News Archive
My Encounter with God
Jen had a nice chat with us by the river/lake but assured us it was
“not a seminar”. In an attempt to recreate Jesus's baptism, Sean almost
fell in the water and Sally hated the dog for shaking near her (don’t
ask). Next we all jumped back in the bus and went to Segedunum (Roman
fort) were we learned about the Roman culture and among other things
that pottery can get hot and Roman hammers were just like ours, except
for the “handle and hitty thing”.
Next came the “zones” back at church,
including “Cyber, DVD, Sports, Youth, Creative and Stillness”. This was
a time of relaxation and fun, with Alice’s artwork and my humbling
experiences on Mario Kart (I lost twice).
The seminar on other
religions was “kind of” led by Rachel Carlisle and she did a sterling
job! Then came Martin’s challenge which involved working as a team to
navigate our way through a ‘maze ball’ – there was no ‘I’ in team and
after more than 45 minutes we finally did it.
The next “Encounter” was
Tom Carlisle’s foot washin' sesh – we learned about some of the deacons
and their duties then they washed our feet! Apparently Jossy Elder had
the softest feet (the big girly).
The final feast followed with some
lush Jen Harris cooking! Then we went back into a “zones” bit with the
addition of the “servant’s zone” for those who wanted to pot wash! At
9:00pm we went on a stroll down Heaton Park and lit some candles – very
nice - then came the Oscar winning performance from Alice who beautifully
told us the Ragman story, much to the bemusement of some local bobbies.
Back to church we went to our next “Encounter” - this time Robin
‘Fantastic’ Hudson joined us to give us the “truth about the cross”
followed by a midnight communion. Next came the dance-off to end all
dance offs. First the Harris vs Joss battle then the highly
entertaining (even if I say so myself) Aaron vs Tom grudge match!
This
was followed by a film and late night Lancashire Monopoly! The Monopoly
was great especially when I racked up Blackpool tower and Ewood Park.
The programme suggested that next we were supposed to “Wake up” – bit
difficult when you haven’t been to sleep! We all headed off for the
early bird service in the park and enjoyed some songs and stuff – we
were a bit tired really. Mrs Harris didn’t disappoint when it came to
breakfast with plenty of bacon butties for all.
The final hour of group
time was sat recollecting our favorite moments from the weekend and
then having a whack at the Easter quizzz. The event was rounded off by
the Easter Sunday service and Andy’s comical 10 minute kip!
Three words to
describe my experience? Friends, God and change. The best bit
for me was becoming a Christian at 3:00 am on Easter Sunday morning
after a talk and communion in the sanctuary. I found staying awake
quite hard but also asking someone (Sean) to pray with me was also
really difficult!
I would definitely do Encounter again and loved every
minute. I learned more about the way Jesus suffered on the cross - this
really made me think. But the thing I keep remembering from the weekend has
got to be the commitment I made!