ACA Weekend Retreat

From September 11-13 ACA had its first weekend retreat together. Read below to see one member's account of the weekend:

Normally I’m very reluctant to leave my comfortable home to go on retreats/camping/trips. I’m just a very homely person and when I reach home I like to stay home. Because of this quirky trait I have, when the invitation to join the ACA Retreat came along my way, I was a bit hesitant to sign myself up. I also had a slight problem in terms of not having the financial resources to go. So I thought to myself, “That settles it! I’m not going!” and that was my mindset for a couple of weeks before a member of ACA asked me again whether I’d be interested in joining the Retreat.

Nearer to the date of the Retreat, I was getting more interested in the idea of going ‘camping’ with the members of ACA. I think what sparked this interest was the fact that I wanted to stay in ACA and be a part of the growing church. I knew from past experiences that church camps usually foster a great relationship between the attendees and for a church that is still in its growing stage (albeit all churches should be in this stage in one form or other), a church camp would be vital to cement the people together with the same vision and mindset. With this in mind, when I was asked again to join the Retreat, my answer was a “YES!”. With all arrangements made, I was finally at the Genting View Resort on September 11th, 2009.

With the cool mountain air to provide for a comfortable stay and a getaway from the humid and oftentimes hot weather of KL, the 3 day-2 night retreat was just a good time for everyone who attended to relax and unwind. However, it wasn’t all just relaxation for us as the retreat wasn’t just about having fun, it was also about getting to know God better and to pray together as a family in Christ.

Our first night together started with a nice ice-breaking session which despite its name, really warmed us all up to each other. I got to know a few people I’ve never met before. Then before lights out on our first night, a whole bunch of us gathered together in a circle to play a game involving tons of finger-pointing and confusing poses using only our hands and some cards! We had a great time laughing at each others’ confusion before retiring for the night.

On the second day, we hit the books and listened to a few talks prepared by Andrew about what it means to be Anglican, Reformed and Evangelical. I thought that the talks were really well prepared and helped us understand each term well and also the purpose of having ACA. We also learned that the Gospel is the centre of everything and without the Gospel and the Cross, we have no focus in our lives. In our small group discussions, we reflected on the talks that Andrew had given and pondered on the things we can do as a church to glorify God – some of the things we talked about were how the Gospel affects our mindsets and attitudes, how we should pray for each other, and also what going to church is really all about.

In between the talks and our group discussions, we had some indoor games and activities. We also had a trip outdoors to get acquainted with nature through a nature walk through the dense (ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little) forest. This was particularly fun for me as an outdoorsy kind of person but seemed to be equally fun for everything else too! At the end of our 1-hour long trek, we took photos of our extremely muddy shoes and tried to see who the muddiest of all was.

I felt that three days was definitely too short a time to spend together but provided enough motivation for all of us to keep on speaking to each other and to encourage one another instead of just attending church and leaving at the end of the day without knowing anyone there. After learning that church is not only a vertical relationship between us and God but also a horizontal relationship between each other (the members of the church), I think that people were more willing to open up to share each other’s lives.

The most significant thing that I learned over these 3 days was how we attend church to not be served, but to serve others. When I returned home after the retreat, I remembered how Jesus had come to Earth as a suffering servant and although He was King, He came to serve others. It reminded me of how we are to act in church as well and how serving one another is actually an act of worship.

All in all, this retreat had been a great eye-opener to me as I had learned so much about God, the Gospel, the church, worship and each other. I now know more people than I used to when I first attended ACA and now I care for everyone more than I used to as well. To learn of all that Jesus has done for us on the Cross certainly does leave a profound impact on our mindset and attitudes and for us to have learned all these things together as a Church made it all the more meaningful.

The ACA Retreat 2009 had indeed been a success in bringing some of its members together (I wish everyone who attended ACA had been able to come) and hopefully we will be able to have a similar retreat again in the future. This time, I’ll bring my hiking boots alongside my Bible!

- Julianne