DIVISIONAL FIESTA 2008

On Sunday, 13th July, 40 members of the Ashford Corps attended the Divisional Fiesta at Redhill. The morning commenced with a worship meeting led by Drew McCombe, the theme for the day was Connect for... and Drew used a game of Connect Four to help us to remember what connects and disconnects us to/from God. Thankfuly good triumphed over evil !

Alove led the singing and the Divisional Youth band played along with a few songs. Annika Scutt with Ian Scutt (no relation) performed two songs from their new CD.

Antony Cotterill, Divisional Leader preached the lesson and used the illustration of lightning (which needs a connector) to demonstrate how we need to stay connected to God.
Following the service everyone grabbed some lunch, whether it was a picnic, BBQ or dinner from the dining hall. Those having a picnic or burgers from the BBQ sat on the immense playing field and spent the afternoon resting and chatting. Intercorps Connect 4 was played on the field, which was won by a girl from Croydon corps (she beat her opponent in just over 7 seconds). Mid afternoon the youth band played for an hour. During the afternoon 75 lucky people were able to go swimming in the indoor pool and a number of folks entered the treasure hunt.
The day concluded with a time of reflection and worship. It s hard to pray for everything going on around us, Drew suggested that we follow the example of a Corps Officer in Nottingham and concentrate on the area within our postcode.

We all had a fabulous day with family and friends.

Thanks to all the DHQ staff who organised the event.

IGNITE - END OF YEAR TRIP TO THE WOODS

To conclude the year, Ignite, our friday night youth group ventured to Challock Woods. Clare (youth mentor) organised a wide game which involved two teams, balls and a field. Once all the runners balls were captured by the raiders it was time to for the BBQ, once again cooked to perfection by Assistant Senior Leader Carl! Apart from a few scratches (well who wears shorts and flip flops to the woods, honestly!) all the young people had a great time.
Thank you to Captain Sue, ASL Carl, Clare and Nathan for organising a good finale to the year.

HOME & FAMILY END OF YEAR CONCERT

Last Wednesday, our Home & Family group ended the year with the wonderful clarinet playing of Alison Quiinn, niece of our Home & Family Assistant Leader, Pam Quinn. Alison played some Jazz, Big Band and some familiar favourites. Some members even got up to dance (as you can see from the photos). Whether they sang, danced or just listened to the beautiful music, everyone enjoyed the afternoon and Alison was asked for an encore, she duly obliged wth 2 more tunes.
I am sure Alison will return, sometime in the not so distant future.

OPEN HOUSES

As part of their way of saying thank you for the love, support and encouragement received over the last five years by many within this church family, our senior leaders have held a series of open houses, and supper parties, to bring together all members and friends of the church. Many have attended over the last two or three weeks, and enjoyed shared meals. The senior leaders would like to thank everyone who gave up their time to come together, and for the opportunity of being together in this way.

YOUR COMMENTS PLEASE

As the church faces an exciting future under the reign and power of God, we are about to see a change in 'senior leadership'. We invite comments here about what you look back over the last few years, and thank God for? What has challenged you, what has aided you, what has helped you and meant you have grown in Christ? Lets celebrate together

ps) we also have a poll in the right column of the page - do visit that as well

MORE PICTURES FROM THE END OF TERM CELEBRATION

CELEBRATING NEW LIEUTENANTS

Twelve people from the church travelled to London to this years Commissioning of new Salvation Army officers, especially to be in support of our new leaders, (now) Lieuenants Emma and Mark Scott. The afternoon meeting including the commissioning and ordination, conducted by Commissioner John Matear, the territorial commander, and Commissioner Elizabeth Matear - territorial secretary for women's ministries - brought the address. In the evening celebration meeting, the new Lieutenants were warmly welcomed by the many hundreds who attended the event at Westminster Central Halls, and many responded at the end of the day to the challenge from Commissioner John Matear to allow God to breath on us, in us and through us.

STRAWBERRY TEA

The annual Strawberry Tea took place at our church centre on Wednesday - although planned to take place at the home of Susan and Ian - however the rain put a stop to that. A quick change to plans, meant we enjoyed some 'entertainment' from Ian, and Captain Susan singing to 'Simple song of love' and 'Draw me close to you'. Captain Sue arranged some amazing strawberry dishes.

SUNDAY 6TH JULY 2008 - END OF YEAR CELEBRATION

Today we shared a very exciting First Sunday with about a hundred people, including members of Bright Sparks & Kingdom Kids and their family and friends. We celebrated our toddlers, children and youth in our end of term and end of year celebration. The children took part in singing, games and other activities, all led by the Captain Sue Woodgate. The adults joined in the tasks too. Thanks were also expressed to the toddlers, children and youth for their support by the presenting of prizes. Prizes were also given to the toddlers', childrens' and youth ministries' teams as well as others who help behind the scenes during the week. Thank you to you all. To conclude the day, being first Sunday, we enjoyed a family celebration buffet, attended by about

eighty people. A big, no HUGE thank you to Captains, Ian and Sue Woodgate who once again worked tirelessly to organise today and made it the special day that it was.

IGNITE BEACH PARTY - 4th JULY

The Ignite Youth group's penultimate session was a beach party at Eastcliff beach, Folkestone. About 35 attended and had a great time. Some of the more adventurous of the youth went into the sea and 3 of them up to their necks! Others played with a kite and bat & balls, whilst some just chatted to their friends. The evening concluded with a BBQ, organised by Carl Whitewood.