2025 ABA Ladies Retreat
Hosted by Terwillegar Community Church, Edmonton
Retreat Theme: Defiant JOY
“She is Clothed with Strength & Dignity; She can laugh at the days to come.” (Proverbs 31:25 NIV)
Of all the words that could be used to describe the fruit of our western society, joy would likely not be one of them. Hurry, stress, competition, achievement, busyness, success, or growth? Sure. Any of those words would fit. But joy? Not really. Instead of being the fruit of the ways of our society, the promise of joy or happiness is like the proverbial carrot that drives our society to hurry, stress, compete, achieve, succeed, and grow. We believe that if we just have enough, do enough, be enough, then surely joy and happiness will be the result.
But those of us in Christ have come to realize that this pursuit doesn’t ever actually get us the proverbial carrot, because the joy and happiness that we are made for can’t be found in our pursuit of possessions, success, or wholeness. We know that joy is found in the person of Jesus and not in our circumstances or worldly pursuits.
So we stop our pursuit of joy. And in the name of forsaking 'happy-clappy' Christianity, we define Biblical joy as being different than happiness, and convince one another that our joy is found deep down in our hearts and is present even in the midst of our depressed and miserable countenances. Is this all the joy we are going to experience this side of heaven? I really don’t think so.
Come explore a joy with us that defies the anxiety of our culture, painful circumstances, and the limits we have imposed upon it.
Come meet with Jesus who IS joy and learn to again pursue and cultivate the abundant joy that comes from walking with Him.
Our main speaker will be Jalene Buyer.
Jalene Buyer is wife to Adam and mama to Libby, Hallie, and Jack. Her days are full to the brim with the beautiful chaos that comes along with raising little people, but when time allows she will hide away with a cup of coffee to weave words and melodies together. Whether in a living room with a small circle of friends or on a platform, Jalene’s heart spills over when she gets to take words and melodies and use them help ground our feet firm in the Truth of who God is and invite our hearts back to the feet of Jesus. Jalene’s educational background is in theology, counselling, and songwriting. She is currently finishing up a BA in Theology and has been in the recording studio working on new music set to release the end of 2024. Jalene loves a good latte, going for walks, heart-to-heart conversations, and laughing until it hurts. You can connect with her at www.jalenebuyer.com
Worship will be led by Leanne Liske & Team.
*Registration Deadline: March 1.
For additional information or inquiries please contact Jen Krause at jennifer@tcchurch.ca