Friday morning started off leisurely and with me cooking bacon and egg muffins for Andy (my boss for the day so had to keep him sweet!) as he arrived at 10.30 after picking up some equipment we were borrowing from Sawyer’s Church. We then headed off to the office to load up more equipment before driving to Chelmsford Cathedral, arriving at 1.20pm to wait for a concert to finish so we could get in and start setting up!

My main memories of Chelmsford Cathedral involve long traditional Anglican services at the end of a school term with hymns and our headteacher dressing up in a gown (still not sure why!); or the prize-giving and results presentations with endless amounts of clapping and a long speech from someday with some vague connection to the school, now heavily involved in business/politics/economics…not memories that particularly fill me with excitement! (see This Page for details on how these particular services play a part in what I’m doing now)

However for this night, Chelmsford Cathedral in transformed! The chairs were cleared and in came the staging, lights, visuals, PA, gazebo, laptops, sweets, crisps, bouncy castle, crafts, performers, speakers and many more activities. This year there were four different zones, each with a theme looking at different encounters with Jesus and involved fun activities, food and spiritual thought/input. The young people were put into groups and each group visited each zone for 30mins. There was also a time of acoustic worship led by Claire Parry from a 360° stage, a short talk from Andy Poultney, a time of communion and over 350 sausages in baguettes served!  Doors opened at 6.30pm and the event finished at 10pm.

My role was to help set up the visual equipment and then to operate visuals on the night. There was a great buzz in the place – great to hear laughter and excitement in such an amazing building, where perhaps it’s normally more traditional. It was lovely to see some familiar faces on team and in the young people that came.

Andy did a really good job of organising and leading a technical team of 6 (despite leaving me at one point and in my stubbornness to get the screen up by myself pinching my finger and giving me a blood blister which looks like a slug and which Claire and Karen named Neil…?!) and was a very nice and relaxed boss!

The best thing about Solid Remix is seeing so many young people all in one place, worshipping God through many different activities – the potential for over 350 young people’s lives to be touched by God – who knows where that could lead!

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I now don’t have any events booked in until April, so writing lists of things to do and sort out to keep me busy! I’ve booked a trip to Norwich to see my best friend Lois for 26th-28th Feb which I’m very excited about!

I’m very thankful to God for his provision and answer to prayer in the form of a financial gift from 2 very lovely people. God does keep His promises, He never fails, even when it all seems like too much – hang in there!

‘The LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him’ Psalm 32:10

Tags: Bouncy Castle, Chelmsford Cathedral, Psalm 32:10, Solid Remix

The main event before Christmas was More Than A Story, the event that Andy, Rich, Sam and Myself had been busy putting together for the previous few months. Unfortunately we only ended up with one booking, at my home church in Braintree on the 18th December. If anyone was in the area that day they’ll remember that a ridiculous amount of snow fell in a very short time! The consequences of this were that Den couldn’t physically get to Braintree from South Woodam Ferrers so Rich had to step in to his role as main speaker and I took over from Rich as one of the quiz hosts. The snow also stopped many people from coming so we only had about 25 in the audience but it was still brilliant. My Dad did his best to embarrass me at every turn but this just added to the fun and relaxed atmosphere. We were really happy with how the event went and hope that it made an impact on those who were there. I was very happy with my newly purchased fairy lights to decorate!

Christmas break was spent with various combinations of mine and Andy’s family. I stayed at my sister’s on Christmas Eve and helped Maddie and Emi get ready for Father Christmas…when they woke up in the morning (surprisingly not til 7.30am) he had left footprints on the floor which made them so excited!! Then he came back while they were eating breakfast with more presents! It was very surreal and for a small moment I felt like it really was Father Christmas and not Matt’s Dad in a very good hire suit! My parents and Matt’s parents came for dinner and we had a really lovely day of present opening and fun together. I travelled up to Andy’s in Selby on Boxing Day and we spent a few days relaxing there with his family and then came back to Braintree to see my brother and co who were staying at my parents. It was a really nice time and made me rethink the things that were important to me. I think my 2 favourite moments over Christmas were when Maddie almost fell asleep on me on Christmas Day – the feeling that she felt perfectly safe in my arms (plus she never normally sits still long enough for cuddles!); the other was taking Chloe and Sam to the park and Chloe saying ‘This is so much fun, I love my Auntie Laura’. Knowing that you can make someone happy, knowing that they want to be with you is the nicest feeling in the world!

Now it’s back in the swing of things – preparations, planning, events etc! Andy and I went to Holland with Taste 14th-24th January which was great. We did a few church services, gigs, a children’s club and a day of workshops with youth leaders from the area. Our hosts Sieb and Douwe were incredible – so welcoming and constantly feeding us amazing food!! It’s great to meet people who speak a different language, do things differently but know we’re worshipping the same God. It’s difficult to know the impact of what we have done, we just have to trust God used us!

Now back and refreshed after a couple of days off I’m concentating on the next few things. Have a look at my calendar for more details on what I’m up to but here’s a rough idea:

Sunday 30th Jan: Helping Ed with a Family Service in Sandy
Fri 4th- Sun 6th Feb: Going to Children’s Ministry Conference in Eastbourne to help with the Arise Exhibition Stand.
Fri 11th Feb: Solid Remix at Chelmsford Cathedral

Please pray for all the preparations and safe travel as well as good health for everyone involved!

I would also really appreciate your prayers for my finances. Currently my monthly incoming matches my immediate bills (rent, phone, contact lenses and travel), so that doesn’t give me anything left over for food, leisure, and buying birthday presents!! Please pray whether you might be able to support me with either a one off gift or more regularly.

Thank you!

Tags: Arise, Braintree, Chelmsford Cathedral, Children's Ministry Conference, Christmas, Finance, Holland, More Than A Story, Prayer, Sandy, Selby, Solid Remix

So the holidays are over and it’s back into the office!

It was really nice to have a break and switch off, but I did start to get a bit restless towards the end. Three weeks is quite a long time, and it makes it harder to get back into it! One of the highlights of the holiday was Dan and Jeni’s wedding in Lowestoft on the 2nd January. It was beautiful and a perfect day! The church looked incredible, with 5000 fairy lights hung on the back wall, with blue voile draped over the top. Jeni looked absolutely stunning, though how she didn’t freeze I have no idea! It was great to be back with the guys from last year as well, miss them all very much!

Now back in the office for 3 days rehearsing for Solid Remix on Friday and then up to Scotland for 2weeks on Saturday. Taste are rehearsing worship songs in the studio while I write material, do stock checks, write emails, print things and other such officey stuff that I love doing!

I’m currently living in wellies as they are the only footwear I have that don’t let in the snow! I’ve also borrowed Mum’s electric blanket from home…now nice and snuggley when I go to bed!

Tags: Dan and Jeni's Wedding, Electric Blanket, Lowestoft, Solid Remix, Taste, Wellies