The Women’s WRBC Retreat was located in Whiteshell’s beautiful setting at Pinewood Lodge. The weekend offered the opportunity to take some special time off, enjoy indoor and outdoor activities, with emphasis laid on the women’s connection to one another and to God. Women were also free to spend time alone in reflection surrounded by creation, disconnected from the everyday distractions. Our intent was to grow stronger in our prayer life and practices. As we focused ourselves on God, we ended up experiencing indelible lifetime experiences with our sisters in Christ, while at the same time we also managed to have a lot of fun.
The retreat theme of prayer was woven into the teaching, testimonies, and small group time. The women were provided resources to carry this discipline on at home following the end of the retreat. Along with our teaching sessions and our powerful sharing sessions, lead by Zarifa Salzgeber and Lorraine Demonye, we enjoyed countless other experiences like:
– Tanya Humphries’ presentation on ENERGY
– Mel Fillion’s tap dance class (the women even got to enjoy a mini dance recital at the end of the evening on Sat)
– Brittany Morris’ make up lesson
– The craziest was our game time, created and executed by Sheryl Hague and Barb Brewer
Our hope was to create intentional community building. The retreat was all about connection. Connection to our multi-age group of women (from 7 months to 73 years!) This allowed retreat attendees to interact with many different women whom they might not interact with otherwise. It was about connection to creation and to God. We drew close, we shared and we learned.
Below are some of the responses to the question “What was the most significant thing you took away from the retreat this year?”
- “I was lacking in my prayer life so what I got was a renewed sense of going back home with new strategies for my prayer life – RENEWAL.”
- “A renewed desire to deepen and strengthen my payer life.”
- “The videos really helped in suggesting very practical ways we should/could make prayer a greater priority and in how specifically we should pray.”
- “Hearing others sharing their faith in Christ brings me closer to God.”
Below are a couple experiences shared:
- “I loved hearing Lorraine’s testimony. I think this retreat found a perfect balance and fullness with the video sessions on the one hand and the two personal deliveries of Zarifa and Lorraine on the other. — I LOVED the weekend and am buoyed with new ideas and tools to put into practice (which I’ve already started this morning) in my prayer life. Thank you so much to you and your whole committee for your wonderful work and dedication in putting on this excellent retreat.”
- “I’m reflecting on these 4 years of retreat experiences I had. All of them have been a highlight of my year here in Canada, and I’m sure it’s the same for many ladies from our church. My thankfulness might not be enough, but I’m sure God is well pleased with all the hard work you have put into it. And I pray He blesses you abundantly.”
