Men's Retreat 2021

WRITTEN BY KIRK ALBRECHT

2020 was a lost year for a lot of events on peoples’ calendars. One of those was our annual Men’s Retreat. Heading into 2021, leaders felt like we needed to have a getaway gathering, but still unsure about doing overnights together with lingering concerns over COVID and facilities maintaining fairly strict protocols.

What to do? Have a one-day retreat where we minimize concerns yet allow our men to be together for teaching, fellowship, prayer, worship, and fun. That is just what our Men’s Retreat 2021 was on May 1 at Laurelville Camp outside Mt. Pleasant.

Our theme for the day was “Standing Firm in Shifting Sands.” We walked through the life of Joseph from the Old Testament, a man who could speak to what it’s like to find the sand shifting under your feet, yet holding fast to God in order to stand firm, even when life has dealt you a tough hand. We transitioned from Joseph to Jesus to see even more clearly what it means to stand firm through trials and suffering.

Pastor Kevin taught the morning session focusing on the difficulties Joseph faced – animosity from his brothers, being sold by them into slavery, false accusations of immorality, wrongful imprisonment, and being forgotten for two years.

Few of us will ever face such a succession of struggles, but Joseph still speaks to whatever we may face. And of course Jesus was “despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Each table worked through discussion questions to further flesh out what our lives look like when the sands begin to shift, and taking time to pray for each other.

After lunch and a nice period of free time, Pastor Kirk taught in the afternoon on Joseph’s response to what he suffered. We observed that he did his work – for Potiphar, in prison, and for Pharaoh – with excellence, he maintained a strong moral base, and he ultimately trusted God throughout whatever life brought him.

Jesus modeled those qualities even more for us as he endured the cross to procure our salvation. Another round of table discussion and prayer followed.

We enjoyed some great times of singing praise to the Lord led by Damon Howard, and Pastor Alex led us with some games to get us going early.

In all, 56 FEFC men made the trek to Laurelville for a great day to connect with God and each other. If you couldn’t make it this year, mark your calendars for April 29-May 1, 2022 for next year’s retreat, and keep alert for other men’s activities coming later this year (Men’s ABF beginning Sunday, June 6 is a great place to plug in!)

Photo Courtesy of Carl Pearson, Mens Retreat 2021