DiCicco's

Fall into Fellowship will be held at DiCicco's Restaurant in Old Town Arvada. Plan on saving the afternoon of October 11 from 1-3 p.m. to enjoy food and fellowship. We will be hearing from our Women Ministries Chair, Cheryl Meakins, on what it means to guard our hearts as women. Look forward to seeing you there!!

Fall Retreat in Estes Park

Every year the Midwest Covenant Women have a retreat in the fall at Covenant Heights. Covenant Heights is located just outside of Estes Park at the base of Long's Peak. Here's a view of the main chapel:

The View of Long's Peak from the chapel windows:

The group of ladies at the retreat from Arvada Covenant Church -Debbie, Cheryl, Joanne, Polly, Kinsey, Karen, Pat, Sherry, Vivian, Joan, Dottie, and Julie:

This year our speaker was a missionary from Israel who shared the importance of Genesis 12:2-3: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you." This was God's promise to Abraham, a man whom God used to start the nation of Israel. She shared about the importance and relevance this has to our lives today.

We also had a wonderful time of worship. We enjoyed it so much we are thinking of ways to make it possible for the worship leader to come join us for our Spring Retreat! She is a young, dynamic worship leader who can play guitar and piano!

We also got the opportunity to hear about three women from Faith Covenant in Colorado Springs who recently went to China. They went with women from the denomination, including Ruth Hill, on what is called a PACE trip. This means Prayer And Cultural Experience. They were able to tour parts of China and learn about their culture while they were in prayer for the country. It was great to hear about their trip and to learn that Covenant Women offers opportunities such as this!

We also spent time discussing Break the Chains. The national project for Covenant Women seeks to address this horrifying topic and promote taking action. We were able to take a few minutes to watch the movie about Break The Chains. Please visit this website if you would like to see the DVD: http://www.covchurch.org/humantrafficking. You will hear more about this cause throughout the year as Arvada Covenant Women Ministries gets involved more in this cause.

After the lunch we had free time to do the zip line, shop in Estes Park, nap, or hike around the park. A group of ladies from our group chose to do the zip line and hike.

Sherry, Julie, Cheryl, Joanne, and Debbie

Sherry, Polly, Joanne, Julie, Cheryl, Kinsey, Debbie, Pat, and Karen at Lily Lake:

Lily Lake

Fall colors:

Karen does the zip line:

Kinsey

Debbie

Cheryl

Joanne

We had such a great time! We hope these pictures inspire you to come join us next year!

Word from Cheryl Meakins About This Year's Theme

Proverbs 4:23 - "Above all else, Guard your heart for out of it is the wellspring of life."

Our theme for Arvada Covenant Women Ministries is "Guard Your Heart". You and I both know that relationships can be difficult to navigate, including your relationship with Christ. Stuff happens in life and we get hurt, by our friends, our family, and sometimes God. It is interesting that through this proverb God exhorts you to guard you heart, yet what goes unstated is that you are not to be guarded in your heart. Pain often leaves you with a reflex to guard against further pain. However, God wants you to wash the pain with His Spirit to cleanse your soul so you can always remain unguarded while you seek to guard. We look forward to a great year in Women Ministries as we learn together how to guard without becoming guarded.

God Bless,
Cheryl Meakins, Women Ministries Chair

Ice Cream Social

Our first event of the 2009-2010 year was an ice cream social to share about the direction of Women Ministries in our church. We are excited about the new changes to the ministry and were able to share that vision with close to 30 women! There is a growing curiosity about the role of Women Ministries in our church and the commitment we have to expanding our ministry and Leadership Teams. Besides hearing about the ministry, it was a great way to meet new women and fellowship while eating ice cream!

Look at our lovely table decorations courtesy of Linda Pelon. You'd never know she only spend $9 total!

Linda putting the final touches on the tables:

Cheryl Meakins sharing about our vision for Women Ministries:

Kinsey Ringenberg sharing about our various Women Ministry Team and our upcoming events:

Merry Whyman coordinated our food for this event and shared about her team, Hospitality.

Barb Hardison sharing about her Activities Team:

Jen Davidson sharing about the Women Entrepreneurial Group:Enjoying the Ice Cream:

Haven Powell came for the ice cream!Dottie House, Sherry Nagel, and Jen Davidson:

This was a great way to kick off the 2009-2010 year for Women Ministries! Thanks to everyone who came to hear about our vision. We look forward to incorporating new women in our ministry!

Steering Committee Planning Retreat

Every summer the Steering Committee of Women Ministries has a planning retreat to set the vision of the ministry for the year. This is an opportunity for us to connect as a team and to brainstorm new ways that we can reach the women of our church and community. We enjoyed the opportunity to spend two days at Julie Anderson's cabin near Twin Lakes. The first day we were able to settle in and do a hike before we started planning.

Linda P. and Cheryl are pictured here:
Linda T., Julie, Cheryl, and Sherry:
Cheryl, Linda T., Linda P., Julie, Kinsey, Sherry, and Barb:
Somehow, the least experienced cook of the group, Kinsey, got the privilege of planning meals. She is happy to report her meals did not induce any food poisoning.
Cheryl and Kinsey in the kitchen:

Merry was unable to be with us this weekend as she was recovering from an illness, but sent an amazing casserole for breakfast. It may be the casserole that we choose to use at our Advent Brunch this year! Be glad Merry is in charge of this and not Kinsey!

Enjoying Merry's caserole for breakfast:

Group picture before we leave:

From these pictures you may wonder if we ever got any work done. We'll never tell!

Looking forward to what the 09-10 year holds for Women Ministries!!