It seemed to take for ever to arrive, now it seems like it was
over in a flash!
The St Pauls Parish weekend was a huge success; everyone
enjoyed the blend of spiritual growth, activities and time to
spread out. The College was delightful with warm rooms,
brand new facilities and delicious food.
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The weekend started on Saturday morning with a convoy to the college. Most arrived by bus. The weather was not exactly conducive to cricket, but all activities went ahead as planned. We quickly met Bishop Colin Bazely and his charming wife Barbara. They took us through their talks (after some exciting new gospel singing). It was fascinating to hear the ideals and practices that they taught over the course of the weekend. |
It was excellent to see all and sundry getting involved in the
breakout groups and feeding back their ideas and thoughts too.
After a motivational lunch (well bacon sarnies always motivate me!)
we all set off for the activity part of the weekend. There were visits
to Eyam, Chatsworth, a Long and a Short walk. All went well
with everyone enjoying themselves enormously.
That evening we met again for more of Bishop Colin then a real
highlight -
Entertainment ….. Yep you guessed it a solid gold
opportunity for the brave to stand up and make a complete
fool of themselves (and Richard of course). We had an
absolute hoot, with poetry, songs, recitals, loads of comedy
and even a different method of worship displayed by R & B.
Many might be fooled into thinking that that was enough for
1 day,
but no the St Pauls 1st eleventeam stayed up in to the wee
small hours chatting and enjoying some fellowship.
| Sunday started with a morning prayer led by Richard, then breakfast and a copy of the “St Pauls on tour Sunday Times” (think Private Eye magazine and you are getting close…). We then went on for a final session with Bishop Colin. The food hit a real high point at lunch when we were all served a Sunday roast complete with Yorkshire puddings. Colin Ashworth earned a mention here when he demolished an enormous plate of lunch in record time (under 2 minutes). Well done Colin! |  |
Following lunch we had some time to relax before we all
met for a short communion service led by Richard.
This was a charming service and certainly emotionally charged.
After a short prize giving we all packed up and set off home to Stalybridge
in time to catch Songs of Praise!
Special thanks go to the team, Hannah Adams,
Richard Lawry,
Brenda Lawry, Colin Ashworth, and everyone else
(who assisted in the preparation, delivery and participation). Well done!