Easter Egg Fun

Before the madness of coronavirus, we had planned to have a little Easter Egg fun at World Cafe.  The idea was that students could choose one of 49 differently designed eggs and the two winners would receive one of these marvellously magnificent mega Easter Eggs. 

But then coronavirus arrived, the campus was closed and our world was turned up-side-down :-(  However, before campus shut down my friend and colleague, Lynne Savage, secretly chose two winning egg designs and sealed the answers in these envelopes.

With the help of someone more techno-savvy then me (that's most people!!) we went digital and over the past few weeks students have chosen a particular design until all the eggs have been taken.

TODAY is the day when our winners are to be revealed ...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

And the winners are ...


No. 13 
Aiste Steponenaite











No. 17
Miguel Villegas

Stress Awareness Month: Ten Mindful Minutes

Whilst, personally, I am first and foremost a protagonist for prayer as an antidote for stress, I also affirm the principles behind mindfulness.  

Recently listened to this TED Talk and thought I'd pass it on.  Here are a few quotes and the link:

"When did you last take any
time to do nothing?"

"We are so distracted that we're

no longer present in the world

in which we live."

"Step back and get a

different perspective."

https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_puddicombe_all_it_takes_is_10_mindful_minutes?referrer=playlist-talks_to_help_you_manage_stres&language=en#t-182750

Where are they now? Awad

Hola!!!! My name is Awad Chishty and I am from Pakistan, however, I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia. I came to the UK in Sept 2015 to pursue BEng Mechanical Engineering at University of Greenwich. When I finished my Bachelors in 2018, I decided to continue my studies and do a Masters in Engineering Management from the same university which I finished in the summer of 2019.

Day out at Hever Castle

Honestly, no words can describe the wonderful experience I had in the UK. I have met so many beautiful people and have great memories and I can surely say that my time in the UK was one of the best times in my life. Thanks to Lynne and the events she organised such as TABLEtalk, World Café, Sunday Lunch and various trips to the beach, castles, etc. Lynne has always been so welcoming and has helped so many international students whenever they needed help. I've met so many people who are now among my closest friends through Lynne and her events. During these events, I did not only meet people, but also learnt so much, developed as a person and of course had so much fun.

I have so many good memories; however, my favourite ones are the movie nights at Lynne’s place. It is an evening well spent with beautiful people and delicious food. Basically, it is an evening just relaxing and lazying around. Another memory/experience, which I cherish is when I went to explore England by City hopping with friends and visited Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Lake District. The trip was full of adventures with some of my very close friends.

Paint-balling with friends

After finishing my studies, I returned to Saudi Arabia to my parents and did some travelling around. Now, I am looking forward to finding a job and see what the future holds for me. I hope to return to UK and see all my friends once the virus is gone and things are back to normal. For now, I am just chilling and relaxing as the whole world is more or less on a lockdown. SO PEOPLE READING THIS, STAY HOME & STAY SAFE!!!!!

Thought for the week ...

What is Palm Sunday?

TODAY is Palm Sunday - a very significant day in the life of all Christians around the world. But what is it all about?

"HOSANNA!              Blessed is he           who comes in         the name of       the Lord."

Palm Sunday, sometimes known as Passion Sunday, marks the beginning of the final week of Jesus' life. It marks his entry in to Jerusalem.  On this day, we would normally meet as Christian believers, to celebrate and to look towards Easter, which marks Jesus' death and resurrection.  Yet, like everyone, we are currently called to stay home and stay safe.  

It would be so easy for this day to pass us by like any other day, yet we must not forget.  So, I've been listening to messages on line - including my nephew, James, who is the minister of Pershore Baptist Church - and I have made my own cross and palm branches to mark this day and to display outside my home.

This coming week, known to us as Holy Week, is filled with Jesus' teaching, the event we call 'the Last Supper',  his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. And ultimately, his resurrection.  The resistance, rejection, unbelief and hostility Jesus endured that week was not a surprise to him.  It was infact the fulfilment of all that had been spoken through the prophets; it was the fulfilment of God's plan.

For me, I will take extra time this week to read God's Word, to pray for myself and for others. I will take more time to ask God to search my heart and to give me a heart like his - one of self-sacrificing love and obedience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETEpxb1OWQ0

Stress Awareness Month

April is Stress Awareness Month and now, more than ever, we need to be aware of our own emotional and mental well-being. With that in mind I hope to post the occasional tip both here and on our Facebook page. You can find us at 'Medway Campus Chaplaincy'.

April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day is an annual custom on April 1st of playing practical jokes on people  ...  all in the name of fun.

In 1978 a millionaire business man reportedly towed an iceberg all the way from Antarctica to Sydney Harbour, Australia. Only when it started to rain was the so called iceberg revealed to be made of shaving cream and firefighting foam :-)

In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of the new "Left-Handed Whopper".  According to the advert, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original, but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. 

But here are my two absolute favourites, both produced by the BBC.

2008 - Flying Penguins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_hd25_XjIs

1957 - The Spaghetti Harvest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU