The South England Conference (SEC) 25+ Youth Retreat was held over the weekend of 26-28 August at Hay's Wood (Kings Lynn) straight after the 18-24s had their camp during the week. The theme for the weekend was Real Life and 25 young adults were in attendance.
Pastor Eddie Hypolite was the main speaker who welcomed the Sabbath, on Friday evening, once everyone was on site. The aim of the weekend was to learn how to be relevant to a contemporary audience, help attendees to understand themselves as well as others, recognise the warning signs of depression and to live with purpose.
On Friday night people were asked to pose questions to Dr Chidi Ngwaba anonymously. The scope of the questions included, Can I have faith and still worry?
Sabbath was a busy day full of intentional talks and discussions. The first to take to the stage was Dr Chidi who spoke about anxiety, stress and depression and stated that, "depression is anger turned inwards, anger is depression turned outwards." He went on to explain the emotional causes of depression because of the 4 Ds; debt, divorce (or relationship worries), disease (or addiction) and death. He highlighted that stress causes knock-on effects such as smoking, obesity, drug abuse which can lead to depression.
After a quick break and some praise songs Pastor Eddie continued our morning session taking on the theme for the weekend, 'Real Life'. He highlighted that "God places new dreams in new generations." We are called to renew the faith of our parents and not depart from it like both Moses and Joshua. The 'Wilderness Lab' was a time of learning and the next generation moved in the faith and learned lessons from their wilderness experience. He then deconstructed the story of Jericho and its falling walls.
After lunch, Laith Wallace presented 'The Dangers of Social Media'. He asked everyone to take out their phones and find their 'screen time' statistics. Keeping track of your screen time helps us analyse the health of our 'phone relationship'. Increasingly, social media has an impact on our decision-making. Often, it's the fake news that grabs our attention and we need to be discerning in our use of social media. He challenged us to delete unused apps on our phones and to turn off notifications for time-consuming apps.
As Sabbath ended, the group gathered again. The tables were decorated with candles and flowers, and the atmosphere was relaxed. The catering team provided an excellent spread for the evening meal.
On Sunday morning, Pastor Eddie and Clarence Jackson spoke on the topic, 'Living Your Purpose'. Pastor Eddie reminded us that God isn't asking, 'Who is ready?' but He is asking, 'Who is willing?'. Clarence's message focused on Jeremiah 29:11-13; "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'" We are called to be God's children and to live a life of purpose and intention.
The prayer room was well utilised and manned by Clarence and Emma both trained in mental health, counselling, and mentoring. The room was available to all throughout the day with a prayer wall on which to stick post-it-note prayers, promise jars and a prayer request box.
Everyone had a great weekend and said how they loved the worship, presentations, and the natural surroundings of Hay's Wood. A big thanks to Pastor Anthony Fuller (SEC Youth Director) and his team for running the event. All left looking forward to returning for the next retreat in November.
