This past weekend we held our annual Women's Ministry workshop. The theme this year was "Garden Getaway...where women walk with God". I love using the retreat kits from Group Publishing. I'm always amazed at how well the themes are received by our women. This year we even incorporated the songs. My favorite by far was 10,00 Reasons (Bless The Lord Oh My Soul).
Registration and Continental breakfast was served that morning at 8:30 AM.
After a time of worship and a praise dance by a family friend we started our sessions.
Our first session was about Exploring the seasons of our lives.
My favorite part of the workshops were the group sessions. I made an effort this year to put down my camera and join in with the other ladies. This is very rare for me in the 6 years that we have been doing the workshops. I'm trying to be more like Mary and less like Martha. LOL
Our second session was all about inner beauty. How often do we focus on the inner beauty giving little or no time to the beauty God wants for us inside our hearts! Or even the beauty that is around us?
After the second session we served the ladies a bag lunch.
After lunch we discussed walking with God. The ladies were given time to walk around the building and spend a little time conversing with God by themselves. Originally they were to go outside but the rain made that impossible so we played soft music in the background while the women moved from one area to another every few minutes after a prompt from the facilitator.
One of my favorite things about the kits from group are the service projects session. I love that we are encouraged to give back to someone else.
In this case we created a special gift to give to women who may be going through a difficult time. This session was all about caring for those in a season of need.
I know the ladies enjoyed this session because it spilled over into the time for session 5! LOL
Session 5 focused on the difficult seasons of life! This session was very interactive and allowed the women once again to be an active participant!
I led the last session which was all about recognizing the joy in every season and celebrating that!
Setting up a workshop like this is super easy and in most cases budget friendly. Group provides everything you will need that day from workshop materials to music, to promo material. Of course you can add your own touches as I have done. The best part is that you don't need big name artist or speakers and you can ask friends, family or women at your church to facilitate each session (that material is provided as well). Like I said we have been using them for over six years and I am never disappointed with the outcome. Whether you have a small group of women like us or a larger congregation you can benefit from these kits and your ladies (of all ages) will love them! You also do not need a large facility to pull this off. Most of our sessions were done in the sanctuary with the exception of the service project which required some table space.
Of course I can't just do a workshop without adding decorations! If you would like some ideas for a Garden themed event you can check out my "Treasured Creations" blog.
