Many thanks to Bernard and Chris for coming over for the weekend. It was a very special time of remembering our shared history at Park Church.
Bernard encouraged us to seek more of God in both sermons: Morning  Evening
There’s also part of the interview. Sorry it’s only half of it.

…and that video.

As an alternative to Hallowe’en, Kwl Kidz (our youth group) had a light party. It was well attended by those who normally attend Kwl Kidz, as well as there being some new faces.

The evening was kicked-off with Ruth’s quiz, followed by some games ran by Richard and Dave. After these was a well-loved favourite; the chocolate game, run by Julie. It was then pizza, garlic bread and salad time for both children and adults before ice cream and more games ensued, including a glow stick and balloon disco. Last of all came the important talk given by Pete about Jesus being the Light of the World.

Sunday 8th November

Programme for the day

10:00am Morning service with Stuart Windsor: Why pray for the suffering church?
Noon Prayer for Iraq & Syria
1:00pm  Lunch (provided)
1:30pm  Prayer for Nigeria & Eritrea
2:35pm  Prayer for Turkey & Iran
3:35pm  Prayer for India & North Korea
4:30pm  Tea (provided)
5:00pm  Evening service with Stuart Windsor: An overview of the work and story of CSW.

People will come and go throughout the day – you are welcome to come to any part or all of it.

About Stuart Windsor and CSW

Stuart Windsor was Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s National Director for 19 years and is now CSW’s Special Ambassador. Throughout his time with CSW Stuart has seen their work achieve a high profile for advocacy on religious freedom throughout the world.

Stuart has travelled extensively to countries where Christians and others suffer persecution for their religious beliefs. He has carried out briefings in the US Congress and Senate, given evidence in hearings at the UN High Commission for Refugees and has spoken at the European and UK parliaments. In recent years, his work has involved securing the safety of several Pakistani Christian families who were subject to persecution. Stuart is married to Ethel and they have two children.

CSW works in over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, defending everyone’s right to freedom of religion or belief.

Three quarters of the world’s population lives in countries with severe restrictions on their religious freedom – in fact, it’s one of the most widely-violated human rights in the world.

CSW think this is unacceptable and are working to change it. Their vision is of a world where everyone is free to choose their beliefs – to hold and practise any religion they like, or none at all.

You can read more about the work of CSW here

The morning started off with a welcome to all by Pete, followed by a selection of hymns chosen by some of the children (Who Has Held The Oceans (Behold Our God) chosen by Lydia; Everyone Needs Compassion chosen by Naomi; and Bless The Lord, O My Soul chosen by Bruce).

We were then treated to a sketch of the Good Samaritan which was acted out by some of the children, narrated by Holly and co-directed by Rosie. After that, all of the children sung the Fruit of the Spirit song, led by Pete and Rachel. They then said their memory verses that they had memorised, and prizes were awarded for the most memory verses learnt during the past year, with Bruce winning first prize for 30 verses learnt!

Following the memory verses, it was song time again, and this time Keren played and sung a new song for us (Down Into Darkness) which we then sung in the evening service.

After that it was time for Vinny’s talk on Jesus giving the water of life, from John 4:1-30, which can be found on our sermons page.

Next it was time for the long awaited prizes for the crèche and Sunday school children, presented by Julie, Penny and Pete. We then finished with In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found which was chosen by Mikey, before saying a farewell to Penny as Sunday school co-ordinator and welcoming Rosie as the new leader.

Great fun and fellowship were had by all at Paul and Lynn’s farm on bank holiday Monday. Despite the rainy forecast and gloomy skies, many of us donned our wellies and waterproofs and set off for the event. We were very blessed with a mainly dry event as the majority of the rain held off until late afternoon.

Once everyone had arrived, the BBQ was eaten and enjoyed by all, although some seemed to regret the choice of using too much hot chili sauce on their burgers and hot dogs! All of the BBQ food disappeared, much to the disappointment of some who left it too late to go back for more as they were completely engrossed in a quiz! There was also a large variety of cakes, fruit and cookies for pudding. Entertainment options included a bouncy castle and pony rides for the children, many train tours around the field (including through a tunnel), and tugs of war. For those with a slightly sweeter tooth, there was a very chocolatey quiz, which involved much competition (and teamwork) in answering the questions.

A wonderful time to remember; we’re now looking forward to the bonfire evening!

(Photos courtesy of Wendy Jr)

We hope you like our new website. Over the next few months a lot more content will be added including:

• Our entire sermon archive going back at least 8 years.
• A calendar of events that are going on at Park
• Lots more information about groups and activities.

Please bear with us as some features may not be fully working yet.