Women Find Grace at Replenish Retreat
On the weekend of the 14-16 October 2022 a group of 56 women from Queensland gathered for the Replenish Women’s Retreat at Luther Heights, Coolum, QLD. The weekend was purpose-built for “replenishing” the women and helping them to recharge their batteries. The schedule was extremely flexible with very little planned (on purpose!). There was a group devotion on Saturday morning plus various optional activities for people to engage in like walking to Coolum, boogie boarding, hiking Mt Coolum – whatever people wanted to do. The dining hall was filled with people working on handcrafts like embroidery and crochet plus painting and puzzles. There were also LOTS of board games played which kept everyone engaged and connected to each other.
On Saturday morning there was a session designed especially for Pastors Wives (13 of the attendees) where we were blessed to have Penne Willner from Toowoomba, a Pastor’s Wife of 32 years and private practice Counsellor speak to us about Self-Care and Self-Compassion. This was a time of great learning and sharing amongst the women which was so deeply appreciated by all who attended. We would like to thank Penne for the time she spent with us and the extensive knowledge that she shared.
Following this session the Pastors Wives enjoyed a fully catered lunch paid for by the Lutheran Laypeople’s League (see photo). We are extremely grateful for the LLL and their support of the wives of Pastors. We had a wonderful time connecting and supporting one another in this space.
On Sunday morning we worshipped in various ways. Some went to Immanuel Lutheran Church, Buderim while some went to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Noosa, others stayed at camp and engaged in a time of reflective prayer. It was a ‘choose your own adventure’ which we all enjoyed!
We all left feeling so uplifted and encouraged and itching to come back next year. On that note, we encourage all of the women of the LCAQD to consider attending Replenish 2023 (have a look at the responses from some of the attendees if you need more convincing). You can set the dates aside in your diary now (13- 15 October 2023).
We would especially like to encourage the wives of Pastors to attend – you will be so glad that you did! If you need financial assistance to attend, please speak with your Church Council who may be able to assist.
Anisia Glover, Kirby Mullen & Lauren Spilsbury
