The last weekend in June was our Family Church Weekend Away. Almost 30 of us took part in the weekend in the Emmaus Centre, at Wydale Hall near Whitby, with some people just joining is for the Saturday. It was a really special time together, in a beautiful location - even if the accommodation is quite basic(!) Sunny weather meant we could enjoy the adventure playground, sports field, rose garden and labyrinth. We also made dens in the woods and cooked s'mores round the fire pit on Saturday night.

Our theme for the weekend was Everyday Faith, and we were exploring what it means to be disciples - following Jesus - in every part of our life. Across the weekend we tried out a range of different ways Christians find it helpful to meet God and get to know God better. We tried the Examen, Lectio Divina, walking the Labyrinth, sung worship, body prayers, quiet prayer, Compline, Eucharist, bible study and interactive prayer.  This showed us some of the many ways different Christians connect with God in their everyday life. 

We had three sessions across the weekend where we split the adults and children. On Saturday, John Lee from the Multiply team came and spoke to the adults about discipleship and what we can learn from the story of Zacchaeus. The children had their own sessions, also looking at Zacchaeus, while also doing some fun crafts and games of their own. On the Sunday, our session helped us to consider what God is doing among our generations and how Family Church can support and serve our society as it is at the moment and meet the particular needs that our peers have. On Sunday morning we also shared a simple communion service in the beautiful setting of the woodland chapel in the grounds of Wydale Hall. We ended at lunchtime on Sunday, finishing up all the leftovers from the weekend, before everyone worked hard to cleaning up the centre and head home.