Friday evening of August Bank Holiday weekend saw some twenty or so Shechem members gather at the House of the Open Door near Broadway, a Roman Catholic retreat house which had its origins in the renewal of the 1970s when a family opened their home in Slough and the life of the community began. There were many reminiscences of the beginning of Post Green. The community today owns a beautiful retreat house with buildings grouped around a lovely courtyard with a fishpond providing a great sense of tranquillity.
We were invited to Holton Lee by Frank & Jenny. Some eleven of us met and talked with seven Christians from the local area who are involved with, or wanted to learn more about, Local Houses of Prayer (LHoPs).
We had a good National day - Andy Burns, the CEO of the charity East to West, gave us a talk on the three main areas that drive the vision of the charity: Social justice, a prophetic calling, and the worshipful response.
From the Shechem AGM...
We’ve had two births. Some members have had difficulties with their health. Debbie and Abi are both engaged. On August 2nd Debbie Brill and David Bye were married at Easthampton Registry Office in Bracknell. Witnessed by a select gathering of immediate family and close friends they made sincere, thoughtful and meaningful vows. Simple celebrations were held in their garden after the wedding on a glorious sunny day. Please pray God’s richest blessings on their life together!
I think we all found Ian Bentley’s input to our gathering in Basingstoke extremely helpful. Ian’s own life journey into leadership had been influenced by people and incidents along the way. He had received and been grounded in the faith often by quite unlikely people. We saw how Paul’s nurturing and encouraging of the young Timothy is a pattern for us all in our churches and, in this case, in Shechem.
Our theme this year at Shechem weekend is ‘Food for the Body, Food for the Soul’. I know I am very much looking forward to our weekend together this year and a theme involving food seems just so in keeping with us as a community.
Springtime is upon us, and our Shechem thoughts are moving towards our weekend gathering at the end of May. As a result of activity through the winter, we will see some changes.
For those who helped by digging out allotments behind the Art Studios, you may remember that the Horticulture Programme is focusing on high value crops e.g. asparagus beds, heritage vegetables, and increased fruit production. We supply some local food shops and surplus produce is used to make jams and chutneys.