Elliot’s Weekend Experience ‘in a Field’:
Last weekend, I went along to a Men’s Festival Weekend called The Gathering (organised by CVM – that’s Christian Vision for Men) in ‘A Field Near Swindon’ – look it up on Google Maps! It was a great weekend of fellowship with Dan and several of the men from The Beacon Church in Poole.
The main sessions, in a huge marquee in the middle of the field, featured an eclectic mix of both serious and not so serious things.
The weekend featured some brilliant teaching – in particular this weekend focusing on how the Christian life isn’t easy. It was great to hear that honesty about how being a Christian doesn’t automatically solve everything but also giving that great encouragement that God really is always there for us! The main sessions also featured some incredible testimonies from people who had overcome the greatest of odds – even a Ugandan woman who had been in deep poverty with no family but through the support of CVM and the work of God had become Uganda’s best sniper and is now leading an anti-corruption unit!
But the weekend is also full of many bizarre and random things! The main sessions alone featured a variety of random things including a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes to introduce everyone on to stage, a knight in full armour walking around with a sword, riot police running across the front of the marquee, T-Shirt cannons and even a full on coup from the stewards, driving trucks right through the middle of the crowd!
Graham Kendrick led the brilliant worship throughout the weekend, one of my absolute favourite parts – just hearing 2500 men singing their hearts out creates such an incredible atmosphere and experience (but no flags or interpretive dance!)! Even a generator failure couldn’t stop the worship as everyone sang along to a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace!
One incredible moment was when we heard about someone attending, who had lived a life of crime and had been disappointed when he saw police on site because he thought it would ruin his weekend. But then he heard the life changing message of the gospel on Friday night, and on Saturday morning was invited to the front where he said he wanted to hug a policeman! We then saw something like 15 police officers running to the front to give him a hug! Truly I incredible!
Of course, this was a men’s weekend so it was all about the BBQ’s! I dread to think how much meat I ate over the weekend! But overall this was just such a perfect mix of a really fun weekend, a relaxing one but also full of great teaching and worship. It’s a weekend I’d highly recommend and I’ve already got my ticket booked for next year! If you’re interested, come have a chat to me about it!
Elliot Smith
July 2019
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