Women in Ministry retreat to offer ministry agents rejuvenation

Women in Ministry retreat to offer ministry agents rejuvenation

Running from 23 to 26 May, the Women in Ministry retreat will provide women a chance to rejuvenate after what has been a busy year, with the COVID 19 pandemic adding to ministry agents’ workload.

Rev. Christine Palmer is a Community Minister in Sydney’s South West Sector and one of the retreat organisers. She told Insights that the idea for the conference was years in the making.

“Roughly seven years ago there was a lunch held at the Synod meeting for female ministers,” Rev. Palmer said.

“At this lunch we talked about ways that we could support one another and what is it that we needed.  The idea for a retreat where we could come together regularly, share and be nourished came out of this.”

According to Rev. Palmer, organisers hope to reach out to women currently in ministry in various placements across the NSW and ACT synod, including those who are ordained as Ministers of the Word, Deacons and Pastors.

“Often these women are busy ministering to everyone else and don’t get the chance to stop and be cared for and to nourish themselves so that they can continue to minister,” she said.

“It’s been a pretty tough 12 months for everyone as they have had to constantly change the way they do ministry during COVID, as well as minister to those who have struggled throughout this time, so I suspect there are many women in ministry in need of some time out.”

“The retreat has a wonderful balance of giving the women space to rest and connect with one another and with God with some facilitated sessions.”

“This year more than ever I would encourage those women thinking about attending  to come along.  There are scholarships available for those who might find the cost prohibitive, to ensure those that would like to attend can.”

Jo Drayton is the Ethical Ministry and MOP facilitator for Uniting Mission and Education.

Ms Drayton said that the retreat would provide opportunities for, “rest, nurture, community and spirituality.

“Last year was very demanding for many of us and so we want to create a space to reflect on that experience and prepare for what’s next.”

“There will be time for silence as well as group reflection, in small and large groups, time for rest but also for talking and being together and lots of opportunities for laughter and fun!”

“We hope to create a space to leave the demands of ‘work’ behind for a few days and to enable rest and refreshment.”

The Women in Ministry retreat runs from 23 to 26 May 2021 at St Joseph’s Spirityauty & Education Centre, Kincumber South. is for women in the specified ministries of Minister of the Word, Deacon, and Pastor. Places are limited to 35 and the event costs $485.

Registrations close on 9 May.

To register, visit the Eventbrite page here.

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