Blog Interview: Shelly on RE:Treat

Whew! Hope is certainly buzzing with all kind of activities for women! Today is a personal favorite of mine, the Hope Women's Retreat. What do you get when you take busy women from all stages of life, and get them away, where they can relax, revive and reconnect together? You get one durn good time!! Thanks for being here today Shelly. What can you tell us about the upcoming women's weekend?


The Hope Women's Re:Treat is a weekend getaway of awesomeness filled with fun activities and teaching led by the amazing author Alicia Britt Chole. It's a time to connect with friends, meet new people, try new things and spend time with our Lord. This year's retreat will have all kinds of new surprises - you gotta come!

If this awesomeness happened at a bus station in Scranton, I'd still want to come. But I imagine it's somewhere else....

Yes, not Scranton. Staunton. This year's retreat will be at the beautiful, historic Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton, VA (about 90 minutes West of Richmond). The weekend, ahem...the PARTY... starts around 7:00pm on Friday, March 19th and wraps up around noon on Sunday, March 21st.

So, how'd you get involved in this, other than your professional party-planning credentials?

Two years ago I was brand spanking new to Hope and knew no one. I decided to go on the retreat to make some new friends and get connected at Hope. It was so fun! Last year, I helped plan the Pajama Jam (Saturday night party) at the retreat and enjoyed it so much that I offered to take on the whole event this year.

What do you hope women will get from it by their participation?

I hope that everyone will feel a sense of belonging by coming to the Re:Treat. I want them to know that they belong at Hope, that there are other women here that are searching, just like they are -- searching for friendships, searching to be known, searching to know the Lord better. The Re:Treat is a way to develop those relationships.

So give us the scoop. Just what happens on a weekend getaway like this?

Friday night will be a party!!! - a time to unwind from your busy week and get to know other women. Saturday will have times for teaching and reflections, and new to this year's retreat, we've got some AWESOME afternoon activities to choose from. Sunday will be another day of teaching, worship, and fun.

So, lots of women at Hope have never experienced a weekend retreat, and might be a little nervous about what goes on. Anything you can tell them?
Much of the structure of this year's event is geared towards newcomers. Our goal is to make everyone feel welcome. Instead of having Small Groups this year, we're scheduling activities for you to choose from so that conversations and relationships can form organically. OH, and P.S. this is a perfect time to bring a friend, mother, daughter, sister, cousin, neighbor, co-worker, stranger on the side of the road...as long as they are women, they are invited! It's a great girl's getaway!

How can women contact you about your group/event? What do they need to do to signup?

Email shelly_ueberroth@carmax.com with questions. A link to the online registration will be available on the blog beginning January 10th, and we'll also have an info table in the Hope foyer for several weeks after registration begins.

Anything else you want women to know who are wondering? What's with all the "Re" stuff this year?

You may or may not have noticed that it's called a "Re:Treat" this year. It's a chance to RE:flect, RE:energize, RE:connect with friends, RE:joice, RE:lax, RE:discover yourself...and it's going to be a Treat!....so this year, it's the RE:Treat!

Come see Shelly and learn more about the RE:Treat this Sunday, January 11th between and after the worship services, or check back here to www.hopewomen.com for the link to register!