One of the things I love most about BCEC is being a part of Christ’s family here on earth. Being a part of this crazy and nutty but always loving and caring family-in-Christ that I believe God has most uniquely placed us in Birmingham for. As our church continues to grow (praise God for that!), and as I’ve seen personally from the days when the entire English congregation can actually all go to someone’s house for a bbq to now when we pretty much take over the entire Wing Wah Restaurant for lunch on Sundays, I strongly believe there is an increasing need for events like our annual BCEC English Congregation Church Retreat. Something like this will allow us as a whole congregation to meet with God and to meet with one another for a dedicated weekend of encouragement and support and also some fun as well.
Some important information to start:
When is the retreat?
28-31 August 2009 over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The retreat starts Friday evening and ends Monday after lunch.
Where is the retreat?
Cloverley Hall Conference Centre, near Whitchurch in beautiful Shropshire. This is the same place where BCEC had our last year’s retreat as well. I hear it is a beautiful place, and from the pictures on their website, it does look lovely.
Who is speaking at the retreat?
Mr Raymond Pfister. He used to be the principal of the Birmingham Christian College (where our very own Pastor Bert went to). From what I hear, Raymond Pfister is a fantastic teacher of the Bible and his teachings are challenging to the Spirit. You can read more about him from his personal website. Amongst his many talents, he is fluent in five modern languages and four Biblical languages.
What is the theme of the retreat?
We will be going through the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. It’s not a very long book but there’s a lot in it to dig into.UPDATE: The speaker will now be talking about the Sermon on the Mount instead. 🙂 It should be just as awesome and challenging. 🙂 -b
How much does the retreat cost?
Some of us may look at the price first and think immediately it’s too much. I think I did myself too! But I stopped and thought about it a little more and in fact, the cost is very reasonable. We get full board for four nights and the priceless thing will be the fellowship time with God and with each other.
| £135 | adult |
| £80 | student/not-working |
| £25 | child age 4-6 |
| £free | child under 4 |
| £25 | day rate |
So there you go, that’s just a little blurb about this year’s retreat that I hope will interest you enough to come! I personally think it will be a really great weekend.
Just one last thing, the DEADLINE for signing up is SUNDAY, JULY 19th 2009. Please hand applications and money to Mei Ling and/or Andrew. If you have further questions or concerns about costs/etc., please contact our wonderful retreat coordinator Simon Tam or our wonderful pastor, Bert Han.