Tea & Scones

It was great to meet some new students at our Tea & Scones event yesterday. Many thanks to those who came along. I will email you all soon :-)  
I'm not sure our scones looked quite like these but they sure did taste scrumptious

Faith Space Opening

Although our Medway Campus 
Faith Space has been open and in 
use since early May 2017, it was 
always our plan to have a small 
but official opening ceremony at 
the start of this new academic year.



Thank you to all those students, staff and friends who came along. Thank you Jane, Karen & Michelle for your help with the event. Thank you Richard for giving us that bit of history to under- stand how we got from where we were to where we are today. Thank you especially to Ahmad and Joseph to sharing what the Faith Space has meant to you as you walk with God each day. Thanks also to Bishop Brian for coming to lead us in a prayer of blessing for this place.

I'm not sure how we missed getting a photo of the feast of food there was to eat afterwards. The leftovers were greatly appreciated at TABLEtalk that evening.

Sun, Sea & Sand

Last Sunday Sonali, Geethani and I had a lovely spontaneous afternoon down at Joss Bay.  The weather was simply too nice to sit at home doing nothing.  So I did nothing at the beach instead :-)

Geethani and I collected a few more rocks for my garden :-)

World Cafe re-starts :-)

Our weekly

Wednesday World Cafe

re-opens tomorrow.

Come and find us in Blake

student circulation area

(ground floor) between

11am-3pm (extended hours).

Alongside the cafe we will be running a sale of good-quality, pre-loved winter clothing.
Come and find a bargain!!!

Hellos & Goodbyes

Saying goodbye to students is never easy and it's the least favourite part of my role :-(  However, when they come back to visit or even for further study that's truly, splendiferously, marvellous!!!

It's great to welcome Joy back to the UK as she begins her PhD at the University of Bath (must book in a weekend visit)

Me, Aiste, Joy, Geethani & 'Tsunami'

Ahmad, Aiste, Joy, Me & Basel @ Freshers

No photo here, but Mohamed Dief is back too, doing a further Masters at Middlesex University.

It was great to see them both at our first TABLEtalk last night  ... along with some very familiar faces and six new students from China and France.

The next sad goodbye will be Geethani

leaving next weekend :-(  I'm thinking

about locking her in the kitchen!!

International Day of Peace

On September 21st  each year, International Day of Peace is observed around the world. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.

The theme for 2017 is

“Together for Peace: Respect,

Safety and Dignity for All.”

“In times of insecurity, communities that look different become convenient scapegoats,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. “We must resist cynical efforts to divide communities and portray neighbours as ‘the other’. Discrimination diminishes us all. It prevents people — and societies — from achieving their full potential.” He added, “Together, let us stand up against bigotry and for human rights. Together, let us build bridges. Together, let us transform fear into hope.”

Licensing Service

I would like to say a very, very big THANK YOU to all those who came along to share in my licensing service on Sunday, Sept 17th.  It was such a special time for me; to see students & colleagues from university, friends from St Mark's and a variety of other local churches was a beautiful blessing.
There are simply too many people to thank!  Especially those who produced such a scrumptious buffet of savoury nibbles and marvellous cakes. Unfortunately, I was feeling too sick with nerves to partake of anything :-(

Thank you so much Graham and team for the wonderful worship.  I would say "great choice of songs" but I chose them myself :-)

Jane Glew, University of Kent Master,
presenting me to Bishop James.

 Thanks oodles James and Sonali for doing our readings so beautifully  ...  Psalm 139 and Philippians 1:1-11

Saju interviewed several students: Aiste, Basim and Peter. Thank you so much for the kind things you said about me and about our activities. I felt very blessed and very humbled.

Having presented me with my formal
licensing certificate.
Bishop James prays for me

Finally, it was my turn to say a few words of thanks ... 

And then it was all over :-)

LtoR: Jonah, Lydia, James, Tony, me and Papa

I thought I was tall until I stood between
Saju and Bishop James !!!

Oodles of lovely people  ...
Becca, Aiste, Pesila, Katie, Joseph, Amira, Awad,
Geethani, Basim, me, Basel, Areti & Sonali