This year the New South Wales Women's Focus Weekend was held in the lovely coastal village of Corrimal Sept. 9-11. "Stimulating," "excellent," "relevant," "one mind" and "understanding" were among the descriptions of the event by the nearly 30 women who participated.

Proverbs 2:1-11 inspired the theme of this year's Women's Focus Weekend: "Reaching Out With Understanding." "We, the Church," said Jeanette Dean, "are good at doctrinal integrity, but we need to improve the way we commit our hearts and minds to loving one another."

Participants from Queensland and Victoria joined with those from New South Wales, sharing cabins at the tourist park and sharing experiences, great fellowship and good food.

The Sabbath began with prayer and Bible study by pastor Bruce Dean, who gave a very insightful discussion about the relationship Christ had with the very different personalities of Mary and Martha.

After lunch, Jeanette Dean gave a presentation on strengthening understanding and love among brethren in the Church.

Sandy Montcalm spoke on reaching out to serve others in the Church happily. We are family, she stressed.

Dawn Goodger spoke on reaching out to family. Family is neither a timetable nor a project we can run on our own terms, she said.

Mavis Stucci discussed reaching out to strangers, making liberal use of anecdotes, including personal experience, to illustrate her talk.

Jenny Huthnance gave a lively account of the Bible's real definition of women. She covered the influence of our society on the way we think, including the current problems of gender identity.

Kim Mihalec gave the last address of the afternoon, titled "A Quiver Full of Arrows." Children are a blessing from God and have the same spiritual potential as their parents do.

After dinner, Ruth Root gave a fascinating interactive session discussing the effects of age and history on the various categories of women in the Church.

On Sunday, a panel comprised of Lynn Sandland, Sue Williams and Barbara Turner discussed "Loving Your Adult Children."

The final presentation was given by Dr. Maryke Boers and Dr. Marguerite Prakash, professional counselors with expertise in the area of addictions.