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Journey to Retreat 2010-July update

Posted by Debby on August 4, 2010

In mid-July, our women’s ministry leaders met for our monthly meeting. We are still four months away from the retreat, so while the retreat was on the agenda, it was not the main order of business. However, according to our Retreat Planning Calendar, some retreat deadlines are approaching. Retreat Information Sheets were due to be finished on August 1. Retreat information is then due to be sent to sister churches who may want to join us at this retreat. And our Retreat Planning Meeting is scheduled on August 8. Registration for the retreat will begin in September. We reviewed these upcoming action items, and leaders with responsibilities in those areas gave status reports. Next month, there will be more discussion about the nuts and bolts of the retreat.

Posted in: Journey to Retreat 2010

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The Missing Star

Posted by Debby on August 2, 2010

One year at our retreat, the women returned after their Saturday afternoon free time for a late afternoon session. This session was to be kicked off by the third act of the retreat skit. As we began to set up–oh no! Our lead performer and main character was nowhere to be found. We had people running all over the hotel searching for her, since we didn’t know her room number or have her cell phone number on hand. Finally, unable to delay the session any further, we had to rearrange our schedule to fit the skit in later. Of course, we soon found our star, and the show went on, but we learned something. Now, we make sure that we have a list of each person involved in the skit and their cell phone number with us at the retreat AND, upon their check-in, we make sure that we have their room number. It is easy for someone to get confused on the time, fall asleep during free time or be otherwise distracted. But shame on us if we don’t know how to reach them.

Posted in: Lessons Learned

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Unfortunate, But True

Posted by Debby on July 31, 2010

Over the years, we have recognized an unfortunate fact: a woman will appreciate the retreat more if she has made a personal investment in order to attend.

We used to go to great lengths to provide scholarships to women who couldn’t afford the expense of a retreat. If we had the means, we provided full scholarships for them to attend the retreat. Over the years, however, we observed that those women who were given full scholarships were the ones more likely to let a minor difficulty or hindrance keep them from attending the retreat, while those who had made a monetary sacrifice to attend the retreat made more of an effort to come, despite difficulties.

As a result of this observation, we made a change to our scholarship policy. While we still want to provide financial help to those without the means to attend our retreat, we provide this help in the form of partial scholarships. As a general rule, we now require that those who have expressed the need for scholarship help make some amount of personal investment–by paying whatever they can afford, or, at the very least, paying the non-refundable deposit.

Posted in: Lessons Learned, Retreat and Event Planning, Starting Points in Retreat Planning

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Retreat Planning Calendar II

Posted by Debby on July 25, 2010

Retreat Planning Calendar I gave a basic overview of the use of this tool. Now let’s be a little more specific on how we have determined a few of these deadlines.

Once we have booked the date and location for the retreat, a key date for the planning calendar is the date that the retreat location requires a final count and rooming list. We work backwards from that date to set a final date of registration. With our retreat being on November 12-13, our hotel has required the rooming list confirmation and BEO’s (Banquet Event Orders) on Nov. 3rd. That means that registration must be completed prior to that date and we must have time to get the final rooming list done. We have made Oct. 31st the deadline for our completion of the rooming list. Since there can be challenges involved with getting the final rooming list prepared, we have allowed a little over a week between the end of registration (last day to sign up for the retreat) and the date that the rooming list is due to the hotel. We like to have registration open for about a month, so registration for our retreat will begin on Sept. 19th and end on Oct. 20th. We begin announcing the retreat in the bulletin about a month prior to the beginning of registration.

In summary:

Aug. 15 Bulletin announcements begin

Sept. 19 Retreat registration begins

Oct. 24 Last day to register

Oct. 31 Rooming list must be completed

Nov. 3 Rooming list due to hotel

Posted in: Retreat and Event Planning, Starting Points in Retreat Planning

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A Shelf of Remembrance

Posted by Debby on July 24, 2010

These are snapshots of my “shelf of remembrance.” What are these little objects adorning my shelf? They are small remembrance gifts which were given out at various women’s retreats and events over the years. Each one is a special reminder of the theme for the specific event or retreat. They are simple and very inexpensive, but precious reminders none the less of those special times with the Lord. Most of the time, the theme of the retreat and even the theme verse are noted somewhere on the remembrance. Other remembrances not sitting on my shelf have included magnets and bookmarks, and they can be found elsewhere in my house!

Women love being pampered at retreats, and taking away a little remembrance is just one of the ways that we try to make the retreats special for them. Sometimes the gifts are something small that we have purchased; more often, it is something that requires some crafting and/or assembly. Our hope is that our little gift will be something that will bring back special memories of the retreat.

Posted in: Ingredients for a Great Retreat, Little Things Make a Big Difference!, Retreat and Event Planning

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