Downloads of talks from Folkestone now available on the Programme page
Thank you to the 500 of you who joined us at our church weekend away from 9-11 May. It was great to see so many of us, particularly a large number who were new to the church, enjoying such a fantastic time of fellowship and encouragement together.
A special thank you also to those who weren't able to join us, but who contributed by praying in the run-up, and during the weekend; and who gave generous gifts to enable others to attend.
There is a brief summary of the weekend below.
If you have a testimony of God at work from the weekend away, which you would like to share with the church, please send it to 
Well the church weekend has been and gone, and what a wonderful weekend it was! 500 of us travelled down to Folkestone under clear blue skies with a mixture of excitement, anticipation and a little nervousness. What would the weekend hold? Would we enjoy it? What would the speakers be like? And would the food be any good?
There was a buzz about the hotel as people arrived. Reception was packed as people were met by smiling 'bell boys' (including a certain P Perkin) who helped unpack cars and carry cases in. Kids ran around full of energy as people picked up their keys, welcome packs and a delicious bar of fairtrade chocolate. After a reviving meal we gathered in the ballroom to worship God and hear our guest speakers, John and Anne Coles, being interviewed.
On Saturday morning we had two fantastic sessions. Firstly John and Anne shared from Ephesians 1 the prayer that was the heartbeat of the Apostle Paul, the lifelong journey of prayer, revelation and growth, summed up memorably in "More, Lord!" - an ever deepening revelation of God's love, who we are in Him, our heritage and inheritance from the first apostles. With God, nothing is impossible!
After coffee we split into two groups, men and women. This was a time of teaching, ministry and blessing for all of us.
As the sun shone down bright and hot, we all enjoyed a free afternoon. Football, Touch-Rugby, cliff-top walks, and paddling in the sea for the active among us, ice-creams, coffees and cool drinks for those of us who weren't...
We gathered again for four brilliant seminars. John Coles led one on 'Healing on the Streets'; James Ewins gave a brilliant presentation on 'God's Heart for Justice'; Anne Coles led a large group on 'Prophecy' and Tim and Jess Hamilton led another on 'God in the Workplace'.
After an evening of ceilidh dancing, DJing from Tarun, and a fantastic set from our very own live band, Sunday morning came whizzing round. We all gathered together for some family worship with Dave, Andi, Nick and Phil leading the actions to 'Our God is a great big God' and 'Jesus superhero'! It was a special time together as a church family, and Paul asked the questions: 'Am I being true to my calling?' and 'Are we being true to our calling?' As J.John said "None of us have got it together. But together we have got it!"
Paul outlined several 'both/ands' that as a church we hold together. It was a brilliant talk, well worth listening to again if you were there, and definitely worth it if you weren't able to join us! We ended our weekend away with a beautiful time of ministering to each other, praying for each other, and asking our good, gentle, loving God for more!
