Autumn Dates
(finish Community Challenge – do Adventure Challenge)
14 September –diary, crafts and games
21 September – 5-a-side comp.
28 September – Scuba Diving
5 October – Assault Course, Halls Green
12 October – Investiture – cotton reel tanks
19 October – firework programs
26 October – Half Term
2 November – Halloween – wide game (apple bobbin, doughnut rings etc)
9 November – ‘Fire Challenge’ – cooking
16 November – Swimming, Halls Green 17 November - District Sports Evening
23 November – Incident Hike – paper chase
30 November – Skiing @ Bowles
7 December – Games Night – Badge Presentation
9.00am, Saturday morning, the 16th. September, the narrowboat, Narrow Escape, slips its moorings and gently glides over the water to the Nash Mills Lock. 911 youth group sets off on its weekend adventure cruising along the Grand Union Canal. The evening before 9 youth and 3 adult leaders had set off from Leigh Church, full of excitement and some trepidation about the coming trip on the canal boat. It had taken us 2 ½ hours to travel the 72 miles round the M25 to Nash Mills Recreation Centre, Hemel Hempstead. Arriving in the dark it was too late to move off so we settled in the boat, unpacking, sorting out bunks and then sorting out bunks and then sorting out bunks once again, finally tucking in to the sandwiches, cakes and drinks that we had brought with us for the evening. We played a few games and retired to our beds where some of us finally got to sleep around midnight zzzzzzzzzz.
Our Skipper for the weekend was John Bennett, a man of much patience and understanding, who walked our ‘crew’ through the workings of the lock and boat, covering not only the mechanics of getting along, but Do’s and Don’ts regarding health & safety. Having negotiated our first lock the crew settled down only to find that waiting round the first bend was another and they had to jump to once again. This was a pattern that was to repeat itself with ever increasing regulatory as the day wore on. Each member of the team was encouraged by the Skipper to have a go at steering, operating the throttle and generally getting to know and work the whole boat. Our adventure continued throughout Saturday, stopping for lunch break and visits to local parks, and of course the frequent locks. We negotiated an about turn using a rather tight ‘winding hole’ and made our way back late afternoon finally settling down for the night moored close to Fishery Lock, Boxmoor.
Life on a narrowboat is much slower than the pace that life is usually travelled at, conditions are cramped, and you are literally living on top of one another, there is very little privacy on board. Even moving about is an exercise fraught with potential flash points as you get ‘up close and personal’ moving along the narrow passage. There is a lot of ‘give & take’ required for the whole thing to work. I think, really, it is a reflection of life, a challenge for those on board to come together as a team, working together, sharing, caring, pastoring, looking out for each other. There is a lot of co-operation required if the boat is to negotiate the locks safely and move on to its destination without hindrance. Much the same, I guess, as our Church here at Leigh and the community that we are part of.
A rather tired crew made its way back to our starting point at Nash Mills by around 2pm Sunday 17th. There was a little bit of sadness as we went through our last lock and headed for the mooring, but I think a great deal of satisfaction, of accomplishment and achievement, of a job well done!
The countdown to our Alpha Course has begun. We start with our introductory supper on the 27th September at The Genner Rooms, St. Mary's Church, followed by the start of the course on 4th October. The Wednesday evening course runs for 10 weeks with a meal beginning at 7.30pm followed by a talk and discussion. If you would like to register, know someone who would like to come or just want to no more please contact me.
I thought that this was quite cool, take a look.
Body: Why do we sleep in church but...when when the sermon is over we suddenly wake up? Why is it so hard to talk about God but so easy to talk about sex? Why are we so bored to look at a Christian magazine..but so easy to read a playboy magazine?.. Why is it so easy to ignore a Godly BEBO messages...yet we repost the nasty ones? Why are churches getting smaller...but bars and clubs are growing??.... Think about it...are you going to repost this or ignore it because you think you'll get laughed at? Just remember God is always watching you.Repost this "dont look if you're under 12"if you truly love God and you know he's always there Jesus said, "If you deny me in front of your friends, I will deny in front of my father"
lizzie
