2010 Celebration - Edgehill College : 8th May
Blessed by Volcanic Ash!
This year, a daughter’s wedding in April and a daughter-in-law’s expected first child due in June meant that I had planned an early summer holiday in May. Dates were tight and I should have been away in foreign climes on Saturday 8 May. Instead, with flights grounded, I became a last-minute attendee at the Lay Witness Movement’s annual day conference in Edgehill College. What a blessing that proved to be as some thirty folk from across Methodism came together for fellowship!
Right from Heather Boland’s endearing welcome to the day’s end, God’s presence was very evident.
Karen McIlveen and Wesley Sterling led us into His presence with some lovely worship songs, including Don Moen’s, ‘God will make a way, where there seems to be no way.’ (This seemed ironically apt for me!) Tom Wilson introduced our speaker, Rev Mervyn Kilpatrick, from Glengormley. Mervyn had chosen the theme, ‘The Marks of a Servant’, and in his opening session taught us aspects of this from scripture.
From Exodus, he drew on the law that freed a slave in his seventh year but allowed the slave to stay out of love for his master. This must be our motivation too. He spoke also of joy, the joy that comes not from the task but from the obedience to the master. We were encouraged to faithfulness, to be loyal, trustworthy and reliable. Our honesty before God and before those we serve, was challenged. We should express our emotions to God – How long? Why? Laments are a refusal to settle for how things are. It is our genuine honesty that can be most telling when on a Lay Witness Weekend. We also should be clothed in humility, accepting a lower position to meet the needs of others and being able to say, ‘sorry’.
Small group discussion followed the coffee break with the challenge to examine ourselves to see what in us needed God’s touch.
This year we missed Audrey, the Edgehill cook, due to illness and our lunch was provided by Louise Wilson – an admirable substitute!
Lay Witness has been invited by three churches to bring teams for weekends this Autumn. The three team leaders were invited to tell us of preparation and points for prayer. The Team Leaders, Ken McFaul (Doagh), David Blevins (High Street, Lurgan) and Lorna Douglas (Gorey) were then prayed for by those present.
Our afternoon session with Mervyn was much more reflective. We considered how we should go on as servants, encouraging each other and growing together. Citing Paul’s conversion also as a commission, Mervyn pointed out that we have specific gifts with which to reach specific people. We should stay connected to God through prayer and pray for one another. We need continual renewal and the Holy Spirit to flow in power, love and self-discipline.
This session led very naturally into prayer for one another in small groups. The wide range of ages present meant that you could be praying for a young person seeking God’s next place to serve following completion of studies, or someone recently retired seeking how to develop and use God’s gifts in new areas of service. What thrilling big prayers!
I left Edgehill mightily refreshed and pondering if a day spent with Lay Witness in this way was better than twelve days spent on holiday!
This year, a daughter’s wedding in April and a daughter-in-law’s expected first child due in June meant that I had planned an early summer holiday in May. Dates were tight and I should have been away in foreign climes on Saturday 8 May. Instead, with flights grounded, I became a last-minute attendee at the Lay Witness Movement’s annual day conference in Edgehill College. What a blessing that proved to be as some thirty folk from across Methodism came together for fellowship!
Right from Heather Boland’s endearing welcome to the day’s end, God’s presence was very evident.
Karen McIlveen and Wesley Sterling led us into His presence with some lovely worship songs, including Don Moen’s, ‘God will make a way, where there seems to be no way.’ (This seemed ironically apt for me!) Tom Wilson introduced our speaker, Rev Mervyn Kilpatrick, from Glengormley. Mervyn had chosen the theme, ‘The Marks of a Servant’, and in his opening session taught us aspects of this from scripture.
From Exodus, he drew on the law that freed a slave in his seventh year but allowed the slave to stay out of love for his master. This must be our motivation too. He spoke also of joy, the joy that comes not from the task but from the obedience to the master. We were encouraged to faithfulness, to be loyal, trustworthy and reliable. Our honesty before God and before those we serve, was challenged. We should express our emotions to God – How long? Why? Laments are a refusal to settle for how things are. It is our genuine honesty that can be most telling when on a Lay Witness Weekend. We also should be clothed in humility, accepting a lower position to meet the needs of others and being able to say, ‘sorry’.
Small group discussion followed the coffee break with the challenge to examine ourselves to see what in us needed God’s touch.
This year we missed Audrey, the Edgehill cook, due to illness and our lunch was provided by Louise Wilson – an admirable substitute!
Lay Witness has been invited by three churches to bring teams for weekends this Autumn. The three team leaders were invited to tell us of preparation and points for prayer. The Team Leaders, Ken McFaul (Doagh), David Blevins (High Street, Lurgan) and Lorna Douglas (Gorey) were then prayed for by those present.
Our afternoon session with Mervyn was much more reflective. We considered how we should go on as servants, encouraging each other and growing together. Citing Paul’s conversion also as a commission, Mervyn pointed out that we have specific gifts with which to reach specific people. We should stay connected to God through prayer and pray for one another. We need continual renewal and the Holy Spirit to flow in power, love and self-discipline.
This session led very naturally into prayer for one another in small groups. The wide range of ages present meant that you could be praying for a young person seeking God’s next place to serve following completion of studies, or someone recently retired seeking how to develop and use God’s gifts in new areas of service. What thrilling big prayers!
I left Edgehill mightily refreshed and pondering if a day spent with Lay Witness in this way was better than twelve days spent on holiday!