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British Reformed Fellowship Family Conference 2008

The Share Village, Co. Fermanagh, N. Ireland

Friday, 25 July - Friday, 1 August

Conference Theme: "The Work of the Holy Spirit"

                 

BRF Conference Booking Form (pdf in A4 size)

BRF Conference Booking Form (pdf in 8-1/2 x 11 Letter size)

 

Speakers and Subjects

The biennial general meeting at the British Reformed Fellowship’s (BRF) 2006 conference settled upon the speakers for the 2008 conference: Professors Engelsma and Hanko, who have served us so well in the past. The theme too was decided: "The Work of the Holy Spirit." We are looking forward to 6 quality lectures and good fellowship on this worthy subject.

 

Conference Visitors

Visitors are very welcome at the conference for the speeches and Christian fellowship. Your presence on site is free, so please come along! If you would like to stay for a meal/meals or overnight or for Share Centre Activities (e.g., canoeing, archery), contact Share Village for prices and/or reservations (028 677 22122). Click here for directions to Share Village.

 

Conference Programme (correct as of 11 July)

   
Friday, 25 July
1:00 pm Arrival & Check-in
2:00 pm Lunch
3:30 pm Free Time
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm Introduction and Fellowship - Rev. Stewart
9:00 pm Evening Devotions
   
Saturday, 26 July
8:00 am Breakfast and Morning Devotions
9:30 am 1st Conference Address - Prof. Engelsma
The Person of the Holy Spirit
11:00 am Questions and Discussion
12:00 pm Lunch
1:30 pm Free Time/Share Centre Activities
5:00 pm Dinner

7:00 pm

2nd Conference Address - Prof. Hanko
The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
8:30 pm Questions and Discussion
9:30 pm Evening Devotions
   
Sunday, 27 July
8:00 am Breakfast and Morning Devotions
10:00 am Worship Service - Prof. Hanko
12:00 pm Lunch
2:30 pm Survey of the Book of Revelation - Prof. Hanko
5:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Worship Service - Prof. Engelsma
   

Monday, 28 July

8:00 am Breakfast and Morning Devotions
9:30 am Coach Trip to Ulster-American Folk Park
12:00 pm Pack lunch
5:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Special Lecture on Charismaticism - Rev. Stewart
8:30 pm Questions and Discussion
9:30 pm Evening Devotions
   

Tuesday, 29 July

8:00 am Breakfast and Morning Devotions
9:30 am 3rd Conference Address - Prof. Engelsma
The Holy Spirit and the Covenant of Grace
11:00 am Questions and Discussion
12:00 pm Lunch
1:30 pm Free Time/Share Centre Activities
5:00 pm Dinner

7:00 pm

4th Conference Address - Prof. Hanko
The Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth
8:30 pm Questions and Discussion
9:30 pm Evening Devotions
   
Wednesday, 30 July
8:00 am Breakfast and Morning Devotions
9:30 am Inishcruiser Boat Trip on Lough Erne (Group 1)/ Free Time/Share Centre Activities
12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm Inishcruiser Boat Trip on Lough Erne (Group 2)/ Free Time/Share Centre Activities
5:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm 5th Conference Address - Prof. Engelsma
The Holy Spirit and Assurance
8:30 pm Questions and Discussion
9:30 pm Evening Devotions
   
Thursday, 31 July
8:00 am Breakfast and Morning Devotions
9:30 am BRF Biennial General Meeting (Free Time for non-BRF Members)
12:00 pm Lunch
1:30 pm Free Time/Share Centre Activities
5:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm 6th Conference Address - Prof. Hanko
The Holy Spirit and the Church
8:30 pm Questions and Discussion

9:30 pm 

Evening Devotions
   
Friday, 1 August
8:00 am Breakfast and Morning Devotions
9:30 am Closing Remarks
11:00 am Lunch
1:00 pm Departure
   

 

 

Site

After many discussions, telephone calls, e-mails and visits, the site for the 2008 BRF Family Conference was booked. Our venue is the Share Centre (also called the Share Holiday Village) in County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, just minutes from the border with the Republic of Ireland. Share is located on a 60 acre site, right on the tranquil shores of Upper Lough Erne, part of the largest inland waterway in Europe, which eventually, as the River Shannon, enters the Atlantic Ocean at Limerick.

Besides the attractive location, Share Village is also the largest activity centre in Ireland. Water sports on the lake include kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing, dinghy sailing and keelboat sailing. For the younger children, there are the options of banana skiing or the more sedate setting of the small beach. The Inishcruiser, a 57-seat, luxury, heated cruiser, will suit all age groups. The one and a half hour boat trip explores some of the lesser known and most beautiful parts of Lough Erne, including a nearby castle under the care of the National Trust.

Also on site, we have an indoor swimming pool, a sauna, a steam room and a fitness suite, as well as pool tables and equipment for archery and fuzzball. There are 30ft climbing walls (indoor and outdoor), professionally designed in order to offer exciting climbs for beginners to experts. Activities for smaller children include pottery, mosaic, mask making, batik, T-shirt printing and pedal go-karting, besides a shallow, indoor swimming pool, a soft play room and an outdoor play park.

The more technical activities are led by qualified and experienced members of the Share staff.

The accommodation sleeps up to 220 people—arranged in cosy chalets or in the modern style "Farmhouse." All rooms are double-glazed and have central heating for year round use and comfort. Currently over 80% of the accommodation is en-suite and by 2008 this percentage may well be even higher.

Importantly, all of Share’s facilities have been purpose built for guests with disabilities to ensure freedom of access and independence. Even the Inishcruiser is fully wheelchair accessible with onboard toilets. The conference site itself is flat, being on the edge of a lake. So the less able-bodied and the elderly will be well catered for.

Some, especially in the British Isles, may be interested to know that Share has a campsite, situated in a secluded wooded corner. There are 13 sites for caravans with electric hook-ups and 24 spaces for tents. Laundry facilities are available both for those in static and in mobile accommodation.

We may well take a day trip to the Ulster American Folk Park. Of special, but not exclusive, interest to those from the US and N. Ireland, this fine museum explains the immigration from Ireland to America, especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and traces the success (or otherwise) of the immigrants in the new world. The Ulster American Folk Park also includes an extensive open-air museum (www.folkpark.com).

We think that the beautiful location and the wide range of activities will make this site especially attractive to young people and therefore to parents, and even older saints, who will, no doubt, enjoy spectating! All this on top of what we fully expect will be superb, Reformed lectures on "The Work of the Holy Spirit," the blessed presence of the living God with us! Share Village has a good website, complete with colour pictures, which should give you a good feel for the place, so why not look it up (www.sharevillage.org)?

Since this site is in N. Ireland, Philip Rainey, a member of the CPRC is proposing driving a group of visitors in a minibus around some of the sites of special interest in N. Ireland for a couple of days after the conference. Thus some may come for the 2008 BRF Conference itself (Friday 25 July - Friday 1 August) and then join the CPRC for worship (Sunday 3 August) and take advantage of the minibus tour through parts of N. Ireland (Monday 4 - Tuesday 5 August).

More details will be provided as they become available through the British Reformed Journal (for subscribers), the BRF website (www.britishreformedfellowship.org.uk) and Julie Rainey, the BRF conference booking secretary (jhrainey31@yahoo.com).

We hope that many of you will be able to join us in God’s will for the tenth biennial BRF Conference on "The Work of the Holy Spirit" at the Share Centre (25 July - 1 August, 2008).

Rev. Angus Stewart