Baptists head to Blackpool on Royal Wedding Day

The assembly brings together members of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) and BMS World Mission (BMS).

They will be meeting at the Norbreck Castle Hotel until Monday under the banner of 'Your Kingdom Come'.

Despite the clash with the royal wedding, attendance is actually up this year.

To make sure no one misses out, big screens will be set up around the assembly venue for anyone arriving early to watch the events in London. “

"The country will be uniting to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton," said BUGB General Secretary, Jonathan Edwards. “

"This May Bank Holiday we will be uniting as Baptists to celebrate the great things God has done in our churches and communities, and focusing on the challenges and opportunities he has for us in the future.”

The assembly opens on Friday night with the induction of the Rev Dr Pat Took as President of the BUGB.

During the Friday evening celebration there will be an offering to the Trinity Hospice in Blackpool and the Tunis Cancer Hospice in Tunisia.

Assembly attendees have also been asked to bring clothes and other items to be sold in the Trinity Hospice charity shops.

Popular speaker and author Jeff Lucas will be addressing the assembly during the evening celebration, while another highlight will be the valediction of 15 new BMS mission workers.

Sunday's programme includes the commissioning of the Rev Jonathan Woodhouse as Chaplain General to HM Land Forces, the most senior Army chaplain, and a presentation of what the BUGB and BMS World Mission have been doing over the last year.

In the afternoon, a group led by BUGB Vice President Chris Duffett will be engaging in some innovative street evangelism in the centre of Blackpool.

On Sunday evening there will be the recognition of ministers, lay pastors and preachers who have completed their formal training and an address from Julie Pennington Russell, a minister from Atlanta from a Southern Baptist background, who has received significant challenges for being a woman in ministry.

Delegates will consider the London Olympics, the Middle East and women in ministry. They will also debate a motion to call on the UK Government to do more to challenge companies guilty of tax evasion in the developing world, which costs poor countries around $160 billion each year.