new church life: september/october 2017
Lunch came before Saturday afternoon’s seven workshops. So this is a
fitting place to report that we munched our way through meals that were all
well up to the high standard set previously by Purley Chase. And how the
catering staff served so many people without long queues forming was a
mystery.
We could choose from eight workshops scheduled and repeated so that
five could be attended:
• Workshop 1: Reflections on Recovery Compared with Regeneration – the
Rev. Michael and Gwenda Cowley
• Workshop 2: NewChurch LIVE – Meeting People Where They Are – the
Rev. Chuck Blair
• Workshop 3: The Leaves of the Tree to Heal the Nations; The Second
Coming as a Spiritual Clinic for Soul, Mind, Body – the Rev. Alain
Nicolier
• Workshop 4: Lessons Learned: Experience of Church Plants – the
Rev. David Lindrooth, assisted by the Revs. Chuck Blair and Ethan
McCardell
• Workshop 5: Just What is The Lord Up To? – Bishop Brian Keith
• Workshop 6: The New Church in China – Michael Xie
• Workshop 7: Shining the Light of the Heavenly Doctrines on Darwinism
– Per Bingen
• Workshop 8: European Small Group Experience: Dutch Group experience
– Marian Van Genne and Frits Bot; and Women’s Online Study Group –
with the ladies of an online study group
Children and Young People’s Programs: With 16 youngsters present
dedicated programs were essential. Glynnis Williams organised the younger
ones to make representations of the days of creation in various media.
Katherine Dukes led the older ones through a life-coaching program called
“The Crazy Eight” – a way to escape a continuing cycle of anger and sadness.
Both ladies were supported by stalwart helpers, plus speakers on other subjects,
and everyone’s hard work was essential to the success of the Assembly.
Socializing: The four-day program gave the opportunity for a fun social
evening and a more formal Assembly Banquet. This gave us the opportunity
to dress smartly and enjoy waiter service along with a bottle of wine. Bishop
Keith gave an encouraging speech explaining: “How the Lord accommodates
to us to meet us ‘where we are,’ and offers us the opportunity to be led by Him
to a higher state.”
The following evening Kathy and Geoff Wyncoll organized an altogether
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