Depending on where you live, the first sign of spring might be crocuses peeking out from the snow or having your first beach day— events we think about with anticipation. Spring is also the traditional season for holding presbyterials, the presbyterywide meetings for women in RPCNA congregations.

The first presbyterial held this year was the Pacific Coast WMF Presbyterial. Irene Huizing of the Los Angeles, Calif., RPC sent the following report.

Pacific Coast Presbyterial met in Los Angeles on Feb. 17. The speaker was Faith Martin, who enlightened us with her presentation, “China Then and Now.” The RPCNA work in China came alive to us as she filled in important historical and cultural facts and illustrated the information with photos from her Aunt Rose’s (missionary Rose Huston’s) collection. What a privilege it was to see a photo of the first convert, Yau Sin Hing (Grandmother Tse), and to step into the lives of those first missionaries, Rev. Elmer and Lizzie Mc- Burney and Rev. A. I. and Ella Robb. Via photos we walked in the footsteps of the many others who continued this work, heroes and heroines of the faith such as Rose Huston, Alice Robb, Sam and Grace Boyle, J. G. and Marian Vos, Phil and Jean Martin, and many more.

We were inspired by the courage and tenacity of these men and women and by their love and devotion both to God and to His people in China. For many years under Communist rule there was no communication with the believers in China, and we all wondered if the church had died. Yet God was faithful to His church there and it has not died. Rather, God has caused it to flourish. About a year ago, Faith Martin visited the church in Tak-Hing and witnessed firsthand that the Word once preached by A. I. Robb and Sam Boyle continues to pierce the hearts and minds of God’s people in this city.

The second group to meet was the Presbytery of the Alleghenies WMF Presbyterial, hosted by the First RP Church of Beaver Falls, Pa., on Mar. 31. The theme was “A Mind for Missions,” and the theme psalm was 67A.

Rather than having just one speaker, the following young people who had participated in short-term mission teams shared their experiences: Alicia Deibert (Scotland and Sudan); Lucas and Melissa Hanna (Scotland); Avery Mann (Orlando, Fla.); Rebekah Troup (Cyprus); and Sarah Schmidtberger (Sudan). The program committee invited women to “come and hear how God has used their experiences to touch other people’s lives.”

The next two presbyterials were overnight retreats.

The Midwest Presbytery’s Women’s Retreat was held Apr. 5-6 at the Springs (Colorado Springs, Colo.) RPC. A full two-day program was planned by the ladies of the Springs RPC and the program committee of the presbyterial, with early lodging available on Apr. 4 that included an outing on Thursday morning to tour Focus on the Family.

The theme was “Digging for Buried Treasure: How to use inductive methods of Bible study in your personal study of the Word, ” with Psalm 119 as the theme psalm and Proverbs 2:1-5 as the theme passage. The main speaker was Renee Maggelet, and the missions speaker was Alice Matthewson.

The second overnight retreat was the St. Lawrence/Atlantic Presbytery’s conference held May 10-12 at the Montrose Bible Conference Grounds in Montrose, Pa. The conference had two themes. Linda Neice spoke on “The Women Before Us” with the theme verse of 2 Timothy 3:16-17. The second speaker was Andy Curran on “Christian Finances” with the theme verse of Proverbs 22:7. The conference text was Acts 4:32 and the conference psalm was Psalm 16A, stanzas 1 and 5-10.

Although there are no WMF groups in the Japan Presbytery, this year the presbytery approved a one-day women’s mini-conference for Feb. 24, and about fifty women attended. It was the first event in the presbytery for only women, and it was greatly enjoyed by the women who attended.

Mary Spear, who had accompanied her husband, Dr. Wayne Spear, on his teaching trip to Kobe, spoke on Philippians with a challenging and encouraging message.

Questions to a Presbyterial Planner

Even a one-day presbyterial takes much time and energy to plan, to prepare, and to carry out. It takes a commitment of time for the women of the church to attend the event. To examine the behind-the-scenes preparation that goes into a presbyterial event, the WMF editor posed some questions to Barbara Mann, vice president of the Midwest Presbyterial, on planning this year’s program and on the value of holding these annual events. Despite being the busy wife of a pastor and the mother of a big family, Mann took the time to answer the following open-ended questions.

Q: What are the positive results in spiritual growth that come from holding an overnight event? Do you think it is worth the effort? What feedback has been encouraging?

A: The women in the presbytery enjoy the fellowship they get from the spring retreat. Many have been friends for years and enjoy the opportunity to spend time together in a relaxed setting. Holding the retreat over two days gives more time for this. Also, because our presbytery is spread out geographically, the travel time is more worthwhile if we meet for a longer event.

One of the things I have observed is that many women in the presbytery attend this event each year even though they are not members of a local WMF. I think this shows a hunger for the spiritual encouragement that the retreat provides. There is great blessing as well in older and younger women meeting together to study God’s Word. I personally have been greatly influenced over the years by fellowship with older women who have walked with God for many years.

I also appreciate the opportunity I have to spend time in a different church in my presbytery. Traveling to other congregations for these retreats helps me to know and to have a concern for these churches. We have a time of sharing and prayer at each retreat and are able to support one another in personal and congregational concerns. This reminds me to be “presbytery-minded” rather than merely congregational in my focus. I always find this to be very encouraging.

Q: Who did the planning? How did you choose the theme and topic? Were there any particular needs that motivated the choice? How do you evaluate the speaker’s qualifications to address a group of RPCNA women?

A: As vice president this year, it has been my responsibility to serve as chairman of the program committee. I did not have a formal committee, but I consulted with others during the planning.

The planning process really began with prayer—asking God to provide a speaker and topic of His leading. I listed several women whom I knew to be godly women. I also listed several topics that I thought might be appropriate for a women’s retreat. I planned to approach each woman on my list with this list of topics and also invite her to suggest something she had already worked on or had an interest in presenting. I got input from others as to whom to ask as well. Our speaker this year was simply the woman on my list who said yes. The topic was one she had presented before with her husband at college retreats.

“How do you evaluate the speaker’s qualifications to address a group of RPCNA woman?” is a good question to consider. I based my choice on my knowledge of the individual as a friend and on her testimony and life. Since she is a Geneva College grad, I know that she has a respect for the RPCNA and its distinctives. As I consider this question, though, I can see some danger in not having more of a structure in place to guide in choosing a speaker. Looking back through the planning notebook, it seems that the retreat used to be planned by an actual committee of (usually) three women, rather than primarily one individual. That is probably a better method, and perhaps I should have worked harder initially to form an actual committee.

Also, this raises in my mind the question of whether these decisions should be channeled through the local session for their input and oversight during the planning process. I certainly feel responsible for what goes on at the upcoming retreat, and it would probably have been better for me to consult my session during the planning process.

Q: How are you praying for the Lord to bless the program? Have you asked for any specific blessings? How does the retreat bless the life of the home congregations of the women who participate?

A: I have been in much prayer about this retreat. Being in the role of responsibility for how things go makes me very aware that without the Lord’s blessing all of the planning would be in vain! I asked God to use it to encourage those who attend. I prayed that we will be spiritually refreshed and nourished as we met. I prayed for the speaker as she prepared that she would know the right things to say. I prayed that God would use this time as He wills to build us up in our faith and meet the needs that would be represented there, most of which only He knows about.

Patricia Boyle is editor of the Women’s Missionary Fellowship feature for the Witness. She is a missionary in Japan.