WOW!

'WOW' was the 'in' word of the weekend as Jackie Mann introduced us to the glory of Jesus in the book of the Revelation to John.

Revelation is not so much a book of 'WOES'. Revelation is all about Jesus and points to him. It's a book that makes us want to go 'WOW!'

Although it's written to the seven churches, the baton has been passed on to us, so it's a letter to us. It shows us what Jesus is now, not what he will become. He is King of Kings NOW.

We were truly blessed by Jackie's ministry, as we were brought closer to our Lord and Saviour. It was so encouraging to see that at least 50% of ladies present were in the younger category, many confessing it was their first time.

During this conference, one of the workshops involved forming a 'choir', who learnt a new song, performed it at the time of Sunday worship, and then taught it to the rest of us.

Report by Lynsey Ruth Mansfield

The last weekend of November 2005 saw a group of 140 women (spanning seven decades) tucked away at the High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesdon, for the GBWA bi-annual weekend conference.

The theme for the teaching was 'From here to eternity' (lessons from Revelation) brought to us by Jackie Mann of Friends International.

In 'Behold the Son' we were exhorted not to lose sight of Jesus amidst the imagery and symbolism in Revelation, but to see him, seated on the throne, Lord of the universe.

In 'The searching of his churches', using some of the seven churches of Asia as warnings, we were shown pitfalls to avoid in our lives, and reminded never to lose sight of our first love.

'The nature of God's government' emphasised that God must judge because of His character and we were challenged to bring everything in our lives to Him.

To conlude, 'New beginnings and a new home' considered the solemnity of God's judgement and the joyful prospect of our 'future, internal, permanent make-over'.

The closing questions to us was: 'Are you homesick?'

Morning and afternoon workshops covered a broad range of topics from 'Living with loss' to maintaining our devotional lives, to personality temperaments, all of which stimulated discussion.

Coffee breaks and mealtimes gave the chance for people to renew fellowship with old friends and make new ones. Meeting in our area groups provided the opportunity to share encouragements and disappointments from our respective churches and to bring them to God in prayer.

Throughout the weekend there was a real sense of warmth, receptiveness to the Word, openness, and thankfulness to God for his grace and loving kindness, often resulting in public and private shedding of tears.

A big 'thank you' must go to all those who made it such a memorable weekend.

Farewell...

At the conference, we had to bid a tearful 'farewell' to Sally Jones, who, with her husband Graham, went to Kenya at the end of January 2006. They will be based at Grace Baptist Church, Kisumo, although they will be visiting other small churches as well. This will necessitate driving on one-track un-made roads and they will need a four-wheel-drive vehicle. As a farewell gift, a collection was made for this and the amount raised (with the addition of gift aid) amounted to £1,600.

We wish Sally and Graham God's blessing at the commencement of this new phase in their lives and trust Sally will be able to use her skills among the ladies of Kenya. At her last Council meeting in September 2005, we presented Sally with a breadmaker (apparently you can't buy proper bread in Kenya). We shall miss you!

We also had to say 'farewell' to our chairman Pam Porter (first photo below) and at the conference she was given a garden trug and plants - so she can develop her hobby!

Some photos