Our arrival at the Kingfisher Bay Retreat Centre last Friday set the tone for a focused experience for Hope Fellowship’s leaders. Reconnecting with the welcoming staff and sitting by a warm fire was a great way to start setting aside the busyness of daily life and shifting our hearts, souls, minds and bodies towards the future of Hope Fellowship.
This wasn’t a typical planning session where we sat and listed ministries, discussed ideas and evaluated options. Instead we were first challenged to step back and come up with words or phrases that describe what’s important to each of us about Hope Fellowship. My small group came up with ‘grace-filled relationships’, ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘authentic worship’ which were echoed by the other groups.
With this as a foundation, on Saturday morning we took some time to create quotes that people in our community might say if they were interviewed about Hope Fellowship. The goal was to put ourselves in their shoes – to try and see the impact we would like to have on our Courtice neighbours in 3 to 5 years’ time.
Our guide, Jack Tacoma, also shared some reflections on pruning and how an often painful process actually helps the vine. Through pruning, parts of the vine are removed from where they are not bearing fruit and allowed to return to the soil to nourish growth in the branches the Gardener wants to flourish.
Near the end of the day, we were invited to spend some time in personal reflection about our individual roles at Hope Fellowship. We were asked to focus on three questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Who is my neighbour? Our answers then challenged us to reflect on the gifts that God has given us and how we can use them to stop and help that person “hurting on the side of the road” and further His church.
Combined with excellent food, good conversations and a rousing card game, this made for a most blessed time for Hope Fellowship’s leaders.
- Chris Ritskes
This wasn’t a typical planning session where we sat and listed ministries, discussed ideas and evaluated options. Instead we were first challenged to step back and come up with words or phrases that describe what’s important to each of us about Hope Fellowship. My small group came up with ‘grace-filled relationships’, ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘authentic worship’ which were echoed by the other groups.
With this as a foundation, on Saturday morning we took some time to create quotes that people in our community might say if they were interviewed about Hope Fellowship. The goal was to put ourselves in their shoes – to try and see the impact we would like to have on our Courtice neighbours in 3 to 5 years’ time.
Our guide, Jack Tacoma, also shared some reflections on pruning and how an often painful process actually helps the vine. Through pruning, parts of the vine are removed from where they are not bearing fruit and allowed to return to the soil to nourish growth in the branches the Gardener wants to flourish.
Near the end of the day, we were invited to spend some time in personal reflection about our individual roles at Hope Fellowship. We were asked to focus on three questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Who is my neighbour? Our answers then challenged us to reflect on the gifts that God has given us and how we can use them to stop and help that person “hurting on the side of the road” and further His church.
Combined with excellent food, good conversations and a rousing card game, this made for a most blessed time for Hope Fellowship’s leaders.
- Chris Ritskes
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