Amazing Weekend

 

 

What an amazing time  we had last weekend at our church.  

 On the Friday afternoon a Team of 9 committed Christians, ordinary people of all ages, from all over the country came together to share a weekend with us.   And what a weekend that turned out to be.  Within a very short time, they became a part of us and it felt as if we`d always known them as our friends.  They came from the Lay Witness Movement.

The weekend started with one of many delicious shared meals over the three days.  (Three ladies from another of the churches on our Circuit and the son of one of them provided the catering, so that we could all share in the weekend, without the worry of cooking and washing up.)  The good food was accompanied by much  conversation and laughter which flowed around the tables as we got to know each other. 

From the tables we moved into the church for the first of the four worship sessions over the weekend.  These were times when the Team members shared their testimonies with us, interspersed with times of prayer, and hymns, both old favourites and some new ones, all sung with a real depth of meaning to the words we were singing. 

Times for group discussions were held within the worship time, and in peoples` homes on the Saturday morning, these were a real blessing to many as the Team and us all shared aspects of our lives and faith at a deep level.

The Testimonies the Team gave throughout the weekend, I don`t think could have failed to touch us all in some way, as they shared the way in which Jesus had become real to them and the way in which he was working in their lives.  Some of the testimonies brought tears to the eyes of many of us as they so openly talked of the way God was working in them.   They were a real inspiration to us, and really were “Sharing God`s love” with us.

I know that the whole weekend has challenged me and made me think about my faith, and I`m sure I`m not alone in that.   I don`t think any of us who were present at the times of worship, discussion groups, and the shared meals, could fail to be inspired by them to deepen our commitment to Christ.

It`s really challenged me.