*****

“Men of Savernake” is a group open to all men from churches within the Savernake Team area. Every year we get away for a weekend to encourage each other with our faith, recharge our batteries and spend time strengthening our relationships.

This year we booked into a Christian retreat just outside Seaton in Devon. As we managed to get 20 men to sign up, we had the place to ourselves. We met at a pub for lunch on the Friday afternoon and had a quick bite before going and dropping our luggage off. Jonathan Reynolds then led a four mile walk across Beer Head which is next to the seaside village of Beer (really!). It was very warm and some of the men decided to stay at the centre or explore locally rather than walk in the 30 degree heat. As one of the music group, I used the time to unload instruments and amplifiers to get everything set up in advance of the first evening’s talk/worship session.

One of the attractions of this particular centre is that all the catering was provided, which meant that we didn’t need to start meal preparation. Tim and Craig, our hosts at Peacehaven, looked after us very well and served up excellent food throughout the weekend.

After supper on Friday night, we got together in the chapel and enjoyed our first session of teaching/worship. Robert de Berry led our teaching sessions over the weekend on the subject of holiness. After this service people drifted off to enjoy a beer, chat or watch some TV before retiring for the night.

Saturday morning dawned very bright and hot, and after breakfast and “thought for the day”, we broke up into different groups to pursue various activities. Half our number went on an eight mile hike led by the indefatigable Jonathan Reynolds which took in the cliff top paths and coastal walks around Lyme Regis. All suitably armed with plenty of water, protective headgear and sun cream, the lunatic fringe...er...intrepid walkers set off to enjoy the stunning coastal scenery in this lovely part of the world. Although an alarming number of walkers favoured man-made fibres and various highly dubious “sporty” tops, Chris Tawney ensured that a certain elegance accompanied the walkers with seersucker cotton jacket and straw boater.

Another group decided to head for “Pecorama” – an attraction combining all things to do with model railways, steam engines and beautiful gardens. Later in the afternoon they visited the Beer Quarry Caves: a vast man-made complex of underground caverns created by centuries of quarrying the famous Beer Stone, first quarried back in Roman times.

Yet more of us decided to make our way to the coast and enjoy the beach around Seaton. During late afternoon, people drifted back to the centre and congregated on the lawn in the shade before supper. After supper we had our second worship session with the 2nd part of Robert’s talk. This was a very powerful evening and we were all blown away by the presence of God.

Sunday dawned and we enjoyed another cooked breakfast followed by the concluding part of Robert’s talk and communion which Ken Moore ably led for us. After that, some of us headed to the beach for a final look while others packed up ready for the journey home. After a roast Sunday lunch during which we thanked our hosts and presented them with a small token of our appreciation, we got into our various cars and headed home.

It was a wonderful and very blessed weekend and we all returned feeling refreshed and looking forward to rejoining our families.

Some awards for the weekend:

The “three plates of Trifle” award Alan Brown
The inappropriate sporting apparel award Andrew Mallinson
The “Vehicle most likely to break down” award Pete Shellswell
The loudest snoring award Ralph Kennington

Should you feel in need of a weekend away at a welcoming Christian guesthouse and conference centre on a beautiful part of the Devon coast, do get in touch with Peacehaven on 01297 21681 or visit their website: http://www.peacehaven.org.uk/ - they can cater for individuals, couples, families or parties of up to about 40 in number. The food is great and the prices are very reasonable. Thoroughly recommended.