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Canmore, Alta.  •  October 11–14, 2001
Seniors follow youth example – retreating


Finding the right room was easy – just follow the singing. The occasion was the first Canadian MB Conference-sponsored Seniors’ Retreat, held October 11–14 in Canmore, Alberta. John Pauls of Calgary was practising with a volunteer choir (the Canmore Singers) for the retreat, and the sound carried through a large part of the Radisson Hotel.

The Canmore Singers

The retreat, called “There is Life after 55”, was born out of a Board of Faith and Life discussion at the Canadian MB Conference convention in Hepburn, Sask. in July 2000. Board members Abe Konrad and Rudy Bartel offered to take the initiative. They also hosted the event.

A relaxed crowd of about 160 people gathered for the three evenings. The sessions were filled with music from the Canmore Singers and from the congregation. John Pauls led most of the singing, accompanied by his wife Leonora. Door prizes contributed by the Canadian MB Conference offices were awarded to a number of attendees and enlivened the proceedings.

Living from an Inner Centre

The highlight of each evening was the message by Jim Holm, dean of students at MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Calif. Holm’s first message was entitled “Living from an Inner Centre”.

Jim Holm, speaker

He stated, “God has a mission and a place for all of us. . . . These are the best times, not the good old days. God always wants to do more with us than we have seen thus far.” Basing his message on Joshua 1:1-11, he emphasized that Joshua had big shoes to fill; he was following a famous person. Holm challenged the seniors to anticipate the best years of their lives, that God may have greater things in store than they have seen thus far. But to go into this future with hope takes three things:

Courage. God told Joshua three times to have courage. “God never repeats Himself unless it is necessary. He never wastes words,” stated Holm.

The right equipment – the Book. “Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth,” Joshua was told. Holm encouraged the audience to delight in the Lord and meditate on His Word, saying to God, “Show me what You have for me through this Scripture.”

Confidence. God’s promise to Joshua was “The LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Losses, health crises and other difficulties lie ahead, but God is here, He is real, and in that confidence Christians can go ahead.

The Power of Prayer

In his second message, Holm talked about “The Power of Prayer”. Using Luke 11:1-13, he stated that over the three years the disciples were with Jesus, they asked Him for only one thing: “Teach us to pray.” They had begun to see that the power of Jesus’ ministry was in His praying. It was not a question of technique, but of power; when Jesus prayed, things happened. Jesus responded to His disciples’ request in three ways.

He gave them a prayer. It was what is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer”, consisting of five elements: a) an acknowledgement of the holiness of God; b) a recognition that the kingdom of God will come on this earth when Jesus returns, but is already coming in lives today; c) a recognition of needs; d) an acknowledgement of brokenness, the need to ask for forgiveness of sins and also to forgive others; e) a recognition that people are prone to sin and need to be led to where the devil cannot throw temptations in front of them.

He gave them a story. It was a hypothetical story, illustrating that in Middle Eastern hospitality, no neighbour would ever turn someone away from his door. Thus God also never turns away from people who pray.

He gave them a statement. If humans know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more does God give good gifts to His children.

The foundation for significance

Saturday evening, Holm talked on the “Foundation for Significance”, based on Romans 12:1-8. Holm stated that since Christians

Margaret Heidebrecht and John Pauls singing “He is our Messiah”.

have experienced God’s mercy, they will want to respond to God’s request to live holy lives. This happens by:

Offering their bodies. God always works with what people have. The body is to be a living sacrifice. A sacrifice is something that a person has the right to keep, but gives up because he thinks it will serve a greater purpose. Holm stated, “You have then done worship; the centre of worship is when you give your body to God.”

This results in transformation – being changed into something completely different. Transformation comes about by the renewing of the mind, changing the way people think and act.

God starts the renewal process by changing the overthinkers (those who think of themselves more highly than they ought) and the underthinkers (those who think they are no good at all) into people who have the proper picture of themselves.

All this happens as Christians’ bodies are given to God each morning. Holm illustrated this from the life of John Wesley, who had a practice of reminding himself every hour that he belonged to God.

Leaving a Legacy

Holm concluded his series on Sunday morning with a message on “Leaving a Legacy”. He stated that people have one of three attitudes toward life: survival (just hanging on), success (making forward progress), or significance. He suggested that to live a life of significance would result in leaving a lasting legacy. Basing his talk on Matthew 9:35-38, he stated that although it is God’s responsibility to send out workers, it is Christians’ responsibility to encourage those whom God is calling. This depends on exercising three habits that Jesus cultivated: 1) looking for the potential in people (for example, Jesus saw Peter as the rock) and encouraging those that God is gifting and calling; 2) taking people along on ministry assignments; 3) encouraging those who give leadership. Holm ended by saying that the church in today’s society is no longer in a position of power and influence, but is like the church in Acts, a minority group. That church grew. So can the church today.

Workshops

Friday and Saturday mornings were taken up with workshops. Each workshop was presented twice and persons could attend a total of four workshops. The presenters were Rudy and Irene Bartel, “Life is Grandparenting”; Ron Toews, “Life is Spirituality”; Hugo and Katherine Jantz, “Life is Volunteerism”; Roland and Irene Marsch, “Life is a Gift of Time”; Herb and Doris Kopp, “Life is Cross-Generational Communication”; and John Redekop, “Life is Stewardship”. These workshops were well attended and appreciated.

The afternoons were unscheduled and people took the opportunity to view the sights of the area, many going to Banff and Lake Louise. Plans for another retreat have not yet been announced.

 – sbb

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Last modified January 9, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
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