Kingdom Life Youth and Young Adult Retreat

Kingdom Life Youth and Young Adult Retreat

This past October, 60 young persons and leaders gathered at a Christian camp in Forest Hill, MD for two days of praise, prayer, fun, and teaching. With the question of Covid still looming and rainy weather threatening, the young people came from New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, some with 8-hour drives. They gathered together and called on the Lord as one to move in their lives and God did not disappoint.

The testimonies that came back from this retreat were witness to the move of God on the lives of willing people. Prior to the retreat, many of the leaders and youth reported strain, stress, personal doubts, and major inconvenience: all common signs of our enemy’s attempts to subvert a major act of God.

At the retreat, we saw young people prophesy, speak in tongues, experience life changing healing, deliverance, and direction. There were testimonies of physical healing, emotional healing including depression being lifted and anxiety calmed, and young hearts rededicated to the purpose of God.

Many of the leaders were encouraged by the response of the young people to the teaching and the retreat itself. “Father Jeffery Welch’s lesson entitled ‘Obstacles To Grace’ was mind-blowing” said one high school male. Another said he would come back if this were a monthly event. Still others expressed their desire for the retreat to be longer and occur more often. All were blessed in some way and eager for another similar experience.

Bishop Rob is intent on hosting another event of this kind in the coming year and has said that even with the tremendous amount of preparation required for a retreat such as this, God’s move always makes it more than worthwhile.

2021 Clergy and Wives Retreat Recap

2021 Fall Clergy and Wives Retreat October 7th-9th (Synopsis by Fr. Jeffery Welch)

Early in October this year our Bishop Rob Northwood hosted all the clergy and their wives of our Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic CEC at a Spiritual Retreat at Solomon Island’s Holiday Inn. The Lord gave us beautiful weather on the ride there and all through the Retreat. We were blessed with several guests especially our Patriarch Bp. Craig Bates and his wife Cathy and Rev. Dr. Bob Engle From World Vision and The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI).

Bishop Rob led us in Holy Communion Friday morning bringing us the first message through the sermon. He emphasized our Church’s mission to take the full gospel into all the world through signs and wonders as well as preaching and teaching. We do this because “our” Church is not ours!  It belongs to our Lord Jesus. As in the story of the Samaritan Woman at the well, we are called to find ‘key’ people who will help open up whole communities to the gospel.  He concluded that we needed to form small discipleship groups within the parish to minister and reach outside our parish.

Bob Engle taught the next two sessions. He shared his experiences as a World Vision missionary to the inner city (with his family) since 1982 and how God called him to learn different cultural languages. It was not always easy.  But just like Jesus’ example there is no ‘gain without pain’! His talks were filled with ‘truth nuggets’ such as “If you want people to learn to build a ship, teach them to love the lonely immensity of the sea;” All the while emphasizing we are in an invisible spiritual war between two Kingdoms; How the currency of the galaxy is souls; and Jesus is LORD of all. This means the Church is central to our Christian life, the gospel is the basis of discipleship, the Holy Spirit empowers us for action, and we need to embrace and share the Kingdom of God. He added there is no great commission without a great submission to Christ.

Our Patriarch Bishop Bates preached at the Holy Communion on Saturday morning as the Retreat ended. He shared extensively of his personal spiritual journey including how God led him into the CEC and it’s early growing pains (as any creature of God experiences). He emphasized our need to re-commit to all three “streams” of the CEC, particularly true revival through our evangelical efforts. He emphasized the priesthood of all believers, not just the ordained clergy, and that true revival comes from committed laity involved in liturgy, charismatic ministry and going out to make disciples of all nations (including differing cultures). He left us with this golden truth-nugget: We don’t bring people to Christ… we are to bring Christ to the people where they live.

Great fellowship was enjoyed by all at meals and times of relaxed sharing while seated outside each evening. It was a refreshing and wonderfully challenging Spiritual time. Thank you Bishop Rob.