Welcome Retreat Friend!

Welcome to new subscribers! How do you know if you’ll get what you’re looking for, when you sign up for something unfamiliar? My job is to prod your thinking about the way you approach a retreat, and we’ll tackle that over the course of many subjects. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to provide feedback and to throw your questions in the ring. What hurdles do you face in your planning stages? Inquiring minds wanna know! Send your comments to sallyswords@windstream.net

How do your retreat numbers measure up?

As I put retreat flyers in our church mailboxes Saturday, I thought about our motives for inviting so many women. It’s not about the numbers, really. It’s about including each and every one into our circle of friends. That seems like a high aspiration, but it’s not all up to the leaders at that point. When we can facilitate opportunities for relationships to happen, we are stepping up the possibility for one more woman to know she is a valued member of the human race.
That’s what it’s all about isn’t it? To connect people to each other and to the God who created them to be in relationship?
Over the seven years of planning our spring women’s retreat, we’ve seen the group range from 48 to 77 in attendance, but the quantity is still not our main focus! We always ask, “What can we do to create an atmosphere where women will connect?”
The response may take on a different shape each year, but here are five key factors.
1) Create Fun! Make your trip one where giggles can abound. Where there’s laughter, healing will follow, and relationships will happen naturally. We have ice breakers, skits, and generally role out the carpet for humor.
2) Create Intimacy! The opportunity to share life’s burdens with another lightens the load. One-on-one conversations and group discussions will assist the progress of new insights. Interaction can take place at meal time or around the campfire or even while carpooling home.
3) Create Release! Getting away from the daily routine of life is essential in order to let go of stress. Provide walks outdoors for fresh air or indoor games for group interaction. Have you seen grown women do cannonballs in the pool?!
4) Create Inspiration! Give food for thought to get creative juices flowing, and to facilitate the opportunity for each to reconnect with the Lord. Special words from speakers or quiet time with a Bible will enable the mind to cultivate renewal.
5) Create Security! Remember the Cheers theme song? "Everybody wants to go where somebody knows their name." We all need a safe haven where we can feel like family, and that requires intentional effort and time to nurture.
When you focus on the individuals who come, they will bring their friends and build numbers later on. But it all begins with creating an occasion for women to remember that they are cherished and loved, one person at a time.

In the works…

I just wrote a check for a writers’ conference in April! Do find ways to hone your craft. With each retreat, I also find new insights into the way people prepare for, and how they glean what they can out of that event. http://www.acwriters.com/
I am tickled pink, to be able to offer my new ebook “How to Plan a Women’s Retreat.” I wish we would have had a tool like this when we started out seven years ago! Take a sneak peak at the Table of Contents at http://www.sallyferguson.net/retreat%20resources.html
The new Focus on the Family magazine, Thriving Family, bought an article for a filler piece! You can sign up for a six month free trial subscription at http://www.focusonthefamily.com/
Keep seeking and growing. May you always have a new project in the works!
Blessings,
Sally

Sally Ferguson

sallyswords@windstream.net

979 Southwestern Drive
Jamestown NY 14701

(716) 488-1254

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