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UPDATE

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, our Women's Retreat has been cancelled. Further information around refunds and future plans will be released as soon as possible. 

I CHOSE TO GO

By Michelle Smid

For the past two years I have attended the women’s retreat through TAC. As an introvert, I was hesitant to sign up for the retreat, to be honest. It seemed a little too “people-y” for me, and I felt like I would be forced to visit, talk and do more than what I was capable of. To me, it didn’t seem much like a retreat, if I couldn’t actually retreat. As a mom of two young girls, I was craving sleep more than community.  

Thankfully, I went anyway. I am so glad I did! There was definitely time for me to be social when I felt like it, but I also had the opportunity to rest and sleep too! It felt good to connect with the women in our congregation on a social level. I wasn’t getting much of that in the church foyer on Sundays because I was usually heading home to nap times, or chasing my kids in the gym. Really only connecting on a regular basis with people in the same stage of life that I was in. The retreat gave me the opportunity to meet with women outside of that. To dive in, listen, hear truth, encouragement, and conversation about life from people from all different walks of life.  

The past two years we have been blessed with amazing teaching from Nicole Funk from Westside, and our very own Vicki Bowker. These women dove into the Word and unpacked scripture. It was a time of rich teaching, understanding, and knowledge of the Bible. This year, we decided to switch things up a little bit!  

With pastoral turnover in our church in 2019, a time of transition for our church, we wanted to connect, establish relationships and dig deeper in the Word but also with each other. We wanted to push boundaries, push back against barriers, and challenge the women of Tsawwassen Alliance to lean into vulnerability and authenticity! I firmly believe that it takes both of those things to grow in relationship. Not just with ourselves and with God, but also with each other. We are blessed to have wise, grounded, faithful women in our church family. We wanted to tap into that as a resource. To gather together and hear each other's stories.  

We have asked three people from our congregation to boldly step forward and share their stories. To highlight God’s goodness and grace in every facet of life. To wrap up the weekend, we have asked Ruth Shareski to speak on God’s Goodness in Change. Ruth and her husband, Ralph, are missionaries that TAC has supported during their time serving in Germany. They too have recently been experiencing great change in their life. They have retired as missionaries and moved from Germany back to B.C. We felt like Ruth would have a fresh perspective on God’s faithfulness throughout changing seasons in life and be able to offer us, the women of Tsawwassen Alliance, encouragement as we are experiencing change in our church family, and most likely in their own lives to some capacity.  

I want to encourage you, if you are on the fence about coming, to just do it. We will do whatever we can to make this possible for you. To meet your needs and offer a true retreat. Camp Charis is set in a natural, forested area in Chilliwack, BC making it the perfect retreat location. We want this to be a place of rest, relaxation and rejuvenation for you!

HOW TO REGISTER

When: April 17-19, 2020
Where: Charis Conference Centre in Chilliwack
Cost: $215/person

Download the registration form or fill out a hard copy Sunday morning in the Info Centre. Full payment and registration forms due Sunday, March 15th. Payment can be made by cash, cheque or credit/debit at the church office or in the Info Centre Sunday morning.