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What a week!
For those of you that don't know, the Summer Blast is our largest scale project that we host annually for the community of Kings Hedges. This year 30 students and 20 graduates/parents voluntarily gave a week of their time to host a festival of free events for youth, children, parents and other groups in the community. Our strapline is to put a smile on the face of Kings Hedges but our aim goes much deeper; to give people the opportunity to experience a real and dynamic relationship with God for themselves.
During weekday afternoons we put up a small marquee on the Nuns Way Rec adjacent to a local community building and this became our hub for the week. The Kidz Blast Zone warmed up each afternoon with summer tunes, crazy games and an action-packed theme. Alongside this we ran sporting activities and tournaments and over the course of the week saw up to 50 children each day, with an additional 40-50 people chilling with us on the rec. The café had a great buzz, giving parents and children alike the opportunity to try their hand at arts and crafts, or simply to sit back with a cuppa and enjoy the sunshine. We had so many amazing chats with the Mums, sometimes just passing the time of day, other times talking through tough issues such as suffering. It was a real privilege to be a part of it.
    
Two weekday mornings saw us embark on some exciting 'Noise' projects. We litter-picked, car washed and worked on 2 substantial gardening projects that made a significant difference to the young families involved. 2 women have since joined cell groups as a result of our interaction with them in their gardens that week.
The other mornings were powerful times together as team worshiping and seeking God as well as grappling with meaty issues such as healing and miracles. These were times of challenge, vulnerability and growth for us all.
A mobile 'blessings team' were also operating throughout the week. They set up shop in Arbury Court offering free drinks and prayer for healing for passers-by. Halfway through the week one team member felt that there was somebody on the estate in need of a washing machine. By the end of the week we had identified a local family who had been without a machine for 2 months and had been saving up but still didn't have enough to buy the cheapest model. We were able to buy a new machine and have it delivered the following week.
During the evenings we tried something new inspired by the idea of 'block parties'. Partnering with Faithlife Church, we wanted to take our faith out onto the streets and gather in parts of the estate to chat and pray with those around. We were believing God for healings and salvation and wanted to provide the opportunity for people to experience the presence of God for themselves. We opened up the Good Shepherd Church, welcoming anyone and everyone to experience a time of worship, meditation and reflection. Half the team went out on the streets with the rest staying behind to pray and worship. We all felt there was something different about this year; there was a new spiritual openness like never before. We saw healings each night, raw responses to words of knowlegde, people coming in off the streets moved by the worship and many making commitments to Christ. It was phenomenal to see the presence of God have an impact both with friends we've known for years as well with complete strangers.
For the weekend, we headed over to the Town Green by Arbury Community Centre for a 24-hour Blast in the Park special. We hosted a football tournament and talent show, we cooked breakfast for 300, had church in the tent and an afternoon of family fun complete with face painting, hair braiding, bouncy castles, live music and a hugely popular ladies tent. It was a great expression of unity and community with members from at least 4 churches coming together as well as a number of local individuals and businesses. It was this combinaton of cross-church involvement and community partnership that excited me so much. This year it really felt like we had successfully moved from putting on an event for the community to putting on an event with the community.
  
  
This was undoubtedly our best year yet, seeing the community served and blessed both practically and spiritually more tangibly than ever before. We are deeply excited about all that God is doing among us at this time and urge you to stand with us over the coming months as we move into more of what God has for us. Thank you for your support and sharing this with us. We've already set the dates for next year and we'd love you to join us on the journey. Sunday 26th July – Monday 3rd August 2009. See you there!
A few thank you's...
We would like to thank all the churches who partnered with us; The Good Shepherd, FaithLife Church, Arbury Community Church, North Arbury Chapel and Arbury Road Baptist Church.
We would also like to thank a number of individuals and organisations who were instrumental in making the week happen; Alan Soer, The Kings Hedges Neighbourhood partnership, The Jenny Wren, Oris Gorden and Tony Beaument. We really couldn't have done it without your support!
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Sarah Cashman, 27/08/2008 |
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