Once again we are pleased to bring you a report on the week-end activities at the Corps.

In truth it has been a very quiet week-end (though not as quiet as the above pictures might suggest). Many are still away on vacation but again we also had a number of visitors in our meetings.

Steve and Melanie Scoulding were our leaders for the day in the absence of our Commanding Officers. Major Kathy will be back with us next week.

Steve Melanie

The day’s theme was ‘Total Surrender’ and in the morning songs 365, 732, 474 and 757 were chosen all from The Salvation Army Song Book. These were supported by musical contributions from the Songsters who brought ‘God and God Alone’. Scripture was taken from Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 29: 11-14. In his address Steve spoke about what surrender means. He said Scripture is something I have turned to many times when things are hard. It strengthens and refreshes my soul. God’s promises are always clear and He expects us to respond. He has a job for us all and we cannot walk away from it. Through the moving of the Holy Spirit He enables us.

During the meeting we listened to a vocal solo (‘I’ll not turn back’) from Shaun Oliver, a former soldier of the corps.

Shaun Oliver

The evening meeting took the form of a ‘fellowship’ meeting organised by Melanie. Foilowing an entirely different format from the usual the meeting included four individual ‘thoughts’, two given by Mel and two by Steve. Accompaniment to the songs was provided by a worship band which also added music of its own. The songs used included 77, 742, 865, 895 and 1015 from Songs of Fellowship together with 474 from The Salvation Army Song Book which was also used in the morning meeting. Scripture was entirely taken from Psalms using 47, 30 and 145. A period of fellowship was enjoyed around the coffee tables and this included personal testimonies shared with others at each table. A very different meeting and one which encouraged people to share their faith with each other.

Steve and Melanie are hoping to enter the William Booth College next year to be trained as Salvation Army officers. Having come into the Christian faith in only the last few years through the Alpha course held at this corps, their progress to this point in time has been exciting. We support their future service with prayer and thank God for their enthusiasm.

Finally we wish to remind local Salvationists and others who wish to join us next Sunday evening that the activity will be in the form of a BBQ held at the home of Verna and Murray Smith. Please contact us for further details