Monday 21 July 2008

Pilgrims Hall Worship Weekend

So many have said that they are looking forward to my posting on the outdoor Praise and Worship weekend at Pilgrims Hall. First I will clear up some misconseptions that I am picking up when reading comments. This is not my church. What I said about my church (and that is the wider grouping of the 10 house churches) is that we were meeting every week night for the foreseable future for a time of praise, worship and prayer and that this was happening in conjunction with many places around the world as a result of the outpouring in Florida at this time. Pilgrims Hall is a ministry that I am involved with. It is a 20 minute drive from my home and in a different geographical area to where I live.It is a Christian Recource Centre where people go for retreats, conferences and counselling etc. This weekend we celebrated 40 years of this ministry. Before that Pilgrims Hall was a private home. It's present name is the result of it being a stop over for pilgrims on their way to Canterbury in the distant past.You can see much more on Pilgrims Hall by clicking on same on my sidebar.

In order to celebrate the last 40 years of the ministry we had a weekend of outdoor praise and worship. On Saturday (and for me this was the best bit) there was continuous praise and worship from 12.0 midday until 7.30 pm. Different worship bands/groups from surrounding churches took part so that this was a continuous event. From 7.30 pm until 9.0 pm there was a Celebration service and then from 9.0 pm until 10.0 pm more worship. During the afternoon people came and went and/or stayed and brought a picnic or bought a meal from the outside caterers that we brought in and just enjoyed themselves in an atmosphere of worship.

Sunday morning there was a service which included communion with folk from a number of local churches present and this was followed again by live worship from several groups until 3.0 pm. One of the difficulties in arranging an outdoor event in England is the unpredictability of the weather. I began the day in a teashirt, later followed by a blouse on top. As the day wore on I added a fleece waistcoat, then a fleece jacket and by evening a mac on top of all of that. Many people had more sense than me and brought a blanket. The weather fluctuated between getting burned by the sun to light rain to shivering.It was a great time though so come with me and I will take you around some of the grounds before everyone arrives.

Haystack seating


Says it all

The Prayer Tent in the Sunken Garden
This was for people who needed prayer


Looking out of the tent




I wish I had photographed inside the greenhouse as the flowers were beautiful


We are now in the Walled Kitchen Garden







Bridge over one of the many ponds
This is ornamental, the others are in the wooded areas and larger


Beehives in the Orchard
Just one hen showing by the tree but lots more in a previous post

The homemade cakes from the outside caterers were delicious
Have never seen slices so big and prices so cheap


WORSHIP





The Rainbow after the Rain


The sunset at the end of the day
Hope you were Blessed and thanks for coming with me


15 comments:

Elizabethd said...

I would love to have been there with you, it sounds a wonderful occasion, a time to give thanks and praise.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Hi Barbara! I wish I could have been there for the weekend of praise and worship...but seeing your photos is second best.

Guess which one I enlarged first...the cakes! I love the carefree, casual way they were assembled and they DO look very delicious...

It was enjoyable seeing a bit more of Pilgrim's Hall too and also to see so many young people there for this event.

Your list of garments that you donned as the day went on was entertaining....I can just imagine it! I was also interested to see the English names for some garments that we Americans call by different names (waistcoat for vest; mac for raincoat..or at least, I'm guessing those are the "translations").

Thank Alan for letting you use his computer to post; I've missed you...I'm just sorry your computer decided it needed a complete overhaul! You'll be glad to get it back, I know.

Adrienne said...

What a blessing to just get a little idea of the weekend. I would have LOVED to have been there with you! Thank you for sharing some of it with us. ~Adrienne~

Rebecca said...

Sounds like a lovely place (and looks like a lovely place) to spend time worshipping. I love the walled gardens found in the UK and always enjoy a trip down memory lane when I see pictures of them. I have just returned from the airport where I put my Dad on a plane - he is on his way to the UK as I type this....Canada is great, but there is no place like home for an Englishman!

Nana Trish is Living the Dream said...

Barbara, thanks for dropping by with your sweet and comforting comments. I appreciate them. The worship weekend sounds and looks wonderful. It must have been such a special time. He's coming back for us, Praise the Lord!

Paula said...

Wow, that was awesome. I would love to go to something like that. The rainbow was a good sign!

a woman who is said...

What a precious time it sounds like you all had. Beautiful grounds too. Thanks for sharing and clearing up the confusion over all your meetings. It sounds like things are really busy for you right now. A very good kind of busy!

Mmm said...

A great spot for worship!

Anonymous said...

hi I am a new blogger - I would love to have been there and wish there was something similar around here

Charm and Grace said...

What a wonderful post and terrific to hear that you did have such a rich and full weekend. Happy birthday to Oliver, too!! I was looking forward to your writing about the weekend, but even better to get to see photos! The retreat center is just beautiful. I can't imagine having a place like that close-by to have available for retreats and gatherings such as this one.

I have attended a festival in the past (though it's been several years since I have been to one) in Wilmore, Kentucky, in the spring that your descriptions reminded me of ... particularly the weather! Freezing in the early a.m., sunburned and sweaty at noon, rainy and muddy in the afternoon, and freezing again by 10 pm. It's a 3 day (all day long) praise and worship event, so by the end everyone is pretty exhausted. I've seen the Newsboys, Delirious (from UK... are you familiar with them?), Bebo Norman, Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Rebecca St. James, and many more. You would have thought it would be all youth, but not so... lots of adults, too. (Alas, ours was held in a cow pasture...not beautiful gardens like yours!)

It sounds like your event was glorious even down to the food. What a view from the prayer tent, too. What magnificent surroundings and gardens... bridges over ponds. Then I had tears well up when I saw the photo of the rainbow. What a blessing and symbol of the Lord's presence with you all.

Thanks for sharing all these wonderful details with us and for your kind comments this morning.

Christi

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

What a wonderful, wonderful blessing!

Susan Skitt said...

What a beautiful celebration Barbara! It kind of makes me think of what Heaven will be like one day... with us all worshiping together - how wonderful. Thanks for sharing. The pictures are beautiful. I always feel like I am reading a quaint and lovely storybook at your blog :) Blessings, dear friend!

Love,
Susan

(P.S.) I'm sure with all your swimming and water experience through the years, you would have loved the trip to Auger Falls. What a day! What I didn't write was how we got back out and down... floating with the current and grabbing onto another large rock before we went over the edge of another waterfall... (smile)

Teresa said...

What a lovely way to spend a weekend, or any day. I must see Pilgrim's Hall sometime. I have been fond of this place since I was introduced to it when you posted about the baby lambs. What a blessing it must be to the community as well.

Lavinia said...

Barbara, so lovely lovely lovely....

Praise and worship outdoors....one often feels that urge...

The sunken garden....so beautiful..I've never seen one before, or indeed every heard the phrase...

These are lovely grounds indeed.

We've had hot muggy weather....I would love a good shiver right now!

Anonymous said...

Looks ldyllic Barbara and how wonderful to just 'be' and soak up all that praise and worship. Glad you survivied the varying climate!
We have a similar place in Sussex where we hold church weekends. It rejoices under the name of Pilgrim Hall -(no S)!