Mennonite Women of Virginia Retreat Ministry from Behind the Scenes
In 2010, having recently moved to Virginia, I began attending the Mennonite Women of Virginia’s (MWV) annual fall retreat. Each year, it seemed that God had planned the retreat just for me. I often came to the weekend struggling with family difficulties, health issues, career uncertainty, and parenting concerns. At first, I thought I was the only one who came to the space weighed down by concerns. Gradually I realized I wasn’t alone, and always, God took the opportunity to reassure me and lift me up to return to my complicated life, knowing that God would sustain me. I always benefited from the varied speakers and reveled in the differing settings (sometimes at a hotel or conference center or sometimes in a rural “camp” setting—my favorite). The music was especially important to me as that is one of the primary ways I connect to God and to other women.
After moving to other cities and churches, I didn’t attend the retreat for several years, having found it difficult to gather a group of women from my new church to attend. But my longing for that uplifting experience never left me, and I began working more diligently to gather other attendees from my current church.
At my first year back at the retreat (2023), there was much talk about the need for officers and people to help plan the retreat so that it could continue. I realized that if the retreat and the organization were really important to me, then I needed to step up and offer my time. I volunteered for the Retreat Committee and took on the role of Recording Secretary. I really enjoyed getting to know my fellow retreat committee members via our Zoom meetings. I was truly grateful for the technology, since most of the members were in the Harrisonburg area, but I am in northern Virginia, and our treasurer is from North Carolina.
I also volunteered to lead the music team for the 2024 retreat. I had been thinking of participating in music back when I first began attending, since I’m often involved with leading music in my church. I found it more difficult to find music team members than I had thought, since many of the first people I asked refused. However, I finally assembled a team, ironically made up of women who had never attended the retreat before! We were a diverse group…three of us in our 50s/60s from northern Virginia, and two teenage women from the Shenandoah Valley.
I was concerned about not having the whole group able to practice together before the retreat, but we all arrived early on the first afternoon of the retreat to practice. I was amazed at how things came together (Why am I always amazed that God has us in the palm of God's hand??). The team felt transported into God’s presence and the music was appreciated by the group that gathered. Despite the smaller size of the retreat group, the enthusiastic harmonizing of 60+ women was a joy to hear.
The Retreat Committee had spent hours beforehand brainstorming about why it seemed the organization and the retreat were attracting fewer and fewer women. We were frustrated because it seemed the experiences a small handful of us valued weren’t having the impact on the numbers of women who had participated in the past. But God had an answer, and I think it came through clearly at the retreat. As our president, Sylvia Yoder, said at the beginning of the business meeting: “It’s not about the numbers, it’s about the heart.”
And it was abundantly clear that God’s heart was represented at this retreat. We heard a strong affirmation that the organization and the retreat WERE vital in the spiritual lives of those present. There were numerous ideas contributed by participants about how to encourage more women to attend, which included identifying a “point person” at each church, who could publicize the retreat and serve as a contact. Especially important, I believe, was the oft-mentioned necessity to reach out to younger women. We now have a representative from the younger generation serving as publicity secretary on both the Executive Committee and the Retreat Committee, so I am encouraged that issues that are important to younger women will be addressed. In general, there was a wave of positivity that made the retreat committee members feel affirmed about our work during the year and encouraged about the future.
As God always does, God met us right where we were, in our doubting and wondering, and reassured us that we do still have a vital role to play for Mennonite women in our area. I believe God was telling us to fight the good fight, to finish the race, and to keep the faith.
Keri Waltner
Worship Committee Chair and Song Leader,
Daniels Run Peace Church, Fairfax, VA
Recording Secretary, Retreat Committee and Executive Committee,
Mennonite Women of Virginia
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