2011 Retreat Photos

Such a lovely weekend. Thank you, one and all.

Tick, tick, tick, tick...

Time is running out for retreat registration, which closes Sunday, April 3. Don't miss out!

Please note that you may stay one night OR two – your choice.

We look forward to seeing you soon at Camp Huston.

– the Retreat Team

Breaking Out

– from Kim Eichner, Women’s Retreat Coordinator

I’m only mildly adventurous. Really I’m a home-body. But when my kids were young  (when I was still hauling a diaper bag everywhere we went) my mildly-adventurous-tendency was tested. There were days I  H A D  T O  G E T
O U T  O F  T H E  H O U S E! I had to forego the creature comforts and predictable routine to refresh my body and mind. And let the kids run around somewhere besides underfoot.

It was a constant trade off: go insane inside the same four wall vs. all the trouble to get packed up, load the kids in car seats, have an adventure, mess up the routine so that later they were whiney, to get outside the soon-to-be-padded four walls. It was worth it though, every time. Okay, nearly every time.

That’s how I see the Women’s Retreats. They are a lot of work. We have to haul stuff with us. We already see each other on Sunday morning. We have great worship services right here in Redmond. Why the trouble?

Because we hear from God and from each other differently when we break out. Without the predictability of routine, we can be delightfully surprised by God. He can show us new views of ourselves and of Himself. And even though we might come back tired in some way – from talking till 11pm with another night owl perhaps – we are refreshed by the very act of breaking out of our normal four walls. And it’s worth it in the end.

Break out of your four walls and into the simple beauty of Huston Camp for “Close to You – Building Intimacy With God.” I’ll see you there and we’ll have an adventure together.

Kim

Registration Cogitation

F ully convinced, that I need

R estoration, I'm

E dging toward commitment.

E ventually . . . and

D eterminedly, I'll sign

O n the dotted line. Joyfully, expectantly, I'll do it for

M e. It's done! I'm registered for the 2011 Women's Retreat.

Are you?

Cyndi McLafferty, Retreat Leader

Cyndi is a volunteer leader, teacher and facilitator for The Lazarus Center in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. The Lazarus Center serves a distressed region in which steel-mill closures have relegated 20% of the population to a place below the poverty level. Through the Lazarus Center, Cyndi leads the Freedom in Christ retreats held annually in southwestern Pennsylvania. Cyndi also is a member of Bridgeway Church in Ambridge.

Cyndi partnered with Kim and Jim Eichner in leading a series of Freedom in Christ (FIC) retreat weekends while the Eichners attended seminary in Pennsylvania. FIC retreats are designed to get to the heart of the matter of our freedom in Christ, allowing us to release the bonds that keep us from such freedom. Cyndi’s teachings at our 2011 Close to You Women’s Retreat at Camp Huston are based significantly on the FIC retreats.

Memories

Here are some of the reasons people attend the Women's Retreat:

the community of women
the setting
meeting people I don't know
the music
fellowship
healing prayer
guided Bible study
meeting new people
time for reflection and writing
connecting with one another
the "whole magilla"
a good education program
the fairy lights