Alton Towers

The Ultimate Event!

The 10th May 2008 was a day that we had all been looking forward to for ages! There were 53 of us in our coach and although we had an early start and encountered some traffic delays, nothing could prevent our excitement.

The day was spent in the park, going on rides such as Air and Rita, while enjoying the lovely weather and overall having fun together. This amazing experience then continued into the evening, with a Christian rock concert, where the worship was lead by Sanctus Real, This Beautiful Republic, thebandwithnoname, and, of course, Delirious?. It was incredible to share this time with about 10,000 other Christians from across the country, and all who came along had a brilliant day! Many thanks to Mandy and Nigel who organised it - here’s to next year! For photos of the day,  take a look at our website.

University Update

Emma is now living in Milton Keynes, where she is doing a university placement job for a year, linked to her course of Food and Nutrition.

She will return to Sheffield afterwards to complete her final year at  Sheffield Hallam University.

Deeper – Drugs

Firstly, we discussed the different names of drugs we had heard of.  Then we thought about which drugs we class as acceptable, for example, caffeine, which many people forget is actually a drug.  Next, we talked about the situations where drugs may be present, and then generally about how easily influenced we can be by other people, such as friends. We read the story of 15 year old Ben Hennessy, a teenager who made a short film about the dangers of drug abuse  

called “Missing It”. The film was meant to be a warning to all young people, but a few days after the first screening Ben died from a drug overdose. What happened to him was what he had been making a film about. This proved just how easily addictions can occur, and with life threatening consequences.

How should we, as Christians, react to drugs?

Obviously we know that drug abuse is wrong, but then we thought about how we should react to others who take drugs, or actually have a drug addiction. The Bible verse that helped us with this was James 2 v14-19.  My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them?  A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat” but do not give what the person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith that is alone - that does nothing - is dead. Someone might say, “you have faith, but I have deeds”. Show me your faith without doing anything, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe that too, and they tremble with fear.

What Would Jesus Do?

As a group, we came to the conclusion that we should follow the example of Jesus. When Jesus was on the earth, He reached out and helped those who society had shunned, such as Mary Magdalen. As Christians we shouldn’t judge those who have problems such as drug addictions, as these are people who really need God. It can be so easy to judge other people, and try to distance ourselves from them.  If drug addicts can’t be accepted by Christians, then who can then turn to? We need to show love to these people instead of dismissing them. As Delirious? say in one of their new songs (God is Smiling) -  “our love can be the revolution”. If we put our faith in action, we can be a reflection of God’s love.