More than half of the 180 women who attended last week’s “Beauty Unleashed” women’s conference were from other churches than Hope Fellowship. All were treated to a beautiful sanctuary and stage that was transformed from elegant black and white (the morning) to an explosion of colour (afternoon) in less than twenty minutes while everyone “grooved” outside under the direction of a Zumba instructor. Grace and Colleen, a worship team from Mississauga, ended the day with a powerful version of “I Will Rise” which segued into a balloon release that filled the sky with messages meant for God.
Safely back in Kelowna, B.C., the featured speaker, Heidi McLaughlin, described the conference as “one of the best I have attended in many years.” She praised the hard work of Joan, Anne and Rose, the event organizers, and all the volunteers, and predicted that “the word will get out and women will be flocking to your next one.”
At the conference she focused on internal beauty rather than external, cosmetic beauty, and insisted that “there’s no woman so beautiful as a woman who knows that she is loved,” something she fully experienced only when she gave her life to Jesus Christ at age 32.
How did the organizers find this year’s speaker? “The computer and prayer,” Anne said, smiling joyfully. “Joan, Rose and I felt that the Lord directed her to us and we felt a connection with her before we even saw her.”
That feeling of connection spilled over into the Sunday worship services when Heidi spoke words of blessing to our Grade 3-6 girls (It was GEMS Sunday) and reassured the men that “there’s no man as handsome as a man who knows that he is loved!” For her part, Heidi said she was “blown away and holding back the tears” when everyone sang a blessing back to her.
The current thinking is that another women’s conference will be offered again at Hope Fellowship in two years, alternating with the bi-annual Coffee Break Convention that is also offered in April. If that’s the final decision, it will be a long but worthwhile wait!
- Pastor Peter
Safely back in Kelowna, B.C., the featured speaker, Heidi McLaughlin, described the conference as “one of the best I have attended in many years.” She praised the hard work of Joan, Anne and Rose, the event organizers, and all the volunteers, and predicted that “the word will get out and women will be flocking to your next one.”
At the conference she focused on internal beauty rather than external, cosmetic beauty, and insisted that “there’s no woman so beautiful as a woman who knows that she is loved,” something she fully experienced only when she gave her life to Jesus Christ at age 32.
How did the organizers find this year’s speaker? “The computer and prayer,” Anne said, smiling joyfully. “Joan, Rose and I felt that the Lord directed her to us and we felt a connection with her before we even saw her.”
That feeling of connection spilled over into the Sunday worship services when Heidi spoke words of blessing to our Grade 3-6 girls (It was GEMS Sunday) and reassured the men that “there’s no man as handsome as a man who knows that he is loved!” For her part, Heidi said she was “blown away and holding back the tears” when everyone sang a blessing back to her.
The current thinking is that another women’s conference will be offered again at Hope Fellowship in two years, alternating with the bi-annual Coffee Break Convention that is also offered in April. If that’s the final decision, it will be a long but worthwhile wait!
- Pastor Peter
Comments
Post a Comment