Our theme was “Building a Network” with the scripture of focus being Ecclesiastes 4:9-10: “Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But, people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble” (New Living Translation). As we delved deeper into this scripture we also took a closer look at ourselves, creating deeper ties in the process.

In the busy schedule that this world expects of us, how can we expect to keep in touch with those around us? Sharilynne Matthews approached this question and gave us our first fallback: social media. If all else is too time-consuming, at least there is knowledge available at your fingertips that can reveal anything between the simple daily life of friends to the important prayer requests they might ask for.

Barbara Parada gave the next step and encouraged the women to set aside time to talk to those we care about. Some things are simply too important to glance over and require a physical conversation to broach such topics. Other times the best communication we can receive is the simple knowledge that someone is there and ready to help us when needed.

Along those lines we received anecdotes from other speakers, of how different connections changed their lives physically by losing weight; mentally, by building deeper friendships; and spiritually—changing who they were as a person, all simply because of the people they’ve met.

The women were more than eager to break off into groups that Sunday to discuss the various social situations one might find themselves in, delving into how to approach each situation as it came about. In the end, even the weekend itself became its own answer, as women left with connections more tightly bound than those they held when they arrived.

Annick Stefanin