Holiday Forum has been an annual gathering for URC folk and friends for decades. It took place this year at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, as it has done for very many years.
I remember watching my dad, when he was URC General Secretary back in the 1980s, in what was then the Vinery (complete with grape vine, unless my memory is playing tricks), doing his meanest swerving serve at table tennis as he tried to remain in the annual tournament. Where now there are big new accommodation blocks at the Hayes, there used to be a putting green, where some of us attempted miracles which never quite made us a threat to the likes of Rory McIlroy.
Thus, my visit as Moderator this late August had elements of re-walking memory lane as much as it was a delight to meet this year’s participants. Thank you for the chance to share with you all. Thank you for joining me in the art workshop which had us creating amazing collages based upon the event’s theme. That theme of “cultivating a flourishing faith” was drawn from the work and writing of the Revd Leslie Newton, Chair of the Yorkshire North and East Methodist District.
“we were led into the wonders of grace”
I only got to hear one of Leslie’s talks, but was deeply moved by his exploration of a question we’ll all recognise: What equipment does God want us to have for faith in the future? His answer? God gives us the precious gift of grace and longs for us to be captivated by it. Drawing upon the thoughts of Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, we were led into some of the wonders of grace and how our lives can be lived in response: through worship and prayer; as we open Scripture; as we share the bread and wine of communion; when we fast and abstain from things to refocus attention upon God; as we talk together about our beliefs; and as we care for others and creation.
Leslie opened up the encounter Jesus has with a Samaritan woman at the well (in the Gospel of John, chapter 4) as an illustration of grace breaking into the world and a life; wave upon wave of unexpected joy.
Why not enjoy URC Holiday Forum next year? The Revd Tim Meadows, a past Moderator of the URC’s General Assembly, will be the theme leader, exploring “Faithfulness Real Connected” from 22 to 27 August, 2027.