Cornerstone Community Awayday 2019

On Monday 6th May, ‘May Day’ bank holiday, the Cornerstone Church family spent the day together, at Great Walstead School in West Sussex. This is the venue for our Cornerstone Community Awayday. which is one of the most exciting events in the church calendar.

For the past three years, many of those who are part of the Cornerstone church community have been going away together and, despite the weather being colder this year, the day itself proved to be the best yet!

The day started bright and early, and in true Cornerstone fashion, with a breakfast of sausages and rolls. This was followed by a welcome meeting and then a wide range of activities throughout the day, catering for all ages and interests.

Sporting activities, including football, tennis, badminton, and volleyball were arranged for all levels of ability; the swimming pool was open too, and for the crafters, there was opportunity to make some very cute tote bags.

There was something for everyone to do. Most of the children spent the day either in the swimming pool, or on the inflatables. For the families with babies and very young children, there was a creche area and quieter places to sit.

The homegroup challenge was possibly the biggest event of the day and involved an ‘inflatable’ race, foam hand-charades and other brain-teasing challenges.

We shared together in a picnic lunch and there were a variety of different seminars to attend in the afternoon. As ever, the seminar topics were helpful; including titles such as ‘Good news for the anxious’, ‘What the bible has to say about humour’, and a book review of Jordan Peterson’s ‘12 rules for life‘.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a British bank holiday without a cream tea. This was a big attraction because we all got to taste the cakes which had been made for the annual Cornerstone ‘Awayday Bake Off’. There were some delicious tasting – and looking – entries this year, the favourites being a giant hamburger cake, in the adult category, and a cookie monster cake in the under sixteen category.

Before the day ended, we met together once more for the final celebration. The winners of both the ‘Bake Off’ and the Homegroup challenge [the latter being slightly controversial], were announced. We also shared in some exciting news about the future of Cornerstone Church. Tom gave us a short message on Ephesians 2, reflecting on the fact that Christ is our ‘chief cornerstone’, and the prophets and apostles are the foundation on which the members of God’s household are built. This was an encouraging way to end the day, as we believe this to be the whole reason why we should spend time away together, as a church community.

It was great to spend the bank holiday in this way. We were able to really grow in our relationship as a church family, which is why the Awayday is so important and enjoyable.
All in all, if someone is really interested in finding out what Cornerstone church is like, the Awayday is the perfect opportunity to find out.