The theme for the weekend was “Choose Joy—Happiness is Not Enough.” Our guests were Aaron and Michelle Dean, with Mr. Dean giving the sermon on the Sabbath and Mrs. Dean kicking off the Women’s Weekend with her presentation, “Finding Joy in an Unconventional Life.” We were also excited to have Jean Updegraff attend from the Garden Grove, California congregation. Jean is the “official, unofficial” archivist for the Women’s Enrichment Weekends around the world. Her presentation was “History & Perspective of UCG Women’s Weekends—Educational, Encouraging, Enriching & EnJOYable.”

As part of our ongoing effort to keep the event affordable, food was provided by several church areas throughout the weekend after a catered meal on the Sabbath. The silent auction of crafts and other delights raised approximately $1,800 to support the women’s enrichment weekends in Zambia. Music included a saxophone solo by Jamie Justice from the Springfield, Missouri congregation, titled, “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” and other recorded music, including the tune “Accentuate the Positive” from the 1940’s.

A highlight of the presentations was a talk by three women from three different generations in one family, Amanda Schmidt, Dorothy Schmidt and Karen Allwine. Several commented on how fantastic it was to have a young person as one of the speakers. Other speakers included Elaine Carlisle, Deana Kemp and Lorraine Barnett leading a small group discussion.

There was no shortage of food or laughter. The theme proved to be uplifting and several commented on leaving the weekend in better spirits than when they arrived.

The men once again enjoyed a chili dinner at a farm owned by a member Warren Ott and brunch on Sunday morning.

We hope that you will consider coming to our Women’s Enrichment Weekend 10th anniversary next year, Feb. 12-14, 2021. Mark and Barbara Welch and LeeAnn Luker will be joining us, as all were part of our inaugural event in 2012. Save the date!

Merna Eppick