Swanwick Weekend with Chilwell Road Methodist

The Hayes with
Chilwell Road

I delivered my first talk on the theme 'Does the future have a church?' It seemed to go down well but it was really hot in the main hall. Today has been a warm sunny day. The accommodation here at the Hayes is good and the setting is also good as a retreat centre. There is a lake and pleasant gardens.

I heard today that there are 14 people who would like me to repeat the Alpha Holy Spirit day, some because they missed the first and some because they want a repeat. It will have to be in July providing I can book Bradmore again.

The Hayes, Swanwick

Today we heard the news that Jeremy Forrest has been jailed for 5½ years for abducting Megan Stammers and have under-age sex with her.

At Swanwick I delivered the keynote address on Friday night. I explained the challenges facing the Methodist church by referencing similar situations in the rest of society. I used the parable of the Ox Bow Lake which was well received. I also referred to the drill manufacturer which recognised their mission was not to make drills but to make holes. I also explained the Focus initiative which we are following in Nottingham (East).

Lakeside

On the Saturday they broke into 5 adult groups - red, yellow, blue, green and orange plus a young people's group led by Martin and Chris, the two youth leaders. Unfortunately the timetable had allocated too much free time on Saturday afternoon with the entertainment in the evening and people could have used some of it more profitably. The objective is to produce a presentation to a fictitious panel of community people in a bid to obtain a high street site for a new church. The concept was good and they engaged with it well. On Sunday morning they had another half hour to finish their presentations and then they presented them one by one. They started hesitantly and reached a climax when the young people did their presentation - if was quite fanciful and would need significant outside backing. However, some of the ideas were really novel.

The Communion Service

After that I led the communion service. It was based on Olive Drane's idea of places at the tale of the last supper but with enhancements. It took a lot of organising and setting up and I was on edge leading it but it went reasonably well in the end.

There are so many excellent musicians at Chilwell Road and they have a good bank of young people, although many will be off to university in a couple of years. The people got on really well with each other and the entertainment was good with Pixie, an elderly lady of great character, stealing the show with her jokes. Sarah and Neil sang Tom Lehrer's song about the periodic table.

Anyway, when I got home I was tired. Esther came for evening meal after completing the 50 mile Nottingham bike ride in the pouring rain. Se has done really well eve though it took her 7 hours.

© Roger G Johnson 2013