Sit, Soak, and Shine, a series of laity renewal retreats, have been held in various locations across the West Ohio Conference. These retreats, led by conference staff Julie Carter and Ann Marie Carley and keynote speaker Suzanne Bandy, consisted of worship, reflection, prayer, and faith discussions. The event was also assisted by camp staff who participated in discussion, lead worship, and gave their personal testimonies to the lay leaders.
“Today’s retreat was just what I needed. It allowed me to step away, meet new brothers and sisters in Christ, and be refilled so I can better shine His light,” said Amber Snyder, a lay volunteer.
Toward the end of the retreat, the participants were asked to visit four different prayer stations to sit and reflect on what it means to be lay in ministry and how we may pour the love of Jesus Christ into ourselves as well as others.
"After having served in a local church for 25 years, there was a realization that as staff members, we don’t spend a lot of time being poured into. We are almost constantly pouring out of our pitchers; thus the need to refill. Hopefully, people walk away from the retreats knowing how much Jesus loves them and will sustain them, and that there are other people around the conference who are cheering them on to be the best Jesus followers and leaders they can be,” said Julie Carter, Director of Faith Formation and Lay Ministry.
The response to this first-time event has been very positive.
Look for future events on our conference website and social media.
Written by Kenzie Kuhn, Multimedia Producer