In 2013 hundreds of ladies were able to enjoy and profit by attending a Women’s Enrichment Weekend hosted by a United Church of God congregation. Since their beginning in Spokane and Seattle, Washington, in 1998, more than 105 Women’s Enrichment Weekends had been held in the United States and international areas. When taking into account one-day seminars, that brings the total to 115 events.

From the beginning, the overall purpose of these weekends has been to promote a theme of Titus 2: women mentoring women and helping one another grow in greater spiritual maturity. This is accomplished by women sharing valuable spiritual lessons they have learned with one another, discussing practical implementation of godly principles and helping and encouraging one another through personal trials and struggles. As well as mentoring, the weekends present opportunities for ladies to develop new friendships and strengthen old ones. Women of all ages have time to talk together, share life experiences, laughter and the occasional tear, all while drawing closer to one another as sisters in Christ.

The weekends have also provided opportunities for many women to develop and share their personal talents. For some it’s refining their organizational skills. From choosing a theme to the follow-through of the presentations, workshops or activities that support them, women are working together, building a team mentality and learning to be collaborative. Ladies who are talented in the arts or creativity have been able to use their gifts in areas such as brochure designs, decorations and special music throughout the weekend. Others have developed their public speaking skills. Many areas have also added a service project to their weekends, enabling the ladies to serve in a variety of outreach programs.

In 2010-2011, a group of ladies who had organized and participated in these events for many years worked together to develop United Church of God’s official guidelines for the Women’s Enrichment Weekends. These guidelines were written to give direction and support for those wanting to host a weekend. An appendix is included of various types of events that have been held as well as different venues. The guidelines were submitted to Ministerial and Member Services for final input and approval. They are posted on the Women of Valor website at http://women.ucg.org.

Throughout the years international areas have also actively participated in hosting Women’s Enrichment Weekends. In Australia there has been an annual Women’s Enrichment Weekend held in Queensland since 2002, with occasional weekends taking place in Melbourne, Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales. In 2011 Loney Mpilangwe organized a weekend in Malawi. This past August, the ladies in Manila, Philippines, organized a Women’s Enrichment afternoon event, which focused on developing godly communication skills. This year, for the first time, the ladies in Trinidad and Tobago will be able to participate in an enrichment weekend held on Jan. 17-19. Beverly Kubik, LeeAnn Luker and Mary Smith will join them as presenters and will be covering the theme “Understanding You, Understanding Me, Building Meaningful Relationships.”

In 2014 starting in February and running through May there will be seven Women’s Enrichment Weekends held throughout the United States in the following locations: Garden Grove, California; Springfield, Missouri; Portland, Oregon; Puget Sound, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Spokane, Washington. Details regarding exact dates, themes, locations, costs and registration information can be found on the Women of Valor website listed above.

The Women’s Services department at the home office is available to help and support any area wanting to start a Women’s Enrichment Weekend. Bev Kubik, LeeAnn Luker and Lisa Fenchel are the contacts for Women’s Services.

We look forward to the various 2014 weekends and hope that each one will promote spiritual growth, unity and inspiration for all those participating.