On a blustery New England weekend in Hartford, over 60 disciples gathered from around New England and New York to worship God, learn from His word and have fellowship at a phenomenal workshop for elders and wives, as well as elders-in-training and their wives. Entitled “Unity,” the workshop was in its second year and jumped from about 14 in attendance to nearly 70.  Last year’s event only drew elders themselves. This year’s program expanded to include wives and those desiring or training for the office of overseers.

(Click Here to go to the Album of this event)

Friday night’s activities kicked off at 7 PM with Clarence and Laura Webster’s terrific barbeque meal extravaganza.  The Websters had begun their cooking of the meat on that November 21st morning at 6:30.  But all who tasted the tender meat dipped in a secret sauce will tell you it was a memorable start to a time which would later be referred to as “a little slice of heaven.”  Following the lengthy meal, several men and women shared their conversion stories.  The evening was capped off by a devotional led by Chris Efstathion from Worcester.  He read from Philippians 3:7-11 and called us all back to considering everything a loss compared to knowing Christ.  The fellowship lasted well into the night.

The next morning began with a devotional time mixing singing and prayer.  Several excellent song leaders – Larry Craig, Jeff Schachinger, Mark Whittier and Mark Schnell – encouraged us to look to Jesus and also pointed us to the incredible fellowship of believers we get to be a part of.

 The mornings’ first set of speeches allowed the men and women to split up and talk about “Unity in Building the Church.”  Wyndham Shaw from Boston and Jimmy Allen from Hartford preached to the men.  Jeanie Shaw and Judy Ostrowski from Boston addressed the women.  Acts 20 and a host of powerful passages were used to point us back to our original call to build up the kingdom of God in numbers, faith and maturity.

Following another fantastic lunch meal, organized by Barbara Oberle, there was a question and answer session focused on “Unity in the Hard Cases.”  As shepherds, this group grapples with many challenging issues on a daily basis.  It was great to listen to wise men and women share their thoughts on tough problems like divorce, separation, dating, how to train other elders and more.

The day was closed out by Mark and Beth Buchholz from Boston.  They spoke on the topic “Unity in our Marriage.”  Their personalized sharing and Biblical emphasis paved the way for a wonderful discussion time afterward where all the couples got open about the challenges of schedule, family, busyness and priorities.