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Singles Retreat 2008: "Building Relationships Where Love is in Place"
"Singleness is not a bad thing... An unmarried person is still a WHOLE being". These were some of the comments made by Elder Anthony Gordon, guest presenter at Singles Retreat 2008.
Under the theme "Building Relationships Where Love Is In Place", the Retreat was held at the Nutshell Camp and Conference Center, Duncans, Trelawny on the weekend of September 12 - 14, 2008. This long-awaited event was specifically intended to allow singles to understand and appreciate their 'singleness', to deepen their faith in Christ, which will in turn produce healthy relationships.
According to Pastor Dudley Hosin, Family Ministries Director of North Jamaica Mission, this year's Singles Retreat was designed to be inspiring and informative; each single would be able to build better relationships where true love is in place.
The weekend activities began with a keynote address from Pastor Derek Bignall, Secretary and Family Ministries Director of West Indies Union Conference. Using the theme to form the basis of his message, he noted that love should be the foundation of all relationships; we should have good communication skills in order to have good relationships. "In order to communicate well, we should have good interpersonal skills...
This will build relationships", said Pastor Bignall.
The weekend's main presenter was Elder Anthony Gordon, Certified Family Life Educator from Central Jamaica Conference. He, along with his wife, Deloris, presented on the following issues relating to singlehood:
- Understanding and Appreciating Singleness
- The Psycho-social Health of Singles
- Successful Singlehood - Possibility or Utopian?
- Managing the Urge To Merge
- Preparing to Say 'I do!'
Elder Gordon and wife doing a presentation
For those whose objective was mainly to seek a life partner at this Retreat, they were particularly informed to the basic stages in selecting a life partner, namely:
- Dating
- Courtship
- Engagement then
- Marriage
Elder Gordon noted that, to be married, one must be in a sound mind, age should not be a factor to be taken into consideration, and both persons should be genuinely in love.
Elder Anthony Gordon
Other presenters were Pastor Donald Smith, Pastor of the Falmouth District of Churches, and Pastor Nathanael Gracia, Pastor of the Duncans District of Churches. They shared the Word of God in the devotinal exercises on Sabbath and Sunday morning respectively. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, both used the story of Ruth and Naomi as the basis for theri discourse.
Singles Retreat 2008 came to a close on Sunday, September 14 with a charge from pastor Dudley Hosin, and the Singles were reminded that to build relationships where love is in place, they have to love God supremely and accept and love themselves fully.
Pastor Dudley Hosin admonishing the singles
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