2008.

The Alpha Day Away is an important part of the 10 week Alpha Course, and focuses on the Holy Spirit.  The purpose of the day is to give people the chance to understand what the Holy Spirit is, and for some, it can be a crucial turning point in their Christian journey.

There were 19 delegates attending and the venue was Pilgrim Hall Christian Retreat Centre, Easons Green, Uckfield, near Tonbridge Wells.  When we arrived we were met with morning refreshments before we started the first session. This was titled ‘Who is the Holy Spirit?’ The whole group watched the DVD of Nicky Gumbel explaining who the Holy Spirit is, and then split into small groups for discussion.

Nicky Gumbel

Below are the questions discussed in the smaller groups:-

Session 1 - Who is the Holy Spirit?

1. Was there anything form the DVD that helped you understand who the Holy Spirit is or anything you would like to ask more about?
2. All this talk about the ‘Spirit’ how does it make you feel?
3. Look up the following bible verses with the group- each time asking the questions in bold type

After the first session we had a break for lunch and this gave time for people to explore the beautiful grounds and visit the book shop.

The second session was titled ‘What does the Holy Spirit do?’  This session focused on the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ and the ‘Gifts of the Spirit’ mentioned in Galatians 5, verses 22 & 23, and 1 Corinthians 12, verses 1 - 11.  We then split into small groups to discuss what we had heard on the DVD before breaking for afternoon refreshments.  Below are the questions discussed in the smaller groups:

Session 2- What does the Holy Spirit Do?

1. Was there anything from the DVD that helped you understand what the Holy Spirit does or anything you would like to ask more about?
2. Did you know or do you know the difference between the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. Look at 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 ( Gifts) and Galatians 5 :22-23 (Fruit) - (the main difference is gifts are for doing stuff - fruits are about who we are - gifts are many and we have one or more different ones but fruit is singular and we are to display all the fruit as we grow - its not about picking ad choosing the fruits)
3. What Gifts would you desire to have?
4. Which aspect of the ‘fruit’ of the Spirit do you feel you need help with?

The third and final session was titled ‘How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?’  We watched the DVD and then Major Drew McCombe spoke to the whole group and gave an opportunity for people to be prayed with and reflect on what they had discovered throughout the day.  Some felt a real presence of the Holy Spirit, while others took time to just sit and reflect, whilst listening to music.

As each week progresses, the whole group seems to get closer, especially during group discussion.  The Day Away gave the chance for new friendships to develop further, and for each one, a further development on their Christian journey.

Acts 2 v 38 and 39: Peter replied: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

The Team and Delegates

Sounds like it was a great day. Thanks are due to all the team who work so hard in this area of our ministry.

The Team - L to R: Ruth & Paul Woodhouse, Rod Tranah and Major Drew McCombe