Gaulby Festival of Grace
The 13th Gaulby Festival of Grace was held at Gaulby Parish Church in Leicestershire on Saturday afternoon 8 September 2012.
The event was inaugurated by the late rector of the parish, Rev. Ashley Cheesman (rector from 1988-2010), as an annual event. It was designed to celebrate the doctrines of grace, proclaim the gospel as recorded in Holy Scripture, build up believers in their most holy faith, and inform Christians about the work of the church in this country and other parts of the world.
Roughly 50 folk gathered together on a glorious sunny afternoon to hear the speakers. Derek McDonnell gave a presentation about the work of Blythswood Care in providing humanitarian aid and gospel proclamation among the poor and disadvantaged in Great Britain, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.
This was followed by Rev. John Cheeseman, vice-chairman of Church Society, who spoke on worship today, from Philippians 3:2-3. He reminded us that worship is not just something done on a Sunday, but a spontaneous whole-life attitude that permeates every single moment of our lives.
Mr Cheeseman affirmed that the gospel of Jesus Christ is one where salvation is by God’s grace alone, and that we cannot earn this by church ritual, baptism or good works.
Alistair Armour from the Christian Institute spoke on the Institute’s work and gave an overview of issues in society that are being tackled by it at the moment. These include same-sex marriage, the victimisation of Christians in the workplace, and disturbing attempts to promote evil lifestyles amongst children through school curricula. Such matters call for serious prayer from Christians.
Nevertheless, in spite of any difficulties Christians face, we all left the Festival with a deep gratitude for God’s abundant grace to undeserving sinners. We were challenged in the way we should respond to such issues and determined to be more faithful servants of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Adrian Freer
