Why do we have a church year?For many Christians, their lives are ruled by a variety of calendars: the annual calendar that runs from January through December, a school calendar that marks semesters and summer vacations, the agricultural calendar tha...

Starting in the third century-and continuing for another 350 years-many Christian men and women went to live in the hazardous desert environment of the Middle East. These daring Christians came to the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, Syria, and m...

Women appear throughout the Bible, making their own particular mark on biblical history. They are the mothers and grandmothers of kings, followers of Jesus, and companions to apostles. These women provide us with spiritual models that can guide our l...

The earth's resources are being damaged, diminished, and destroyed. As God's stewards charged to care for the creation, faithful Christians need to determine--individually and corporately--what their responsibilities are for that creation.To that end...

Prayer is the term we use to describe our communication with God. It sounds so simple but many young people approach the practice of prayer with a little anxiety. "Am I doing this right?" "Am I praying for the right things?" "Does God hear me?" This ...

The Christian expression of love for God and devotion to faithful living takes many forms throughout the world. This retreat offers participants a brief opportunity to immerse themselves in the richness of Celtic spirituality and, by doing so, to enh...

The topic of spirituality is generating a lot of conversation in both religious and secular circles, yet many Christians are confused about its meaning and its connection to their lives. They want a chance to explore the topic and to ask questions ab...

The purpose of this retreat is to consider the biblical themes of promise and faithfulness in light of our relationship to creation and to God. During this retreat participants will study familiar biblical stories about creation from Genesis and expl...

New members are often interested in finding a way to participate in the life of a congregation by serving. This retreat is designed to give new members a chance to reflect on their spiritual gifts and to find specific ways within the church to use th...

The goals of this retreat are to learn about the biblical concept of Sabbath and to explore a twenty-first-century concept of keeping Sabbath.Bear in mind that this is not a traditional Bible study about Sabbath but an opportunity to think purposeful...