CSF: Women's Retreat!

The Women's Retreat was held at Rochester church this past November, where seven girls and three staff were challenged and inspired by the teachings of some amazing Godly women. Friday night, Melissa Sandel (from West Side Christian Church), talked on being Wholly Holy, and what that looks like in every aspect of our life.

Campus minister, Gretchen Magruder, shares about the retreat in her own words..

Saturday morning we had a panel of Godly women share about their experiences following God and striving for holiness in the midst of crappy circumstances, divorce, health problems, and busy lives/careers. As they shared their stories and their very different experiences, there were some common themes that emerged about remaining holy that echoed Melissa's talk the night before:

Be in the Word
There's no way for us to know what God wants for us without consistently reading God's Word. Do a search for words like holy and holiness and you'll begin to understand what a big deal this is to God.

Make sure you're submitting to spiritual authorities¹⁷Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them? - Hebrews 13:17 (MSG)

It's hard for us to admit we don't know it all. But God put us together in a community together for a purpose -- to learn from each other and be admonished and challenged and encouraged by each other. Living holy lives requires that we're willing to be transparent with a small group of people and especially those who are in leadership above us. It means making sure that you have a few older women who you allow to speak truth into your life. And then we have to be willing to listen.
My sin affects other people. Compromises you make affect my life and the ones I love. How do we begin to love each other enough to not be satisfied with unholy living in the lives of those around us?

The next afternoon was spent in St. Louis at the City Museum with much silliness and bonding! Below are some pictures of the retreat!