The 12th annual Montana Women’s Retreat, held this fall, attracted some 150 participants, including 18 who have attended all 12 of the Retreats.
Such loyalty belies the long distances many have traveled each year to reach Camp on the Boulder, near Big Timber, Mont. Glacier Bible Camp, between Kalispell and Hungry Horse, will host the Retreat next year, Sept. 12-14.
Keynote Speaker
Jo Ann Davidson, the first woman to teach in the Theology Department at Andrews University, spoke on her experiences of Sabbath celebrations in Israel.
Davidson has written several articles for church publications and has a column in “Perspective Digest” magazine, “Let’s Face It,” which gives a woman’s slant on theology.
Alberta Mazat, Davidson’s mother, gave a workshop on marriage, with ideas on how to keep romance alive in marriage and how to discuss differences without putting the other person down. Though married partners may agree to disagree, there can be harmony in the home, she said.
Health
Christina Sloop, OB/GYN from Yakima, Wash., presented a workshop on preventive health. She also conducted a screening for all who wanted to participate, measuring strength, height and weight, blood pressure, oxygen in the blood, and other vital signs.
She stressed that a daily walk with the Lord is vital to health and well-being and demonstrated with her own prayer journal how she daily keeps close to the Lord.
Changes
Winnie West, head elder of the Billings, Mont., Church, had been asked to give a workshop on how to conduct small group Bible studies.
Because she was called to mission service, however, last-minute draftees Gwen Emmerson and Jo Rea took her place.
Fun Times
During a Sabbath hike, leader Cheryl Moore, a plant sciences graduate student at MSU-Bowman, identified different plants that grow around Camp on the Boulder.
On Saturday evening, participants chose crafts to create, including wooden dolls, cards to stamp, dried flower arrangements, boxes to decorate and paint, and candle holders.
They also visited with friends, old and new.
Prayer
The women prayed often for others and for guidance, direction, and help, giving thanks for blessings, healing, comfort, and strength.
They felt that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were with them during the special weekend, and many turned in their registration and money for next year’s retreat.
